I’ve been thinking a lot about SWIFT lately. Partly that’s because of the renewed discussion on how some big banks relied on cash from drug cartels to survive as the housing bubble began to pop. Partly that’s because of advance publicity for Nicholas Shaxson’s Treasure Islands and coverage of corporate tax dodging. And partly it’s [...]

Hopefully, you’ve already seem Ryan Grim’s explosive report on how, in 2004, Alan Greenspan argued the Fed should keep worries about a growing housing bubble secret because the chumps buying the houses were too stupid to engage in a debate about whether there was a bubble or not. As top Federal Reserve officials debated whether [...]

What are all the economists using the euphemism “worst since World War II” trying to avoid saying?A

Is David Frum really calling for competence in Republican nominees and appointees? Or is he instead calling for ideological purity in the guise of competence?