Small Potatoes
In early December 2019, media outlets across the US warned of a potential French fry shortage in 2020. These warnings came after the US Department of Agriculture estimated that the…
Immigration or Innovation in Agriculture?
American agriculture has long depended on immigrant labor. Many of these workers are undocumented. In recent years, the US government has increased its immigration enforcement activity, identifying, arresting, and deporting…
Plastic Pollution Problems
Each year, millions of tons of discarded plastic makes its way into the world’s oceans. Approximately 80 percent of that waste was originally discarded on land, with the remaining 20…
Fishy Pricing
In December 2019 the CEO of Bumblebee Tuna was convicted of price-fixing in the packaged seafood market. With this conviction the CEO faces up to 10 years in prison and…
A Spirited Trade War
In the 20 years between 1997 and 2017, US exports of Kentucky bourbon whiskey tripled to a value of $450 million. However, in the second half of 2018 exports of…
Retail Apocalypse
Nearly 10,000 retail stores announced closures in 20191. Payless ShoeSource alone accounted for 2,500 closures as part of the company’s complete liquidation. Other large retailers, like J. C. Penney, are…
Will The Robots Take All Our Jobs?
The past ten years have seen widespread concern about the effect that artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated robotics might have on employment. The most pessimistic prognosticators assert that strong and…
What Exactly is the Function of the FX Market? A $6 Trillion Per Day Questions
“I am a hybrid. I do independent films and also do Hollywood films - I love them both.” Spike Lee According to the recent series of reports published by the…
Can Shadow Banking Replace Traditional Banking? We Will See Soon Enough
"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." Jean De La Fontaine The shift in the provision of financial intermediation away from traditional banks…
CNBC: “Amazon’s cloud business bombards the market with dozens of new features as it looks to preserve its lead”
“If keeping track of all the new stuff feels overwhelming, that’s kind of the point. Amazon wants people to feel like it’s coming out with so much that no one…