Amidst the disconcerting scenes that unfolded, dogs and cats found themselves crammed into dilapidated cages, their fear palpable. Rusty enclosures housed a myriad of creatures, from bats to scorpions, offered up as traditional medicine. The macabre tableau included rabbits and ducks, their lives extinguished side by side, sprawled on a stone floor slick with blood, filth, and remnants of the fallen. This... 

Elizabeth Warren and others are running around blaming inflation on greedy corporations’ “price gouging.” Of course, this narrative falls apart when you realize producer prices are rising faster than consumer prices. If anything, producers are letting consumers gouge them by not passing on all of their rising costs. But the “greedy corporation” narrative is great for politicians. It lets... 

Today I’m going to write about a bunch of niche industries in which there are rising amounts of market concentration, largely due to financiers on Wall Street executing a strategy called a ‘roll-up.’ Roll-ups happen in sectors that, like cheerleading, you wouldn’t immediately imagine as dominated by corporations with market power. I write a lot about big tech and private equity, but when I... 

As the UK warns of a “very likely” terrorist attack at German markets, seasonal celebrations across Europe face further threat from bland identikit stalls, rip-off prices & a struggle to address the Christian roots of Christmas. Ah, Christmas in Europe! Rosy-cheeked children waiting for Santa Claus and his team of reindeer to overwhelm them with gifts. A feast of mince pies, turkey and mulled... 

Following the British vote to leave the European Union, markets around the world slipped into free fall on Friday. Sterling fell to a low not seen since 1985, far below its value during the 2008 financial crisis. It lost parity against the dollar and the euro, but Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the G20’s Financial Stability Board, said not to worry. The bank announced... 

As the stock market surged close to all-time highs and the Federal Reserve hinted it wouldn’t raise interest rates, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) reiterated his fears that the US economy is not sustainable, predicting a huge crash in the near future. “I look at the markets as being unstable, which means some days they go up a lot and some days they go down rapidly, but they don’t advance... 

Are you seeing more and more food from China in your supermarket? Have you noticed you can’t buy a single package of fish that isn’t from Asia? Do you think your food from those countries is processed in a sanitary manner, and thus safe to eat? Unlike the U.S., Canada, and Europe, China does not have laws regulating food processing. Many companies are using Hong Kong addresses for products...