Wednesday morning articles
Regulators’ Lament The Lesson of Nobelist Ben Bernanke. (Intrinsic Value by Roger Lowenstein)
Fixing bank runs (sort of) wins the Nobel prize: Have we really figured this out though? (Financial Times Alphaville)
U.S Cannabis: A Curtain Call The last act of 2022 promises some plot twists: Joe Biden shocked the world when he announced he was going to fast-track review of the federal scheduling of cannabis and pardon prior federal pot possession charges. The move, designed to catalyze young voters a month before the midterm elections, “could alter the face of the industry” and expedite the end of the War on Drugs. (Cannabis Confidential)
That Sound You Hear Is the Fed Breaking Something: October will test the Fed’s resolve. (Guggenheim)
The Fed Wants to Quash Inflation. But Can It Do It More Gently? Central bankers have been raising rates rapidly to temper demand and bring prices under control. Now, they’re asking when they can slow down. (New York Times)
Retailers’ stockpiles mean deep holiday discounts starting now: Stores are sitting on a record $732 billion of merchandise — including computers, clothing and coffee tables — and finding that consumers aren’t interested. (Washington Post)
Elon Musk can’t fix Twitter because no one can: A $44 billion mistake. (Vox)
Why Elon Musk is no longer Wall Street’s darling: Could Wall Street’s love affair with Elon Musk be over? Six months ago Tesla shares were flying high, valued at $1.1 trillion. Then Musk announced his plans to buy control of the social media company. Things haven’t been the same for Tesla shares since. (CNN Business)
Biden’s rescue plan made inflation worse but the economy better: Government cash boosted demand when economy was struggling to produce, experts say. (Washington Post)
The Climate Economy Is About to Explode: A new report suggests that the Inflation Reduction Act could be even bigger than Congress thinks. (The Atlantic)
What Russian trolls can teach us about American voters: “To undermine citizens’ trust in government, exploit societal fractures, create distrust in the information environment, blur the lines between reality and fiction, undermine trust among communities, and erode confidence in the democratic process.” (The Atlantic)
Many scientists see fusion as the future of energy – and they’re betting big. A clean, plentiful fuel so efficient Earth’s entire annual supply could fit in a swimming pool. That’s the dream, but the science is there, too. (National Geographic)
BlackRock Fund Bets Rich World Is Likely to Face a Water Crisis: With hurricanes, floods and other extreme weather, water security is no longer a problem just for the developing world. (Bloomberg)
Tom Cruise set to become first actor to shoot movie in outer space: The 60-year-old Hollywood veteran has reportedly teamed up with The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman on a movie pitch that involves filming in space, which was first tabled in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic halted plans. Cruise and Liman are said to have reached out to Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) on an idea which will see the actor take a rocket up to the International Space Station. (New York Post)