Wednesday morning news drop
How Credit Scores Can Run—and Ruin—Our Lives You can have a great credit history and still see your score plummet. How did the rating system become so powerful? (CBC)
Market Pain Isn’t Over, but You Will Get Through This Head-spinning volatility in financial markets isn’t all that puzzling when you consider the problems the Federal Reserve is grappling with, our columnist says. (New York Times)
Was the 1966-1982 Stock Market Really That Bad? This long, drawn out sideways market is one of the ultimate devil’s advocate positions for those that like to argue against stocks being a solid long-term investment. Although this was technically a sideways market we need to put some context around this time frame. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
Japan’s living standards are too low: A lot of hard work with not nearly enough to show for it: But underneath the gloss of that fantasy-land exterior, Japan as a whole is not exactly thriving. For decades, the country’s real wages have drifted downward. (Noahpinion)
“Covid Zero” is Crushing China Production and consumption both cratered in April. The impact on the rest of the world is uncertain. (The Overshoot)
Travel Tips From the Man Who’s Visited Every Country on Earth—and Space Pack a sheet, leave the wedding ring at home, and skip the street food. (Pursuits)
“Free Speech” Ought to Mean More than Mocking Trans People Elon Musk, social media content moderation, and a culture of free speech. (The Bulwark)
‘Redemption is a powerful concept’: Hayden Christensen on Star Wars and daring to return as Darth Vader: When he first portrayed Darth Vader in the much-panned Star Wars prequels 20 years ago, fans vented their anger at him. So why is he risking more in a new TV series? He talks about George Lucas, the pressures of fame and his love of bulldozers (The Guardian)