Mark Zuckerberg fairly obviously bought Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize a perceived competitor. He isn’t doing that with TikTok, and the FTC’s monopolization trial is why.
Money, Politics, and Power
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Congress Stops CFPB From Capping Overdraft Fees, Monitoring Big Tech
The two Congressional Review Act resolutions now go to President Trump.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Bloodlust and Boozing During Trump’s Wall Street Beatdown
A day in Manhattan as markets whipsaw amid the Trump tariff debacle
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Rule by Contractor
DOGE is not about waste and efficiency—it’s about privatization.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
How Corporate Pardons Create Monopolies
Rocket wants to became the only mortgage company in America. The CFPB found its tactics to be illegal—until Donald Trump let the company off the hook.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Bubble Trouble
An AI bubble threatens Silicon Valley, and all of us.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Existential Threat of Ultra-Billionaires
A handful of rich guys will burn human society to the ground rather than pay a dime in tax.
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Move Fast and Break the Mortgage Market
The chief regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now also the board chair of both companies. What’s the long game here?
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Trump Tries to Fire Lina Khan’s Lieutenants at the FTC
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya have been illegally terminated. It’s a bid to centralize executive power.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Some Democrats Endorse Bill Allowing Elon Musk to Create His Own Currency
The GENIUS Act is the first pro-crypto bill Republicans want to rush through this Congress. Thanks to industry money, several Democrats are ignoring the bill’s major problems.