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Mr. Robot and the Future of Money
Last week, the cult USA channel TV show Mr. Robot showed once again why it is required viewing for anyone interested in technology.
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Wells Fargo and the Principal-Agent Problem
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has celebrated the $100 million fine it has imposed on San Francisco bank Wells Fargo for its employees’ improper handling…
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Financial CHOICE Act, Replacement for Dodd-Frank, Passes Out of Committee
The House Financial Services Committee today approved the Financial CHOICE Act (FCA) 30-26 largely along party lines.
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Work Is Changing, Employment Regulation Needs to Change Too
For many people, the 9 to 5, office- or factory-based, corporate job that Dolly Parton lamented in the 1980s is a thing of the past.
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Brexit: A Liberal Britain?
There is a great risk in Brexit Britain.
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Brexit: What’s Next for Trade?
At the moment, Britain is still a member of the European Union, and therefore its trade arrangements are subject to the terms of the EU’s…
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Brexit: What Next?
In our new and revised version of Cutting the Gordian Knot: A Roadmap for British Exit from the European Union, Rory Broomfield and I set…
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International Tribunal Gets Its First Big Test
The news that the Permanent Court of Arbitration acting in conjunction with the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) have ruled against…
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Opportunities for the Environmental Entrepreneur
I had the honor to chair a panel and speak at the 10th ICREI conference in France on environmental issues last week. This year’s conference…
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Interchange Debate Rears Its Head in Canada
The debate over the effects of interchange fees (the charges a bank levies on a merchant when one its customers uses a credit or debit…
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Happy Magna Carta Day
801 years ago today in a peaceful meadow in England occurred the first act of the American Revolution.
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Huge Questions Remain in Brexit Debate
It is now looking as if the June 23rd vote on whether Britain will leave or remain in the European Union is too close to…
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House Plan to Replace Dodd-Frank Provides Long-Needed Alternative
On Wednesday, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced the main features of his comprehensive plan to replace Dodd-Frank, the flawed response to the…
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Affordable Energy Is Important to Conquering Poverty
When economists and politicians talk about income inequality, they rarely consider the effects of their policies on the poor, as my co-author Ryan Young has…
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Administration’s War on Work Reflected in Jobs Numbers
The administration and its allies are currently engaged in a regulatory onslaught on employers that can only be described as a war on work. Today’s…
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More on “Inequality”
In serendipitous timing, the Institute of Economic Affairs in London released a new study this week entitled “Never Mind The Gap: Why we…
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CFPB Moves to Cut Off Any Loans to People with Bad Credit
According to the federal government, people may have to live on the streets, but at least they aren’t being “exploited” by companies who are willing…
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Seattle Regulators Go After Rideshare Driver Privacy
Today, I have a column up at FEE.org on the need for classical liberals to make financial privacy as important an aspect of their…
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The Chilling Effect of Dark Matter
Here at CEI, we know all about the chilling effect of executive power. We also know quite a bit about the extent to which…
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Free Market Road Show: The Sharing Economy
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The Sharing Economy Is More than Just Uber
In an article for The New York Times, columnist Farhad Manjoo worries that the Uber model of app-based service companies has run its course. He points out…
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Questions for CFPB Director Richard Cordray
Tomorrow, Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will face questions from the House Financial Services Committee. Here are some of the questions…
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Australian Bank Devalues Rewards Scheme in Anticipation of Interchange Fee Cap
I fear I am beginning to sound like a broken record on the subject of payments card interchange fees, with the needle stuck on “We…
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White House Threatens Veto to Choke Point Reform Bill
As has been demonstrated time and again, this administration is opposed to any change in the law that will reduce its powers. We see this…
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Bill Aims to Stop Operation Choke Point Happening Again
Operation Choke Point is a major abuse of executive authority. As we have detailed over the last couple of years, Choke Point is an…
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Interchange Fee Warnings Coming True in EU
We have often warned about the negative effects of interchange fee regulation and specifically a cap on interchange fees. Last year we warned the European Parliament that…
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Lyft Drivers Remain Independent Contractors
A California class-action lawsuit against ridesharing company Lyft has been settled without trial. In the settlement, Lyft agreed to pay its drivers, their lawyers, and…
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Market Dominance Doesn’t Last; Regulation Shouldn’t Either
One of the justifications for heavy regulation of large companies is that they use market power to crush competition and maintain market dominance. Yet the…
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Three Economists Had the Answer to the President’s Questions
Last night at the State of the Union, the President asked three questions regarding domestic policy (I’ll leave the foreign policy question to others). They…
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The EU Faces Many Challenges in 2016
The EU is in a quiet crisis. For the first time it faces the prospect of a major economy leaving the EU voluntarily. Its internal…