Kara Kersteter

Argentine inflation data questioned even after reforms By Hugh Bronstein

After President Fernandez told Argentina's statistical agency to make up inflation data in 2007, country had problems selling bonds for years. Trump's firing of BLS Commissioner yesterday will cause problems for U.S.

With Trump's deficits, we need to sell bonds!

www.reuters.com/article/mark...

RFK Jr. Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination Decades of research have turned up no miracle treatment for measles, but studies show the M.M.R. shot is 97 percent effective in preventing the disease.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will direct federal health agencies to explore potential new treatments for measles as the U.S. faces its largest outbreak in 25 years. Experts fear the decision could have grave consequences, as studies show the existing vaccine is 97% effective in preventing infection.

2025 HHEI Spring Roundtable Featured Federal Reserve’s Dr. Adriana D. Kugler and Showcased Student Research 2025 HHEI Spring Roundtable

The 2025 Spring Roundtable was a success! Many undergraduate students presented their impactful research. A special thank you to Dr. Adriana Kugler from the Federal Reserve and Dr. Juan Pablo Nicolini from the Minneapolis Fed for their engaging presentation.

cla.umn.edu/heller-hurwi...

"It felt like vertigo": The White House used this economist's research to justify tariffs. They couldn't have got it more wrong - Toronto Life McMaster professor Pau Pujolas shares the story behind a Trump administration reading-comprehension fail

Trump's tariffs from viewpoint of Spanish Canadian economist Pau Pujolas @paupujolas.bsky.social:

"I saw a message from Timothy Kehoe, my mentor and an economist at the University of Minnesota. He wrote, 'You’re famous—and I don’t think you’re going to like it.'"

torontolife.com/city/it-felt...

A medieval illustration showing two people pointing at a figure in the lower right corner who looks like he's trying to take off his chainmail but has gotten it stuck while it's over his head. The caption reads: "When I'm drunk AF and try to take off a turtleneck."

Same, medieval dudes. Same.

President Trump’s mindless tariffs will cause economic havoc But the rest of the world can limit the damage

The Economist sums up the day's most important economic news:

"Almost everything Mr Trump said this week—on history, economics and the technicalities of trade—was utterly deluded. His reading of history is upside down."

www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

Jeani O’Brien explains the sophistication of verb conjugations in Ojibwe. I am fascinated, but also a little frightened. It took me a long time to become confortable with the subjunctive mood in Spanish.

Trump makes fateful wager by testing his lifelong faith in the power of tariffs Donald Trump just took the biggest gamble of his young second presidency.

Unprecedented US tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China go into effect today. Let's see what happens this week to US equity markets (stock market) if we make it to the end of the week without some sort of "solution" to the immigration and fentanyl problems.

www.yahoo.com/news/trump-m...

This is an excellent analysis of the Zelenskyy/ Trump exchange.

Brooks and Capehart on the implications of Trump's altercation with Zelenskyy New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump's public spat with Ukrainian Pre...

www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Hey all, just a reminder that we should all be pronouncing DOGE as “dodgy” (as in “questionable”) not “dough-juh” (like a French/Italian noble). Just think of how annoyed they’d be if that pronunciation caught on. (Also, not “doggy” as dogs don’t deserve that.)

Bård Harstad on "The Economics of Conservation" 2025 Jon Goldstein Memorial Lecture: Bård Harstad on "The Economics of Conservation"

Join us Feb. 20th at 5:00pm for the 2025 Jon Goldstein Memorial Lecture on Economics & Environmental Policy, featuring Bård Harstad (Stanford) on "The Economics of Conservation." Register today! cla.umn.edu/economics/ne...

This post is pure poetry.

Brilliant.

"Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day today, haven't we?"

"Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow though."

- Grant and Sherman after the disaster of the first day of Shiloh, April 1862. They won the next.

Today is one of the bad days in American history. Better days will come.

In honor of today ,an apropos quote from about a century ago::
“On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” H.L. Mencken

Explaining in Five Paragraphs the Scam Donald Trump Just Pulled on 150 Million American TikTok Users Make no mistake, one of the most popular apps in the world was just down in the U.S. for 14 hours because Donald Trump ordered that it be taken down. Why? So he could be seen as a hero in “saving” it.

I hope this helps clear up what just happened. It is short, free, and sourced.

Well, well, well...🙄

The Andrew Brimmer Undergraduate Essay Prize winner for 2024 is Salma M. Abdi, University of Minnesota for her essay “Racist Infrastructure: Impact of the Interstate Highway System on Black Neighborhoods.” #econsky aeaweb.org/about-aea/ho...

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!