David Mullin
@rdmullin.bsky.social
PhD Economist, Certified Public Accountant, Academic. My Service Dog is Wilson.
A tableau made of nearly 1,000 pounds of chocolate: Santa on a bobsled in anticipation of the Winter Olympics.
January 1, 2026 at 5:28 AM
A tableau made of nearly 1,000 pounds of chocolate: Santa on a bobsled in anticipation of the Winter Olympics.
New Year’s Eve in Colorado
January 1, 2026 at 5:20 AM
New Year’s Eve in Colorado
Reposted by David Mullin
Warren Buffett hands over Berkshire Hathaway’s reins to Greg Abel ft.trib.al/6cICgkR
Warren Buffett hands over Berkshire Hathaway’s reins to Greg Abel
Investors hunt for clues on how the investor’s protégé will shape the $1.1tn conglomerate
ft.trib.al
January 1, 2026 at 5:16 AM
Warren Buffett hands over Berkshire Hathaway’s reins to Greg Abel ft.trib.al/6cICgkR
Reposted by David Mullin
5 million-plus kindergartners now live in counties where schools don’t have “herd immunity” for measles, Washington Post reporters found.
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands.
Take a look to see what the kindergarten measles vaccination rates are in your area.
wapo.st
January 1, 2026 at 2:46 AM
5 million-plus kindergartners now live in counties where schools don’t have “herd immunity” for measles, Washington Post reporters found.
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
WaPo also built a tool to look up your own county.
Exceptional, and alarming work by @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @caitlingilbert.bsky.social et al.
(Gift link.)
Reposted by David Mullin
Jeff Frankel: "Why didn't Trump's tariffs crash the economy in 2025?" #EconSky
econbrowser.com/archives/202...
econbrowser.com/archives/202...
January 1, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Jeff Frankel: "Why didn't Trump's tariffs crash the economy in 2025?" #EconSky
econbrowser.com/archives/202...
econbrowser.com/archives/202...
Reposted by David Mullin
Foreign students at US colleges have been a consistent target of Trump's second term agenda, and enrollment is down 17%. Here's what you need to know (from November)
Foreign Student Enrollment Is Down 17% Under Trump. What It Means for Universities
The US academic year is well underway. With students back in labs and lecture halls, they might notice more empty seats than usual — especially at schools and in programs that enroll large numbers of international scholars.
bloom.bg
December 31, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Foreign students at US colleges have been a consistent target of Trump's second term agenda, and enrollment is down 17%. Here's what you need to know (from November)
The cost of electricity is decreasing in Africa, but rising in the U.S. One major factor causing the disparity is the usage of Chinese-made solar panels. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/c...
Cheap Solar Is Transforming Lives and Economies Across Africa
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:11 PM
The cost of electricity is decreasing in Africa, but rising in the U.S. One major factor causing the disparity is the usage of Chinese-made solar panels. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/c...
Reposted by David Mullin
Accounting body scraps remote exams to combat cheating ft.trib.al/tR9qN35
Accounting body scraps remote exams to combat cheating
Decision follows scandals at Big Four and comes as AI tools make it easier to circumvent invigilators
ft.trib.al
December 29, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Accounting body scraps remote exams to combat cheating ft.trib.al/tR9qN35
Reposted by David Mullin
Entertainment companies and developers are rushing to create a high-end middle market for out-of-home entertainment.
Theme Parks’ New Strategy: Smaller, Cheaper and Shorter
Entertainment companies and developers are rushing to create a high-end middle market for out-of-home entertainment.
on.wsj.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Entertainment companies and developers are rushing to create a high-end middle market for out-of-home entertainment.
Reposted by David Mullin
On the surface, grade inflation might seem simple to address, Ian Bogost writes. But it’s a strange and wicked problem on campus, with no single cause or obvious solution: theatln.tc/yjoGnzFM
December 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
On the surface, grade inflation might seem simple to address, Ian Bogost writes. But it’s a strange and wicked problem on campus, with no single cause or obvious solution: theatln.tc/yjoGnzFM
Reposted by David Mullin
Tariffs as a % of GDP are at the highest level in more than 100 years amidst Trump's trade war—even though tariff rates are still lower than in the 1930s, they have a much higher impact because trade volumes are much larger than in the past
December 27, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Tariffs as a % of GDP are at the highest level in more than 100 years amidst Trump's trade war—even though tariff rates are still lower than in the 1930s, they have a much higher impact because trade volumes are much larger than in the past
Reposted by David Mullin
This is great for teaching development economics and/or inequality. #EconSky
Giving what we can has implemented a fun game where you spin a globe to see how your starting point in life would compare if you were reborn today, randomly somewhere on earth.
www.givingwhatwecan.org/birth-lottery
www.givingwhatwecan.org/birth-lottery
Birth Lottery
If you were reborn today, where would you land? And how would that change your life?
www.givingwhatwecan.org
December 27, 2025 at 8:32 AM
This is great for teaching development economics and/or inequality. #EconSky
Situational management is much more successful than willpower in changing behavior. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/o...
Opinion | Willpower Doesn’t Work. This Does.
www.nytimes.com
December 28, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Situational management is much more successful than willpower in changing behavior. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/o...
If smells like a speculative bubble, talks like a speculative bubble, and walks like a speculative bubble...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-c...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-c...
This Is What the World’s Smartest Minds Really Think About AI
At a meeting that’s become the center of the tech universe, nerdy researchers partied on yachts and gathered on rooftops to trade gossip and compare notes. Everyone was feeling bubbly.
www.wsj.com
December 21, 2025 at 8:38 PM
If smells like a speculative bubble, talks like a speculative bubble, and walks like a speculative bubble...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-c...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-c...
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/u...
These Young Adults Make Good Money. But Life, They Say, Is Unaffordable.
www.nytimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/u...
Reposted by David Mullin
The one validated intervention to slow aging and extend healthspan is not for sale.
It's exercise.
sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
It's exercise.
sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
December 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
The one validated intervention to slow aging and extend healthspan is not for sale.
It's exercise.
sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
It's exercise.
sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by David Mullin
PIMCO: “.. The Supreme Court is likely to strike down the Trump administration’s IEEPA tariffs .. which would force the Trump administration to refund roughly $100 billion of tariffs paid in 2025.”
www.pimco.com/us/en/insigh...
www.pimco.com/us/en/insigh...
December 18, 2025 at 8:40 PM
PIMCO: “.. The Supreme Court is likely to strike down the Trump administration’s IEEPA tariffs .. which would force the Trump administration to refund roughly $100 billion of tariffs paid in 2025.”
www.pimco.com/us/en/insigh...
www.pimco.com/us/en/insigh...
Reposted by David Mullin
BLS says it relied somewhat on "different cell" imputation in November than it did in September. And no use of "carry-forward." But it isn't providing detail on how it treated October, which is key to understanding these November figures.
December 18, 2025 at 4:22 PM
BLS says it relied somewhat on "different cell" imputation in November than it did in September. And no use of "carry-forward." But it isn't providing detail on how it treated October, which is key to understanding these November figures.
Reposted by David Mullin
Charts! Starting with the unemployment rate, which rose to 4.6 percent, its highest level in more than four years.
December 16, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Charts! Starting with the unemployment rate, which rose to 4.6 percent, its highest level in more than four years.
Reposted by David Mullin
Nov #jobsreport today is our first view of job market post-shutdown
-Payrolls grew 64k in Nov
-Payrolls fell 105k in Oct, driven by 162k federal job losses as the deferred resignation program took effect at end of Sep
-Unemp rose to 4.6% in Nov (no Oct data) from 4.4% in Sep
#NumbersDay 1/
-Payrolls grew 64k in Nov
-Payrolls fell 105k in Oct, driven by 162k federal job losses as the deferred resignation program took effect at end of Sep
-Unemp rose to 4.6% in Nov (no Oct data) from 4.4% in Sep
#NumbersDay 1/
December 16, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Nov #jobsreport today is our first view of job market post-shutdown
-Payrolls grew 64k in Nov
-Payrolls fell 105k in Oct, driven by 162k federal job losses as the deferred resignation program took effect at end of Sep
-Unemp rose to 4.6% in Nov (no Oct data) from 4.4% in Sep
#NumbersDay 1/
-Payrolls grew 64k in Nov
-Payrolls fell 105k in Oct, driven by 162k federal job losses as the deferred resignation program took effect at end of Sep
-Unemp rose to 4.6% in Nov (no Oct data) from 4.4% in Sep
#NumbersDay 1/
Reposted by David Mullin
RMP = QE? on.ft.com/49aAy4y | opinion
RMP = QE?
Fed bill buying vs Fed bond buying
on.ft.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:51 AM
RMP = QE? on.ft.com/49aAy4y | opinion
Reposted by David Mullin
Investment in China slowed drastically in November, propelling the country closer toward its first annual decline in more than three decades.
China Approaches First Investment Decline in 3 Decades
A broad measure of investment fell more than 10 percent in November, continuing a recent reversal and signaling the depth of China’s property crisis.
nyti.ms
December 15, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Investment in China slowed drastically in November, propelling the country closer toward its first annual decline in more than three decades.
Reposted by David Mullin
Eighty-five years ago today, chemists Glenn Seaborg, Joseph Kennedy, and Arthur Wahl (continuing work by physicist Edwin McMillan) first produced element 94 (plutonium) in the 60-inch cyclotron at UC Berkeley. Exactly 1,700 days later, “Fat Man”—fueled by 13.6 lbs. of Pu-239— destroyed Nagasaki.
![A color photograph of two brass plaques mounted on a wall. The first reads:
PLUTONIUM
Element 94
Was discovered in this room in February 1941 [sic] by G.T. Seaborg, E.T. McMillan, A.C. Wahl, and J.W. Kennedy
[NOTE: Seaborg and his team chemically identified and confirmed the discovery of plutonium, and discovered plutonium-239, on the night of February 23-24, 1941. But the as yet unnamed element 94 (specifically the isotope plutonium-238) was first produced by bombarding uranium with deuterons in the 60-inch cyclotron at Berkeley on December 14, 1940.]
The second plaque reads:
Room 307 Gilman Hall
Has been designated a REGISTERED NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States.
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1966](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:iwbebt5r65c67xl5vy5iviwj/bafkreibtcvcyl3ohpcuhgfidkm7bv7ysqddepkyqex5av42vjnorqx3ydy@jpeg)
December 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Eighty-five years ago today, chemists Glenn Seaborg, Joseph Kennedy, and Arthur Wahl (continuing work by physicist Edwin McMillan) first produced element 94 (plutonium) in the 60-inch cyclotron at UC Berkeley. Exactly 1,700 days later, “Fat Man”—fueled by 13.6 lbs. of Pu-239— destroyed Nagasaki.
Reposted by David Mullin
Pairing paintings, tapestries and sculptures with songs and sound clips, these museums have become unlikely social-media stars. on.wsj.com/4a9YdTQ
Small-Town Museums Are Killing It—on the Internet
Pairing paintings, tapestries and sculptures with songs and sound clips, these museums have become unlikely social-media stars.
on.wsj.com
December 14, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Pairing paintings, tapestries and sculptures with songs and sound clips, these museums have become unlikely social-media stars. on.wsj.com/4a9YdTQ
Reposted by David Mullin
"Private-equity might not be causing the housing crisis, but corporate owners could end up making it a lot worse—for everyone," @annielowrey.bsky.social argues:
Private Equity Is America’s New Landlord
Is there someone to blame for the housing crisis?
bit.ly
December 16, 2025 at 8:15 AM
"Private-equity might not be causing the housing crisis, but corporate owners could end up making it a lot worse—for everyone," @annielowrey.bsky.social argues: