Ryan C. Smith
@rcsmitheco.bsky.social
Author of, "The Real Oil Shock: How Oil Transformed Money, Debt, and Finance", host of "A History of Capitalism" podcast. Economist & historian, currently #amquerying "The Emerging Energy Revolution" on how renewables+batteries are transforming the world.
This is yet another problem with Trump's "labor" policy. Who wants to invest in a country that might lock up your highly skilled workers because some social media gadfly got mad & ran to ICE?
#EconSky
#EconSky
September 13, 2025 at 5:42 PM
This is yet another problem with Trump's "labor" policy. Who wants to invest in a country that might lock up your highly skilled workers because some social media gadfly got mad & ran to ICE?
#EconSky
#EconSky
I don't know what to say about this other than any opposition leader who isn't treating Stephen Miller's latest proclamation as a five-alarm fire is completely unsuited for this moment in history. This isn't a distraction or whatever the new slogan is, this is fascism & should be treated as such.
August 26, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I don't know what to say about this other than any opposition leader who isn't treating Stephen Miller's latest proclamation as a five-alarm fire is completely unsuited for this moment in history. This isn't a distraction or whatever the new slogan is, this is fascism & should be treated as such.
Newsom went the mile to make nice with Trump after years of shouting at him. He even tried to suck up to him over tariffs! He might be catching on but his errors in judgment show he does not understand the problem. Him continuing to fight NOW is good, but that doesn't make him POTUS material.
August 25, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Newsom went the mile to make nice with Trump after years of shouting at him. He even tried to suck up to him over tariffs! He might be catching on but his errors in judgment show he does not understand the problem. Him continuing to fight NOW is good, but that doesn't make him POTUS material.
To start, the trade policy stuff is clear why it's undermining economic confidence. Our economy, right now, depends on trade to do most things including manufacturing & keeping shelves stocked. Uncertainty makes it hard to plan & forces businesses to hedge, as seen in the revised BLS data. 2/x
August 2, 2025 at 4:08 PM
To start, the trade policy stuff is clear why it's undermining economic confidence. Our economy, right now, depends on trade to do most things including manufacturing & keeping shelves stocked. Uncertainty makes it hard to plan & forces businesses to hedge, as seen in the revised BLS data. 2/x
Investors to Elon: "Please focus on your work as a CEO & stop playing around in politics."
Elon: "I hear you, now hold my ketamine while I start a new political party."
Elon: "I hear you, now hold my ketamine while I start a new political party."
July 7, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Investors to Elon: "Please focus on your work as a CEO & stop playing around in politics."
Elon: "I hear you, now hold my ketamine while I start a new political party."
Elon: "I hear you, now hold my ketamine while I start a new political party."
This doesn't seem consistent with stopping after the bombing strikes on the nuclear sites or a candidate that promised to be noninterventionist. Shame no major outlets called him on such rhetoric or his serial dishonesty on the campaign trail.
#EconSky #Iran #AcademicSky #PoliticsSky
#EconSky #Iran #AcademicSky #PoliticsSky
June 23, 2025 at 12:21 AM
This doesn't seem consistent with stopping after the bombing strikes on the nuclear sites or a candidate that promised to be noninterventionist. Shame no major outlets called him on such rhetoric or his serial dishonesty on the campaign trail.
#EconSky #Iran #AcademicSky #PoliticsSky
#EconSky #Iran #AcademicSky #PoliticsSky
It looks like Tesla stocks had a little dead-cat bounce in the past hour that now looks like it is losing steam.
#TeslaTakedown
#TeslaTakedown
June 5, 2025 at 8:06 PM
It looks like Tesla stocks had a little dead-cat bounce in the past hour that now looks like it is losing steam.
#TeslaTakedown
#TeslaTakedown
I would like to see journalists start calling this what it is and to stop pretending this government & POTUS have it together. They're fools and frauds who have proven how little they know about economic policy & how badly out of touch they are with reality.
#EconSky
#EconSky
May 30, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I would like to see journalists start calling this what it is and to stop pretending this government & POTUS have it together. They're fools and frauds who have proven how little they know about economic policy & how badly out of touch they are with reality.
#EconSky
#EconSky
The USD vs the Japanese Yen is an especially illustrative case because the Yen, historically, has been kept weak against the dollar in part to help keep the price of Japanese exports down for US consumers. While the swing isn't as dramatic as the Euro or the pound it still fits the same trend. 7/x
May 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The USD vs the Japanese Yen is an especially illustrative case because the Yen, historically, has been kept weak against the dollar in part to help keep the price of Japanese exports down for US consumers. While the swing isn't as dramatic as the Euro or the pound it still fits the same trend. 7/x
This pattern is not unique btw. Here's the British Pound, a currency which has fallen far from its previous position as a major reserve currency post-Brexit but has caught a small second wind due to the trade wars. Having a consistent economic & trade policy, turns out, is attractive. 6/x
#EconSky
#EconSky
May 29, 2025 at 4:06 PM
This pattern is not unique btw. Here's the British Pound, a currency which has fallen far from its previous position as a major reserve currency post-Brexit but has caught a small second wind due to the trade wars. Having a consistent economic & trade policy, turns out, is attractive. 6/x
#EconSky
#EconSky
Trump & Co have begun upsetting that applecart in a big way. While stock markets have, understandably, enjoyed a lot of attention they aren't the only medium taking hits from the on-again, off-again trade wars. Here's the USD vs the Euro as one example. 4/x
May 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Trump & Co have begun upsetting that applecart in a big way. While stock markets have, understandably, enjoyed a lot of attention they aren't the only medium taking hits from the on-again, off-again trade wars. Here's the USD vs the Euro as one example. 4/x
That has to be the most wildly incorrect conclusion I have ever seen drawn from this kind of evidence.
This man is just not working from the same priors and assumptions that most economists, policymakers, & business leaders take as writ.
#EconSky
This man is just not working from the same priors and assumptions that most economists, policymakers, & business leaders take as writ.
#EconSky
May 9, 2025 at 1:09 AM
That has to be the most wildly incorrect conclusion I have ever seen drawn from this kind of evidence.
This man is just not working from the same priors and assumptions that most economists, policymakers, & business leaders take as writ.
#EconSky
This man is just not working from the same priors and assumptions that most economists, policymakers, & business leaders take as writ.
#EconSky
Fun fact about gasoline prices:
Every oil-producing region has a break-even price point and if the price per barrel falls below that then it stops being profitable. I've attached a map for reference.
Right now, West Texas Intermediate Crude is selling for $58 per barrel.
#EconSky #EnergySky
Every oil-producing region has a break-even price point and if the price per barrel falls below that then it stops being profitable. I've attached a map for reference.
Right now, West Texas Intermediate Crude is selling for $58 per barrel.
#EconSky #EnergySky
May 4, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Fun fact about gasoline prices:
Every oil-producing region has a break-even price point and if the price per barrel falls below that then it stops being profitable. I've attached a map for reference.
Right now, West Texas Intermediate Crude is selling for $58 per barrel.
#EconSky #EnergySky
Every oil-producing region has a break-even price point and if the price per barrel falls below that then it stops being profitable. I've attached a map for reference.
Right now, West Texas Intermediate Crude is selling for $58 per barrel.
#EconSky #EnergySky
Yet again, Trump blinks at the last minute and gets nothing but chaos & accelerated decoupling from the US economy by everyone else for his troubles.
#EconSky
#EconSky
April 9, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Yet again, Trump blinks at the last minute and gets nothing but chaos & accelerated decoupling from the US economy by everyone else for his troubles.
#EconSky
#EconSky
Ya know what?
It totally makes sense that the guy who helped come up with Trump's tariff policy is taking advice from an imaginary friend. It makes more sense than the WH's numbers.
#EconSky
It totally makes sense that the guy who helped come up with Trump's tariff policy is taking advice from an imaginary friend. It makes more sense than the WH's numbers.
#EconSky
April 6, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Ya know what?
It totally makes sense that the guy who helped come up with Trump's tariff policy is taking advice from an imaginary friend. It makes more sense than the WH's numbers.
#EconSky
It totally makes sense that the guy who helped come up with Trump's tariff policy is taking advice from an imaginary friend. It makes more sense than the WH's numbers.
#EconSky
The culprit, based on year-to-year capacity increase data, can be summed up as a failure to maintain a consistent industrial policy. As shown below, the US managed to keep pace in rates of growth with China until around 2005 at which point they decisively fell behind. 4/x
#EconSky #EnergySky
#EconSky #EnergySky
March 19, 2025 at 6:39 PM
The culprit, based on year-to-year capacity increase data, can be summed up as a failure to maintain a consistent industrial policy. As shown below, the US managed to keep pace in rates of growth with China until around 2005 at which point they decisively fell behind. 4/x
#EconSky #EnergySky
#EconSky #EnergySky
Here's some data on the growth of renewable energy in the United States and China over the past twenty years. It tells a story of a huge missed opportunity and how the United States has fallen dramatically behind in energy innovation. 1/x
#EconSky #EnergySky
#EconSky #EnergySky
March 19, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Here's some data on the growth of renewable energy in the United States and China over the past twenty years. It tells a story of a huge missed opportunity and how the United States has fallen dramatically behind in energy innovation. 1/x
#EconSky #EnergySky
#EconSky #EnergySky