Karthik Sankaran
@rajakorman.bsky.social
Bay Area US. Aging macro expat. Cheap lunch guy. 1st to ever rhyme Duce and Juche. Neoliberal peacenik. Has Herder immunity. Virulent vector of dad jokes. 1/3 each phlegm, spleen & dad humors.
Pinned
My colleague Dan Ford and I just completed a brief on a bigger DFC. We welcome its likely reauthorization and suggest how it can combine the pursuit of US interests with global development without taking on an overly securitized or exclusionary approach.
quincyinst.org/research/inv...
quincyinst.org/research/inv...
Looks like a pretty quiet day. I guess even crypto fans are susceptible to tryptophans.
November 28, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Looks like a pretty quiet day. I guess even crypto fans are susceptible to tryptophans.
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Escargone 🐌
Thieves have stolen €90,000 worth of fine French snails destined for some of the country’s most prestigious restaurants
Thieves take €90,000 of snails meant for Michelin-starred restaurants
French police are on the trail of ‘experienced’ criminals who stole a whole year’s worth of produce from Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne’s L’Escargot des Grands Crus
www.thetimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Escargone 🐌
Huh, I wonder if there were any other parts of the world where increases in state capacity and technological complexity came decades or maybe even centuries before broad increases in input-legitimacy-based state accountability.
November 27, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Huh, I wonder if there were any other parts of the world where increases in state capacity and technological complexity came decades or maybe even centuries before broad increases in input-legitimacy-based state accountability.
The greatest film ever made about a an extremely rational person trying to explain to someone suffering from bipolar disorder that the current account and the financial account must balance.
“Network” premieres today in ‘76
“.. we thought we were making a satire,” said Lumet. “But the extraordinary and frightening thing is how quickly it stopped being satire .. When the truth becomes entertainment, when rage becomes a commodity, the culture begins to eat itself.”
@ditzkoff.bsky.social
“.. we thought we were making a satire,” said Lumet. “But the extraordinary and frightening thing is how quickly it stopped being satire .. When the truth becomes entertainment, when rage becomes a commodity, the culture begins to eat itself.”
@ditzkoff.bsky.social
November 27, 2025 at 7:39 PM
The greatest film ever made about a an extremely rational person trying to explain to someone suffering from bipolar disorder that the current account and the financial account must balance.
Reality, May I meet you?
My Trade Secrets today. Funny* thing about Trump's tariffs: they're really unpopular and he's retreating from them even before most of the bad effects have come through. God knows what will happen when they do.
*By funny I mean both unexpected but also very amusing.
on.ft.com/4p5NUVy
*By funny I mean both unexpected but also very amusing.
on.ft.com/4p5NUVy
The hot air of Trump’s tariffs is approaching a ceiling of cold reality
[FREE TO READ] Even before their full effect has hit, the duties are doing real damage
on.ft.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Reality, May I meet you?
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
My Trade Secrets today. Funny* thing about Trump's tariffs: they're really unpopular and he's retreating from them even before most of the bad effects have come through. God knows what will happen when they do.
*By funny I mean both unexpected but also very amusing.
on.ft.com/4p5NUVy
*By funny I mean both unexpected but also very amusing.
on.ft.com/4p5NUVy
The hot air of Trump’s tariffs is approaching a ceiling of cold reality
[FREE TO READ] Even before their full effect has hit, the duties are doing real damage
on.ft.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:30 PM
My Trade Secrets today. Funny* thing about Trump's tariffs: they're really unpopular and he's retreating from them even before most of the bad effects have come through. God knows what will happen when they do.
*By funny I mean both unexpected but also very amusing.
on.ft.com/4p5NUVy
*By funny I mean both unexpected but also very amusing.
on.ft.com/4p5NUVy
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
“The Ice Storm” is a Thanksgiving movie in the same sense that “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.
November 27, 2025 at 5:17 PM
“The Ice Storm” is a Thanksgiving movie in the same sense that “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Runyon is great. Not *exactly* investment advice but I think you’ll understand why I include it. ‘
November 27, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Runyon is great. Not *exactly* investment advice but I think you’ll understand why I include it. ‘
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
We too. This is like a TV series I've heard of and lots of people seem to talk about but I've never watched it and it's way too late to bother starting, especially as it sounds shit.
November 27, 2025 at 3:33 PM
We too. This is like a TV series I've heard of and lots of people seem to talk about but I've never watched it and it's way too late to bother starting, especially as it sounds shit.
My feed these days—
Don’t be stupid
Be a shmarty
Come and join
The Nuzzi party
Don’t be stupid
Be a shmarty
Come and join
The Nuzzi party
November 27, 2025 at 3:24 PM
My feed these days—
Don’t be stupid
Be a shmarty
Come and join
The Nuzzi party
Don’t be stupid
Be a shmarty
Come and join
The Nuzzi party
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
The only good investment maxim is Will Rogers. "Buy some good stocks, wait till they go up, then sell 'em. If they don't go up, don't buy 'em"
November 27, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The only good investment maxim is Will Rogers. "Buy some good stocks, wait till they go up, then sell 'em. If they don't go up, don't buy 'em"
ICYMI, I hijacked the discourse to make one of my long-standing favorite points. The screen-shoot is from a WSJ op-ed by the Treasury Secretary doing before your very eyes EXACTLY (and with his customary insouciance) exactly what I complain about.
Please stop blaming on trade the things (or putative things like the $140k number) that are pretty much entirely the fault of America’s terrible nontradeable sectors. www.wsj.com/opinion/trum...
November 27, 2025 at 2:36 PM
ICYMI, I hijacked the discourse to make one of my long-standing favorite points. The screen-shoot is from a WSJ op-ed by the Treasury Secretary doing before your very eyes EXACTLY (and with his customary insouciance) exactly what I complain about.
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Hanno Lustig on the other site:
November 26, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Hanno Lustig on the other site:
Its still there!
November 26, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Its still there!
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Edward Jenner finds a clue from folk wisdom about milkmaids who remain protected from smallpox after being infected by cowpox – a mild disease whose pustules are easy to spot.
November 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Edward Jenner finds a clue from folk wisdom about milkmaids who remain protected from smallpox after being infected by cowpox – a mild disease whose pustules are easy to spot.
IMO, important to distinguish btwn.
1. Size of trade deficits
2. Sectoral composition of same
3. Shifts in geographic location of technology frontiers & implications for geopolitics/politics of lower ability to redistribute tech rents
4. Nontradeables response to a +ve tradeable import supply shock.
1. Size of trade deficits
2. Sectoral composition of same
3. Shifts in geographic location of technology frontiers & implications for geopolitics/politics of lower ability to redistribute tech rents
4. Nontradeables response to a +ve tradeable import supply shock.
China is making trade impossible on.ft.com/3XOAr8n | opinion
China is making trade impossible
Europe has nothing to offer and difficult decisions to make
on.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:15 PM
IMO, important to distinguish btwn.
1. Size of trade deficits
2. Sectoral composition of same
3. Shifts in geographic location of technology frontiers & implications for geopolitics/politics of lower ability to redistribute tech rents
4. Nontradeables response to a +ve tradeable import supply shock.
1. Size of trade deficits
2. Sectoral composition of same
3. Shifts in geographic location of technology frontiers & implications for geopolitics/politics of lower ability to redistribute tech rents
4. Nontradeables response to a +ve tradeable import supply shock.
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Full endorsement of this take from an FX guy. Stablecoins are best thought of as derivatives on the dollar with massive embedded counterparty risk. I don't understand why the US policy establishment thinks these things will play a big role outside cross-border payments in developing countries.
So currencies. Much medium of exchange. Very store of value.
Stablecoins are no more a replacement for dollars than Mexican or Argentine pesos were a replacement for dollars in the 1980s or 1990s. They're the equivalent of a fixed exchange rate peg with ever-present credibility/reserves questions.
Stablecoins are no more a replacement for dollars than Mexican or Argentine pesos were a replacement for dollars in the 1980s or 1990s. They're the equivalent of a fixed exchange rate peg with ever-present credibility/reserves questions.
November 26, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Full endorsement of this take from an FX guy. Stablecoins are best thought of as derivatives on the dollar with massive embedded counterparty risk. I don't understand why the US policy establishment thinks these things will play a big role outside cross-border payments in developing countries.
Next Thursday! Join us.
On December 4 at 10 am EST, I will be talking to @duncanweldon.bsky.social about Blood and Treasure (US release Jan 2026). Join us!
quincyinst.org/events/book-...
quincyinst.org/events/book-...
Book Talk: Blood and Treasure
A discussion of Duncan Weldon's new book.
quincyinst.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Next Thursday! Join us.
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Since Christmas is just around the corner, giving another nudge to this one because it's (genuinely) beautiful and a great gift
Anna’s new recipe book - Vegetable Genius - is out today and (even though I’m sure I’m biased) I think it looks amazing. Go check it out! amzn.eu/d/8LZKCFX
November 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Since Christmas is just around the corner, giving another nudge to this one because it's (genuinely) beautiful and a great gift
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Allow me to introduce you to my corpus of substacks yelling at Michael Pettis much the way Homer Simpson’s father yelled at clouds. open.substack.com/pub/sankaran...
Area Man Says "It Depends."
This is something I wrote for Most Favoured Nation, the substack of my friend, trade expert and all round good-guy, Sam Lowe.
open.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Allow me to introduce you to my corpus of substacks yelling at Michael Pettis much the way Homer Simpson’s father yelled at clouds. open.substack.com/pub/sankaran...
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
All that "post-neoliberalism" has accomplished so far is to make tradable sectors less efficient and more expensive, while doing nothing to curb the costs of non-tradable services. 🙃
November 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
All that "post-neoliberalism" has accomplished so far is to make tradable sectors less efficient and more expensive, while doing nothing to curb the costs of non-tradable services. 🙃
Please stop blaming on trade the things (or putative things like the $140k number) that are pretty much entirely the fault of America’s terrible nontradeable sectors. www.wsj.com/opinion/trum...
November 26, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Please stop blaming on trade the things (or putative things like the $140k number) that are pretty much entirely the fault of America’s terrible nontradeable sectors. www.wsj.com/opinion/trum...
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
Parties on zeppelins are a gas!
November 26, 2025 at 10:48 AM
The Nixon goes to China moment of domestic policy is a Republican president exercising the functional monopsony power of the American state in pharmaceutical pricing.
November 26, 2025 at 12:52 AM
The Nixon goes to China moment of domestic policy is a Republican president exercising the functional monopsony power of the American state in pharmaceutical pricing.
Reposted by Karthik Sankaran
In all fairness,
November 25, 2025 at 2:15 PM
In all fairness,