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Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

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Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#11

Post by aucls »

skwee357 wrote: post #4
aucls wrote: post #3

Most news websites try to get more access to click bait or sell the most "hot" info via subscriptions. To get more knowledge in world economics in economics/finance in general i suggest to look for videos/books that explain the economy in the past and the rational behind it.

Thanks! I am, however, looking at something more up to date. Like an analysis of recent events, why the market is down and etc. Do you have a specific youtube channel you recommend?

I suggest events in the past because you can learn and start to understand the present for your own. Nobody can predict the future, i really like the books from Taleb, he also has a youtube channel

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#12

Post by [deleted] »

skwee357 wrote: post #5
__d wrote: post #2

The Economist might be a good starting point? https://www.economist.com/ For a narrower focus, the Wall Street Journal (New York) and the Financial Times (London) are probably the primary English-language sources for financial news.

Thanks, this is however more "mainstream" and more adjusted to the masses. I'm looking for something deeper with analysis, rather than click-bait titles.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#13

Post by chewz »

altdataseller wrote: post #9

Whats your purpose? If you want to gain an academic understanding, then mises.org is a good resource(though some ppl are against it) If you want to make money from stocks, then understanding economics will not help you, sorry to say

Actually understanding economics might be very helpful in making money... In a way that is straightforward, accessible to everyone and also eliminates certain investment risks...

> Global macro strategies as a group have historically done well during periods of market crises. In each of the three largest peak-to-trough drawdowns of the S&P 500 since 1998, macro was the best or second best performing sub-strategy of the HFRI Index. [1]

[1] https://thehedgefundjournal.com/macro-investing/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_macro

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#14

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

Whats the joke? If you spend 13 minutes learning about macro/world economics you've wasted 10 minutes of your time.

Its a "system" that includes human behavior so it can't be reduced down into logical workflows with known inputs and outputs like any good engineer would like to break it down into.

I think your best bet is reading historical information about various cycles. Anything currently published will be suspect because of wanting clicks/subscribers/views (even independent sources rely on subscriptions/ads) or, at least in my eyes, will be suspect because the Internet is the best mis-information distribution system humans have ever seen.

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#15

Post by lucozade »

altdataseller wrote: post #9

Whats your purpose? If you want to gain an academic understanding, then mises.org is a good resource(though some ppl are against it) If you want to make money from stocks, then understanding economics will not help you, sorry to say

> What's your purpose?

This is the key question. If you want to understand the mechanics of the economic and financial world at a macro level then I would strongly recommend, as a primer, looking at the explainers on the Bank of England website. And for more in depth stuff, the Federal Reserve website has links to a number of academic papers that cover quite broad topics.

I would expect that that, between them, there should be enough material so that you can start to more in depth studies using the appropriate terminology.

I noticed elsewhere you discounted The Economist, FT and WSJ. You really shouldn't. They all have very good articles that cover topics you won't see or are glossed over in more generalist media. They definitely have biases but in my experience (and I know a fair bit about finance particularly) the factual side tends to be pretty solid ie their journalists are knowledgeable.

I would also recommend Matt Levine's columns in Bloomberg.

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#16

Post by mymllnthaccount »

skwee357 wrote: post #5
__d wrote: post #2

The Economist might be a good starting point? https://www.economist.com/ For a narrower focus, the Wall Street Journal (New York) and the Financial Times (London) are probably the primary English-language sources for financial news.

Thanks, this is however more "mainstream" and more adjusted to the masses. I'm looking for something deeper with analysis, rather than click-bait titles.

You really should try reading the economist for several weeks. They are pretty dry (not sensational) and filled with analysis. They also do a much better job than most American mainstream publications about giving space/content to the rest of the world. It's a pretty dense magazine and I don't think the "masses" read it.

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#18

Post by dgb23 »

Maybe slightly off topic, but economics have philosophical underpinnings that are worth studying.

A a very rough, very incomplete chronological list: Smith, Marx, Keynes, Friedman, Hayek, Piketty.

Big Thinkers have thought deeply and thoroughly about this topic and have a surprisingly strong influence on what happens in the grand scheme of things. They have conflicting ideas and political stances. But still, you'll find quite a bit of truth in what they say, because you can literally observe some of their predictions, but you have to kind of mix and match them.

Both economics and finance are still Black Arts in my opinion. You'll find a ton of math and studies but it is all very much mixed with politics, paradigms, huge assumptions and inconsistency. It is an incredibly complex subject matter, and there are quite a few people who want to make us believe that they've figured it out, but in essence it is all about social interactions and any model that tries to boil human behavior down to something simple, rational and well understood is doomed.

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#19

Post by altdataseller »

methusala8 wrote: post #10
altdataseller wrote: post #9

Whats your purpose? If you want to gain an academic understanding, then mises.org is a good resource(though some ppl are against it) If you want to make money from stocks, then understanding economics will not help you, sorry to say

If one wants to make money, what would you suggest as you said economics won't help?

Just put your money into an index fund? If you think you have an edge, go ahead and trade, but I don't think any "special" knowledge will help.

Re: Ask HN: I have no idea about world economics. How I can fix that?

#20

Post by atmosx »

skwee357 wrote: post #5
__d wrote: post #2

The Economist might be a good starting point? https://www.economist.com/ For a narrower focus, the Wall Street Journal (New York) and the Financial Times (London) are probably the primary English-language sources for financial news.

Thanks, this is however more "mainstream" and more adjusted to the masses. I'm looking for something deeper with analysis, rather than click-bait titles.

The problem with the economist is not lack of analysis. The problem a very skewed-Americanized world-view. Assuming you are able to reckon that part, the Econ has sections about EU, Asia and Africa and the special reports are awesome (most times). Definitely read the economist if you care about current affairs.

I would propose Varoufakis books, especially “talking to my daughter about the economy”, “the global Minotaur” and “adults in the room”. The latest “another now” is a bit more advanced and the next one that’s coming out about the new status quo is also interesting.

Another way to learn a lot is to read columns in major, mainstream, journals like NYC - Krugman’s column is really good - the FT, etc.

Keep in mind that you will have many “???” Moments when authors will be alluding or assuming the high inflation and low unemployment rate lead to recession, etc. jump to investopedia an try to connect the dots… this process will make you an expert eventually.

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