Ben Keys
@benkeys.bsky.social
I’m not a player I just lurk a lot. Economist and Professor of Real Estate and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School
Reposted by Ben Keys
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Ben Keys
The Founders (rightly) thought financial corruption was so concerning they banned it in the Constitution three separate times: the two emoluments clauses, and the only named impeachable offense besides treason.
Starting in 2017, America decided it just kinda didn't matter anymore, whatcha gonna do.
Starting in 2017, America decided it just kinda didn't matter anymore, whatcha gonna do.
UNREAL: Per NY Times amazing reporting today they found "Trump has used the office of the presidency to make at least $1.4 billion. We know this number to be an underestimate because some of his profits remain hidden from public view." We live in a 3rd world sh*thole! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | How Trump Has Used the Presidency to Make at Least $1.4 Billion
The president took an oath to serve the American people. Instead, he’s focused his second term on enriching himself and his family.
www.nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:20 PM
The Founders (rightly) thought financial corruption was so concerning they banned it in the Constitution three separate times: the two emoluments clauses, and the only named impeachable offense besides treason.
Starting in 2017, America decided it just kinda didn't matter anymore, whatcha gonna do.
Starting in 2017, America decided it just kinda didn't matter anymore, whatcha gonna do.
Reposted by Ben Keys
The president
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
January 18, 2026 at 5:45 PM
The president
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
Reposted by Ben Keys
excellent work by @theonion.com this month
January 18, 2026 at 12:02 AM
excellent work by @theonion.com this month
Reposted by Ben Keys
Since the $200 billion GSE announcement 10-year yields are up 6bps -- ultimately without some game-changing announcement that would cost real money, we're just not going to move the needle much on housing affordability in the short-run.
January 16, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Since the $200 billion GSE announcement 10-year yields are up 6bps -- ultimately without some game-changing announcement that would cost real money, we're just not going to move the needle much on housing affordability in the short-run.
Reposted by Ben Keys
Hey #econsky: are you a researcher who secretly prefers your side teaching gig? Or is tenure looking like a reach because you “teach too much”? Or a liberal arts prof who’d prefer a big city with a larger pool of impressive, thoughtful students? Come be a Boston College PoP! 1/x
January 15, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Hey #econsky: are you a researcher who secretly prefers your side teaching gig? Or is tenure looking like a reach because you “teach too much”? Or a liberal arts prof who’d prefer a big city with a larger pool of impressive, thoughtful students? Come be a Boston College PoP! 1/x
Reposted by Ben Keys
Policy chaos is an economic variable. When leaders threaten the Fed, fire the BLS head, impose tariffs then reverse them, and rattle sabers, no one knows tomorrow’s news. Uncertainty makes firms delay hiring/investing—and households delay big buys.
January 14, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Policy chaos is an economic variable. When leaders threaten the Fed, fire the BLS head, impose tariffs then reverse them, and rattle sabers, no one knows tomorrow’s news. Uncertainty makes firms delay hiring/investing—and households delay big buys.
Reposted by Ben Keys
Reposted by Ben Keys
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
January 13, 2026 at 5:32 PM
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
Reposted by Ben Keys
The “Trump two-step” is basically a volatility tax: float a norm-breaking threat, then maybe retreat. Even if he backs down, the fact it happened raises the perceived risk of future interference.
January 13, 2026 at 10:56 PM
The “Trump two-step” is basically a volatility tax: float a norm-breaking threat, then maybe retreat. Even if he backs down, the fact it happened raises the perceived risk of future interference.
Reposted by Ben Keys
The Church Committee's investigation into the crimes of the intelligence community is about as good a model as we have for the kind of investigation into the crimes of ICE and other agencies. This is really a must-read for understanding our own moment.
With MLK day approaching, worth reading what the official Senate investigation found about surveillance, sabotage, and blackmail as part of the FBI's "war" on Martin Luther King.
"No holds were barred. We have used [similar] techniques against Soviet agents...This is a rough, tough business."
"No holds were barred. We have used [similar] techniques against Soviet agents...This is a rough, tough business."
The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State
Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State
bookshop.org
January 11, 2026 at 6:48 PM
The Church Committee's investigation into the crimes of the intelligence community is about as good a model as we have for the kind of investigation into the crimes of ICE and other agencies. This is really a must-read for understanding our own moment.
Reposted by Ben Keys
The curse of great wealth is that slowly your money comes to own you, not vice versa. California's billionaires are demonstrating this to everyone.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/prisoners-...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/prisoners-...
Prisoners of Fortune
When your money owns you.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:03 PM
The curse of great wealth is that slowly your money comes to own you, not vice versa. California's billionaires are demonstrating this to everyone.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/prisoners-...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/prisoners-...
Reposted by Ben Keys
Janet Yellen tells @nytimes.com that the investigation against Powell is the most significant attack ever on Fed independence.
"If you can bring charges for no reason whatsoever against your enemies, we're no longer living in a society governed by the rule of law."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...
"If you can bring charges for no reason whatsoever against your enemies, we're no longer living in a society governed by the rule of law."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...
Fed Changes Course and Takes On Trump’s Political Fight
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Janet Yellen tells @nytimes.com that the investigation against Powell is the most significant attack ever on Fed independence.
"If you can bring charges for no reason whatsoever against your enemies, we're no longer living in a society governed by the rule of law."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...
"If you can bring charges for no reason whatsoever against your enemies, we're no longer living in a society governed by the rule of law."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...
Reposted by Ben Keys
Attempting to criminalize the actions of an independent public servant, Fed Chair Jay Powell, for the sin of acting independently is an outrage. It's bad economics, bad politics, bad for the rule of law, bad for the public sector, bad for American credibility and bad for Americans.
January 12, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Attempting to criminalize the actions of an independent public servant, Fed Chair Jay Powell, for the sin of acting independently is an outrage. It's bad economics, bad politics, bad for the rule of law, bad for the public sector, bad for American credibility and bad for Americans.
Reposted by Ben Keys
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
YouTube video by Federal Reserve
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Reposted by Ben Keys
If you overlay Alex Bregman's 2025 spray chart atop Wrigley Field, you see that not only would Wrigley Field not have hurt him, it may actually have helped his power to the left-center alley.
January 11, 2026 at 10:36 PM
If you overlay Alex Bregman's 2025 spray chart atop Wrigley Field, you see that not only would Wrigley Field not have hurt him, it may actually have helped his power to the left-center alley.
Reposted by Ben Keys
Steve Kerr on the murder of Renee Good:
"It's shameful that the government can come out and lie about what happened when there's video and witnesses who have all come out and disputed what the government is saying."
"It's shameful that the government can come out and lie about what happened when there's video and witnesses who have all come out and disputed what the government is saying."
January 10, 2026 at 4:18 AM
Steve Kerr on the murder of Renee Good:
"It's shameful that the government can come out and lie about what happened when there's video and witnesses who have all come out and disputed what the government is saying."
"It's shameful that the government can come out and lie about what happened when there's video and witnesses who have all come out and disputed what the government is saying."
Reposted by Ben Keys
Doc Rivers: "What happened in Minnesota was a straight-up murder"
January 10, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Doc Rivers: "What happened in Minnesota was a straight-up murder"
Reposted by Ben Keys
Reposted by Ben Keys
There are several good leading indicators for the economy including housing starts, new home sales, the yield curve, heavy truck sales ... unemployment (Sahm rule) is more coincident as are weekly claims.
However we can't be a slave to any indicator ... but this collapse is ... uh, interesting.
However we can't be a slave to any indicator ... but this collapse is ... uh, interesting.
Heavy Truck Sales Collapsed in Q4; Down 32.5% Year-over-year in December
www.calculatedriskblog.com/2026/01/heav...
www.calculatedriskblog.com/2026/01/heav...
Heavy Truck Sales Collapsed in Q4; Down 32.5% Year-over-year in December
This graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the December 2025 seasonally adjusted annual sales...
www.calculatedriskblog.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:12 AM
There are several good leading indicators for the economy including housing starts, new home sales, the yield curve, heavy truck sales ... unemployment (Sahm rule) is more coincident as are weekly claims.
However we can't be a slave to any indicator ... but this collapse is ... uh, interesting.
However we can't be a slave to any indicator ... but this collapse is ... uh, interesting.
Reposted by Ben Keys
Discussing the distinctive concerns of household finance in relation to other fields of financial economics, and outlining directions for the future growth of the field, from John Y. Campbell and Tarun Ramadorai www.nber.org/papers/w34621
January 6, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Discussing the distinctive concerns of household finance in relation to other fields of financial economics, and outlining directions for the future growth of the field, from John Y. Campbell and Tarun Ramadorai www.nber.org/papers/w34621
New year, new op-ed from me and Vincent Reina on the need for aggressive multifaceted action to address the housing affordability crisis:
It’s not simply a zoning story!
thehill.com/opinion/fina...
It’s not simply a zoning story!
thehill.com/opinion/fina...
Don’t let this housing crisis go to waste
Overly restrictive zoning, cautious lending and anti-development politics created a long freeze in housing production.
thehill.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:39 PM
New year, new op-ed from me and Vincent Reina on the need for aggressive multifaceted action to address the housing affordability crisis:
It’s not simply a zoning story!
thehill.com/opinion/fina...
It’s not simply a zoning story!
thehill.com/opinion/fina...
Reposted by Ben Keys
These are 10 of my favourite #UrbanEconomics & #SpatialEconomics articles published in academic journals in 2025, continuing with a tradition started in 2018 (order is alphabetical by first author, no ranking implied):
January 2, 2026 at 12:30 PM
These are 10 of my favourite #UrbanEconomics & #SpatialEconomics articles published in academic journals in 2025, continuing with a tradition started in 2018 (order is alphabetical by first author, no ranking implied):
Reposted by Ben Keys
Heading to Philadelphia for the #ASSA2026. Presenting research you think our readers would be interested in? Working on something you think I should know about? Reach out here or by any of the ways linked in my bio: www.nytimes.com/by/ben-casse... #EconSky
Ben Casselman
Ben Casselman is the chief economics correspondent for The Times. He has reported on the economy for nearly 20 years.
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Heading to Philadelphia for the #ASSA2026. Presenting research you think our readers would be interested in? Working on something you think I should know about? Reach out here or by any of the ways linked in my bio: www.nytimes.com/by/ben-casse... #EconSky