mid the blizzard of election news last November, two writers at the nonprofit news organization ProPublica came out with a startling investigative report. Jesse Eisinger and Justin Elliott wrote about a small but very wealthy group of American economists who make millions of dollars helping companies deal with the federal government on antitrust cases. They focused on Dennis Carlton, …

  About a year ago, I wrote a couple of columns examining the data available in the industries responsible for moving goods from A to B. “Shipping News Says World Economy Is Toast,” was my dour conclusion. Today, however, many of those indicators are pointing to a much brighter outlook for the global economy, suggesting that reflation has indeed replaced …

  The advent of big data was supposed to usher in a more precise and rational world. Instead, it might be leading us into the swamp of “alternative facts.” Data may not lie, but they can be interpreted in ways that have the same effect. Consider President Donald Trump’s persistent claim that millions voted fraudulently in the 2016 election. In …