Mastodawn

A vast casino
Casino capitalism taken further: speculative gambling on war and oil

* “The Western financial system is rapidly coming to resemble nothing as much as a vast casino.” >>
Strange, Susan. [1986] 1997. Casino Capitalism. Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press.
https://www.manchesterhive.com/display/9781784997212/9781784997212.xml

* "The proliferation of online betting markets like Polymarket and Kalshi has allowed bets on virtually any news event, including the Iran war."

“But many of them bear the hallmarks of suspicious trades that would naturally warrant investigation.”

“It’s a wild west phase, when we’re talking about the prediction market industry, and now it’s spilled over into the stock market as well,." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/iran-war-bets-ethics-concerns

#CasinoCapitalism #deregulation #FinancialLandscape #risks #financialisation #UnregulatedExcesses #war #oil #regulation #UnfetteredGreed #WildWest #risks #crime #InsiderKnowledge

Michael J Burgess 3d ago

Housing was meant to be shelter, not a rigged wealth machine.

This video argues that real estate has been turned into a leveraged asset class, locking younger people out, widening the gap between owners and renters, and draining capital from productive parts of the economy.

How do you fix a system where housing wealth depends on exclusion?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tB8YpsZiEo

#HousingCrisis #Affordability #WealthInequality #Financialisation

The Wealth Illusion: How Real Estate Rigged the System

YouTube

Kettu Mar 28

The great care home cash grab: how private equity turned vulnerable elderly people into human ATMs
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/28/the-great-care-home-cash-grab-how-private-equity-turned-vulnerable-elderly-people-into-human-atms?CMP=share_btn_url

#care #capitalism #privateEquity #Financialisation

The great care home cash grab: how private equity turned vulnerable elderly people into human ATMs

When did care homes come to be seen as recession-proof investments? And who pays the price?

The Guardian

BellingenNSW Feb 10

Biodiversity Conservation: Agreement Relies on Controversial Financing Approaches

"Relying on failed approaches such as REDD and biodiversity credits or advocating for the financing of forest protection through speculation on the capital market will only aggravate the biodiversity crisis."

"Controversial financing instruments have gained importance in biodiversity conservation efforts since the Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in 2022. Biodiversity certificates and nature conservation funds primarily generate their income on the capital market. But turning nature into an investment object will not stop the biodiversity crisis." >>
https://www.boell.de/en/2026/02/03/global-biodiversity-framework-agreement-relies-controversial-financing-approaches
#biodiversity #conservation #nativeForests #nature #extractivism #financialisation

Biodiversity Conservation: Agreement Relies on Controversial Financing Approaches | Heinrich Böll Stiftung

Controversial financing instruments have gained importance in biodiversity conservation efforts since the Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in 2022. But turning nature into an investment object will not stop the biodiversity crisis.

Heinrich Böll Stiftung