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Felix Salmon (born 1972) is a financial journalist, formerly of ''
Portfolio Magazine ''Portfolio Magazine'', also known as ''Portfolio, The Magazine of the Fine Arts'', was published bimonthly from 1979 to 1983 by Portfolio Associates of New York City. The editor and publisher was Edwin S. Grosvenor, who went on to edit ''Ameri ...
'' and ''
Euromoney ''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc. History and profile ''Euromoney'' was first published in 19 ...
'' and a former finance blogger for
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
, where he analyzed economic and occasionally social issues in addition to financial commentary. In April 2014, Salmon left Reuters for a digital role at
Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
. In 2018, he joined
Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...
as chief financial correspondent. Salmon also wrote a ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'' cover story on the
Gaussian copula In probability theory and statistics, a copula is a multivariate cumulative distribution function for which the marginal probability distribution of each variable is uniform on the interval  , 1 Copulas are used to describe/model the de ...
, and has hosted ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' Money podcast since 2014.


Early life

Salmon's ancestors include
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s who bore the surname
Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
before it was
anglicize Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...
d as Salmon. Salmon is a member of the
Salmon & Gluckstein Salmon & Gluckstein were a British tobacconist. Founded in London in 1873 by Samuel Gluckstein and Barnett Salmon (1829–1897), they pursued an aggressive expansion to become the largest tobacco sellers in the UK, with over 140 retail outlets. ...
families who ran the Lyons teahouse and bakery chain in Britain. Salmon has an MA in art history from the
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
along with an Honours background in mathematics. He moved to the United States from the United Kingdom in 1997.


Career


Journalism

He began blogging in 1999 for the wire service ''Bridge News'' and later worked for economist
Nouriel Roubini Nouriel Roubini (born March 9 1958) is a Turkish-born Iranian-American economist. He is Professor Emeritus (2021–present) and was Professor of Economics (1995–2021) at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and also chairman of Ro ...
. The
American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...
presented Salmon with the 2010 Excellence in Statistical Reporting Award "for his body of work, which exemplifies the highest standards of scientific reporting. His insightful use of statistics as a tool to understanding the world of business and economics, areas that are critical in today's economy, sets a new standard in statistical investigative reporting." Salmon published an article in ''Wired'' magazine on 27 December 2010 explaining
high-frequency trading High-frequency trading (HFT) is a type of algorithmic financial trading characterized by high speeds, high turnover rates, and high order-to-trade ratios that leverages high-frequency financial data and electronic trading tools. While there is no ...
on
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
. This was followed by an interview on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
; the program aired on 13 January 2011. In September 2011, Salmon and Ryan McCarthy started "Counterparties," described as "essentially a link blog for financial news and commentary, offering a curated look at the moment’s big stories. His work for Reuters earned him the 2012 Gerald Loeb Award for Blogging. Since May 10, 2014, Salmon has been the host of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' magazine's weekly Money podcast along with regular ''Slate'' financial columnist Jordan Weissmann and financial blogger
Cathy O'Neil Catherine ("Cathy") Helen O'Neil is an American mathematician, data scientist, and author. She is the author of the ''New York Times'' best-seller '' Weapons of Math Destruction'', and opinion columns in Bloomberg View. O'Neil was active in th ...
, who left the program in 2017 and was replaced by Anna Szymanski, a former emerging markets risk analyst. In 2014, Salmon also joined
Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
, a combined TV channel / digital media outlet aimed at millennials and backed by Univision and Disney. Fusion was loosely managed and somewhat chaotic; Salmon produced "as far as anyone could tell, nothing in particular" in his time there. In 2016, Salmon's salary at Fusion was reported to be $400,000 after a clerical error at Fusion leaked it. He left Fusion in January 2018. In 2018, Salmon began a weekly column for Axios called "Axios Edge" described as having “a focus on market trends, business, and economics”.


Economic and financial commentary

After the 2007–2008 global financial crisis was well under way, Salmon argued that the CDO market could theoretically suffer a crisis as a result of
subprime mortgage In finance, subprime lending (also referred to as near-prime, subpar, non-prime, and second-chance lending) is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subpri ...
defaults cascading into defaults in the senior
tranche In structured finance, a tranche is one of a number of related securities offered as part of the same transaction. In the financial sense of the word, each bond is a different slice of the deal's risk. Transaction documentation (see indenture) u ...
s of a CDO, and that such an occurrence could then result in a freeze in the credit markets. However, he denied that this eventuality could be predicted through
a priori ("from the earlier") and ("from the later") are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience. knowledge is independent from current ex ...
methods. Salmon emphasizes financial
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
, oversized financial conglomerates, excessive faith in financial models and efficiency of markets as well as regulatory incompetence as being major contributors to the
global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...
and the ensuing
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
. Salmon's views on what economic policy the government should take in order to solve the jobs crisis are ideologically in-line with those of the Keynesian resurgence. Specifically, he is an advocate of further stimulus spending by the federal government, arguing that America's economic institutions have failed to respond effectively to the crisis, and that the benefits of improving America's infrastructure and hiring public workers far outweigh the federal government's low borrowing costs during the period of the
Eurozone debt crisis The European debt crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis or the European sovereign debt crisis, is a multi-year debt crisis that took place in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until the mid to late 2010s. Several eurozone membe ...
. Salmon has argued that there is no regulatory solution that is capable of dealing with the risks to society posed by the
too-big-to-fail "Too big to fail" (TBTF) and "too big to jail" is a theory in banking and finance that asserts that certain corporations, particularly financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the great ...
banking conglomerates and extremely complex financial innovations of the modern market. Rather, he argues that real reform requires that the "financial behemoths" be broken up into much smaller pieces in order to reduce the incentive for – and ability of – financial institutions to "fraudulently game the system." However, he does not expect that this will occur anytime soon. As Japan copes with the aftermath of the earthquake in Tōhoku, he encouraged people not to donate money to single-emergency or
developing country A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
-based NGOs because of perceived logistical issues during the 2010 Haiti relief efforts, instead arguing that
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...
,
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
, the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
and public-sector solutions would be more effective. His commentary on the long-running sovereign debt dispute between
Elliott Management Corporation Elliott Investment Management is an American investment management firm. It is also one of the largest activist funds in the world. It is the management affiliate of American hedge funds Elliott Associates L.P. and Elliott International Limit ...
and the government of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
was featured on a 2014 episode of
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in April 2014 on HBO. ''Last Wee ...
. In 2021, Salmon published an article alleging that $400 billion in unemployment benefits had been fraudulently claimed during the COVID-19 pandemic, a claim provided only by a fraud prevention service company that contracts with state governments to prevent such fraud. A wide variety of journalists and commenters criticized Salmon for a lack of journalistic ethics and rigor for publishing such a bold and uncorroborated claim.


References


External links


FelixSalmon.comFelix Salmon's blog at Reuters
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, Felix Alumni of the University of Glasgow Living people British business and financial journalists British emigrants to the United States American people of British-Jewish descent 1972 births Gerald Loeb Award winners for News Service, Online, and Blogging