SNB & CHF

“Work or starve” is a common argument used against free-market capitalism. Proponents of the “work or starve” argument argue that capitalism forces one to work or be forced with the prospect of starvation or destitution. This is a mistaken approach since “work or starve” is not a feature of capitalism but rather of the world we live in. By conflating positive rights with negative rights, a perverted type of justice is imagined.We know that humans must...

One of the most familiar terms heard or read today is “social justice.” Ironically, “social justice” is anything but justice. It basically represents double standards, inequality, partiality, prejudice, racism, selectivity, and subjectivity. It has to be one of modernity’s cleverest and most subtle paradoxes.Perhaps the best way to expose it as a paradox is by revealing what genuine and true justice demands when applied evenly and honestly to all people. True justice...

A Swiss tourism boss reveals how the industry reacted when a Netflix series attracted hoards of Asian visitors to a small lakeside village in canton Bern. #netflixseries #tourism #swiss #suisse #nature --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel:...

The term “smart city” conjures images of futuristic utopias where technology seamlessly enhances our daily lives. Traffic flows like a symphony, garbage trucks only show up when needed, and potholes fill themselves while apologizing for the inconvenience. But peel back the glossy veneer, and you’ll find that these so-called smart initiatives are often just a new way to nickel-and-dime residents. Let’s take a tour through the cityscape of this digital pickpocketing.A...

The market always seems to teach retail investors a lesson. Bloomberg reported leveraged EFTs such as The Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bull 3x Shares (ticker SOXL), which delivers triple the daily move of the NYSE Semiconductor Index, took in a record 1.5 billion last week, only to drop “15% Wednesday to extend a 37% loss in the past 14 days.”“The $23 billion ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) and the $4 billion ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 (UPRO) fell nearly 7% and...

Robert Reich recently asserted that “free markets” aren’t neutral or free, are actually shaped by those who wield power. Reich believes that government powers have been subverted by private interests- this part of his analysis is actually true in many cases. Reich hopes for some sort of miracle whereby countervailing government powers will work in the public interest to suppress greedy monopolists- this part of his analysis is delusional and...

Overview: The capital markets are in flux. The powerful short-covering rally of the yen and unwinding of carry trades continues. For the second time this week, the PBOC has surprised by cutting interest rates. The dramatic sell-off of equities continues. The unexpected contraction of South Korea's Q2 GSP (-0.2%) is seen as confirmation of broader economic weakness Speculation of a more aggressive Federal Reserve is gaining ground. It is not that the odds of a cut...

UBS took over former rival Credit Suisse after the collapse of the latter in March 2023. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott UBS Group AG was asked by a powerful US lawmaker about whether the bank it acquired, Credit Suisse Group AG, failed to report an American accused of evading taxes on $350 million (CHF307 million) in income. Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, asked in a letter whether Credit Suisse told US tax authorities about...

 In a mere 11 minutes on Wednesday night, President Biden settled any doubts about whether he was fit for another four years of the presidency. Uncle Joe wrestled with the teleprompter like a slacker high school boy blindsided by trigonometry questions on the math SAT test. By the end of the Bidens brief spiel, most judges declared that the teleprompter had won by technical knockout.A few weeks ago, Biden declared that it would take “the Lord Almighty” to get him to...

[Editor’s note:  The article below is adapted from a lengthy 1954 memo by Rothbard which is written largely as a review of George B. DeHuszar and Thomas Hulbert Stevenson’s A History of the American Republic. The memo was republished in 2010 by the Mises Institute as part of Strictly Confidential: The Private Volker Fund Memos of Murray N. Rothbard, edited by David Gordon. Rothbard here provides a concise and razor-sharp analysis of how the Mexican-American war and...