SNB & CHF

Overview: The combination of falling Chinese imports and exports, Moody's downgrade of ten US small and medium-sized banks is serving to squash risk appetites. Equities are weak, but bond markets are strong despite the surprise tax on Italian banks announced yesterday and the kick-off of the US $103 bln refunding today. Outside of Japan and Australia, Asia Pacific equity markets were lower led by a 1.8% drop in the Hang Seng and a nearly 2.2% loss of the mainland...

Texas is not the only US state to have deregulated electricity. The states of Delaware, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire have several deregulated electricity zones as well. However, there are significantly more deregulated electricity sectors in Texas than in any other state. As per official reports, more than 26 million residents of the state live in 400+ deregulated zones, accounting for roughly 87% of the total state population. Therefore,...

Celebrating individual and team successes and encouraging team bonding are among the best ways of improving workplace culture. Employees who feel appreciated regardless of the team they are in are more likely to be highly productive, ensure their team succeeds, and be more motivated and energetic in the workplace. Here are a few ways your business can celebrate successes, make employees feel appreciated, and elevate company culture. Celebrate Milestones and...

Government statistics on inflation in the food sector have failed to account for skimpflation and shrinkflation. Original Article: "Shrinkflation and Skimpflation Are Eating Our Lunch" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

United States military conscription, or the draft, ended on January 27, 1973, with the winding down of the Vietnam War. The draft law was due to expire at the end of June 1971. But US President Richard Nixon decided it needed to continue and asked Congress to approve a two-year extension. In March 1973, 1974, and 1975, the Selective Service assigned draft priority numbers for all men born in 1954, 1955, and 1956, in case the draft was extended—but it never was. Nixon...

Trump is essentially being prosecuted for questioning the outcome of an election, and federal paranoia about protecting its own aura of legitimacy is entering a new highly aggressive phase.  Original Article: "The United States vs. Donald J. Trump" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

One of Ludwig von Mises’s important contributions to economics was demonstrating the impossibility of economic calculation under socialism. He did it by showing three necessary preconditions for the generation of meaningful market prices in the factors of production—private property, freedom of exchange, and sound money. Since socialism would, by definition, socialize the factors of production, there would be no nonarbitrary and meaningful way to calculate the prices...

Overview: The US dollar is recovering today after it was sold following the jobs report before the weekend. It is enjoying a firmer bias against nearly all the G10 currencies. The dollar-bloc is faring best, while the Scandis are off close to 0.5%. Most emerging market currencies are also softer, with only a few Asian currencies edging higher today, including the South Korean won, Indian rupee, and Taiwanese dollar. With a stronger dollar and firmer interest rates,...

David Gordon take a critical look at Markus Gabriel's Moral Progress in Dark Times, and although he finds parts that are disturbing, he also discovers important areas of agreement. Original Article: "Outside the Universe?" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

President Biden makes the false claim that wind- and solar-generated electricity are cheaper than power generated from coal and oil. Original Article: "Wind and Solar Are NOT Cheaper than Coal and Oil" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter