Critics of the free market often aim at the wrong target. They assail the market for “failures” that are actually the result of government intervention in the economy. In this week’s column, I’d like to discuss an example of this mistake in Angus Deaton’s Economics in America (Princeton, 2023). Deaton was the winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for economics, about which he says: As many previous recipients have reported, the experience is both exhilarating and...
Read More »A Nigerian Scholar Evangelizes Austrian Economics
"Econ Bro" (who wishes to remain anonymous) is a Nigerian scholar who realized the limits of his conventional economics training and then discovered the work of Murray Rothbard and other Austrians. He now seeks to help his country and the world by spreading the truth. Econ Bro's Article on The State as a Rejection of God Part 1: Mises.org/HAP420a Econ Bro's Article on The State as a Rejection of God Part 2: Mises.org/HAP420b A Nigerian Scholar...
Read More »Swiss finance minister wins 2023 obfuscation award
Every year, investigativ.ch, an association of investigative journalists, bestows an award on the public figure it deems to have exercised the lowest levels of transparency during the year. This year the award went to Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland’s minister of finance, for the secret decision making process surrounding the fire sale of the bank Credit Suisse to UBS, another Swiss bank. The arrangement was backstopped by the federal government, and ultimately...
Read More »Don’t Fall for Biden’s Latest Talking Point
President Biden claims that spending money to send weapons and ammunition around the world is good for the US economy. Original Article: Don't Fall for Biden's Latest Talking Point [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter
Read More »Swiss inflation returns in October
Consumer prices increased by 0.1% in October 2023, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. Rising prices in October represent a reversal of the 0.1% fall in September 2023. Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.comOctober’s rise in inflation kept the annual rate of inflation at 1.7%, 0.3 percentage points below the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) preferred maximum of 2% – the SNB equates price stability with a rise in the Swiss consumer...
Read More »Liberty: Stifled by the Stockholm Syndrome
“Whenever and however [government] is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers.” (emphasis added) —John Jay, “Federalist No. 2” “Like breathing, [government] is not permitted to depend on our volition. Necessity will force it on all communities in some one form or another.” —John C. Calhoun, A Disquisition on Government “But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is...
Read More »Credit Suisse wins London lawsuit over RMBS-linked notes
read aloud pause X Credit Suisse on Friday won a lawsuit at London’s High Court over the sale of $100 million (CHF90.47 million) of notes linked to residential mortgage-backed securities. Share Facebook Twitter E-mail Print Copy link Loreley Financing, a special purpose vehicle set up by German bank IKB, sued Credit Suisse over its 2007 purchase of the notes as part of a collateralised debt obligation transaction.The Jersey-registered...
Read More »Barring Upside Surprise on US Jobs, the Greenback Looks Vulnerable
Overview: The US dollar has been confined to narrow ranges today as the market awaits the October employment report. Barring a significant upside surprise, we suspect the dollar is more likely extend this week's losses. The Dollar Index is off about 0.5% this week. Within the narrow ranges, it is sporting a slightly softer profile again nearly all the G10 currencies. It is also lower against most emerging market currencies, but tight ranges dominate. Similarly,...
Read More »Weniger SNB-Zinsen: UBS entgehen wohl 135 Millionen Dollar Einnahmen
Mit der verringerten Verzinsung von Sichtguthaben bei der Schweizerischen Nationalbank (SNB) dürften der UBS Einnahmen in Höhe von 135 Millionen Dollar entgehen. Die Einbussen werden im nächsten Jahr eintreten, sobald die Entscheidung der Schweizerischen Nationalbank in Kraft tritt, so eine Einschätzung von Analysten von KBW in einer Mitteilung vom Donnerstag. Die prognostizierten Einnahmeverluste würden nur einen kleinen Teil des gesamten Nettozinsertrags der Bank...
Read More »Swiss authorities reportedly mull new rules to prevent bank runs
read aloud pause X Swiss authorities and lenders, including UBS, are discussing new measures to prevent bank runs after Credit Suisse’s last-ditch rescue earlier this year, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Share Facebook Twitter E-mail Print Copy link The talks, which have not been previously reported and are part of a broader review of the country’s banking rules, are intended for the top Swiss banks and could target...
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