SNB & CHF

Progressives claim that perhaps individual freedom might be appropriate for a simpler society but that as society grows more complex, the need for government grows. As Leonard Read pointed out, however, greater complexity requires greater freedom, not less. Original Article: The More Complex the Society, The Less Government Control We Need [embedded content]...

As the year winds down, the global economy appears to be entering a new phase. While North American and European central bankers swear that they are prepared to respond to new threats to price stability, the markets demur. Indicative pricing in the derivatives markets reflects the general conclusion that the central banks have most likely completed the post-Covid monetary tightening cycle. Central bankers are pushing against a premature easing of financial...

In this week's episode, Mark looks at "All-Time Highs" in such things as stocks, real estate, and stock indexes. Housing prices hit an all-time high this week, and gold is not far behind. While all-time highs—or even "new highs"—are unambiguously good for owners of these assets, it is much more ambiguous as a signal about the future. Gold might be an exception to this rule, as Mark explains. Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues. Get your...

In 1982, I had the privilege of touring East Berlin with Murray Rothbard and other delegates from the Mont Pelerin Society. At the time, the Western press heaped praise on East Germany for what progressives believed to be the many accomplishments of communism’s most celebrated regime. Unlike the more capitalistic West Berlin, East Berlin had an administered socialist economy complete with free healthcare. East Germany was proof that socialism could not only build...

Ever wonder if you were living in the Dystopian States of America? Senator Rand Paul’s Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up, published October 10, 2023, does not disarm those haunting feelings. This book is not for those who wish to place everything we have learned during the covid-19 control program in a memory hole. To the contrary, Paul is encouraging those who would pursue the truth to join him in confronting the difficult questions this period raises, including...

The monumental fiscal and monetary hole that Peronists Massa and Fernández have left for Javier Milei is difficult to replicate. Ex-president Mauricio Macri himself explained that the inheritance Milei receives is “worse” than the one he found from Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Peronism leaves a country in ruins and with a massive time bomb for the next administration. The enormous economic problems of Argentina start with a primary fiscal deficit of 3% of GDP and...

According to a Brown University professor, ExxonMobil threatens our democratic republic by purchasing another company. The totalitarian woke atmosphere in American higher education is the real threat. Original Article: Is ExxonMobil's Acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources a "Threat to Democracy"? [embedded content]...

Austria is one part of the name “Austrian economics.” How has the country of Austria prospered by applying Austrian economic concepts? The nation regained full sovereignty in 1955. Their form of government is a parliamentary coalition with a prime minister as head of state and a ceremonial office of president. How would Ludwig von Mises view Austria today implementing Austrian economics? He would not recognize the country he fled in 1934 ahead of the German war...

How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policyby John J. Mearsheimer and Sebastian RosatoYale University Press, 2023; 304 pp. How States Think surprised me. John Mearsheimer is a well-known critic of American foreign policy, and his analysis of the Ukraine war has been deservedly influential. As result, I anticipated that this book would expand his critique. The book does contain some critical discussion of American foreign policy, but, for the most part, the...

Fabrizio Carboni, the Regional Director of the Middle East section of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), explains how the organisation's neutrality was vital in building up trust with Isreal and Hamas to facilitate hostage releases. For more on this story, visit http://www.swissinfo.ch --- 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....