SNB & CHF

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

According to progressive elites, it is terrorism if consumers boycott businesses because of their leftist policies. Original Article: "Is Boycotting Target a Legitimate Protest or an Act of Terrorism?" [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

The US and China report July CPI figures in the coming days and they are likely moving in opposite directions. Headline US CPI is likely to rise for the first time since peaking in June 2022. China's CPI has been slowing and is likely to go negative on a year-over-year basis. It finished last year at 1.8% and in June was unchanged year-over-year. The divergence of policy is what is driving force of the exchange rate, and the    question is not really so much why the...

In this week's episode, Mark reviews what people have said about Fitch's downgrade of US government debt. Mark sees it as a good thing, but not good enough. The "minor issue" in the latest debt ceiling agreement is ignored by the mainstream media: politicians suspended the debt ceiling into 2025, rather than raising it to some arbitrary, higher figure. Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues. [embedded content]...

Why have central banks settled on a 2 percent price inflation target? Project Syndicate asked four economists about this target and whether it is still appropriate. I’ll summarize their answers and then consider Mises’s position on “stabilization policy.” Four Economists’ Answers to “Is 2 Percent Really the Right Inflation Target for Central Banks?” Michael Boskin, Stanford University professor, Hoover Institution senior fellow, and former chair of the Council of...

Yet again, the government destroyed a business partnership that not only promised but actively delivered benefits to consumers. The Northeast Alliance (NEA), a partnership between airline companies JetBlue and American Airlines, was ruled against in federal court after a battle with the Department of Justice (DOJ). Like the rulings of cases that came before it, this antitrust action is void of common sense. The NEA clearly does not establish a monopoly. JetBlue makes...

As Fed staffers no longer predict an impending recession, economists on social media are all assuring themselves that Americans are in store for a "soft landing." Mises Fellow Jonathan Newman joins Bob to explain why the data still support the case for recession and point out the eerie similarity to the calm before the storm in 2008. Robert Lucas' Nobel Prize Winning Lecture: Mises.org/HAP407a Bob's Eerie Article from 2007 on the Recession: Mises.org/HAP407b...

On November 15, 2021, almost twenty-one months ago, I once again had the rare and delightful opportunity to have a conversation with Prince Michael of Liechtenstein. His insights, especially with his directness and unequivocal honesty, have frequently provided me with a lot of food for thought in the past. This interview was no different. His candid and unfiltered responses to a wide variety of questions and topics made this conversation as illuminating as it was...