SNB & CHF

“Governments create money all the time. We do that for war.” “This whole notion that you run government like you run a household…is a complete myth”Economist Prof Mariana Mazzucato tells #Newsnight Government’s should address social issues through taxhttps://t.co/P0zxS1DNGF pic.twitter.com/I6NLtXgDqN— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) March 6, 2023This is the argument for more money printing, and perhaps unlimited money printing, recently advanced by Professor Mariana...

What if America’s elite told the truth? It seems a ridiculous question to ask. It’s obvious to most of us here that our politicians, bureaucratic managers, and state-associated business leaders hardly ever tell the truth. What use is it for us to ask, “What if?” There seems to be a considerable amount of social pressure urging us to abandon our better judgment, not for the sake of reason, but for cooperation. If we don’t, the uncritical mob will label us “conspiracy...

The answer lies not in doubling down on political unity, maintained through endless violence or threats of violence. Rather, the answer lies in peaceful separation.  Original Article: "Secession Is Inevitable. War to Prevent It Is Optional." This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.  [embedded content]...

From March 17, 2022, to the end of January 2023, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) increased its federal funds rate from practically zero to 4.50–4.75 percent. The rise in lending rates came in response to skyrocketing consumer goods price inflation: US inflation rose from 2.5 percent in January 2022 to 9.1 percent in June. Notwithstanding inflation falling to 6.4 percent in January 2023, the Fed continues to signal to markets that it will continue to hike rates to bring...

Overview:  Federal Reserve Chair Powell's comments to the Senate Banking Committee were seen as hawkish by the market, even though it has been clear to most observers that the 5.10% median terminal rate that the Fed projected in December would be increased. Also, it seemed well appreciated a few Fed officials support a 50 bp hike at the February 1 FOMC meeting, two days before a "hot" jobs report that showed over 500k jobs were filled. It would just seem to go...

Zurich has less-demanding requirements over the transparency of company audits © Keystone / Walter Bieri Chinese companies are flocking to Switzerland to raise capital after being discouraged from listing in the US by geopolitical tensions and in Britain by tougher audit standards. Nine Chinese companies floated in Zurich last year, raising $3.2 billion (CHF3 billion) in the European country, according to SIX, the operator of the Swiss stock market. That far...

Swiss National Bank Chair Jordan threatened FX intervention! A couple of posts from Tuesday ICYMI while Powell was hogging the spotlight: ECB Knot: ECB can be expected to keep raising rates for quite some time after March ECB can be expected to keep raising rates for quite some time after March And, SNB Chairman: We cannot rule out that we will have to tighten monetary policy again We can use interest rates but also sell foreign currencies to get the right monetary...

On Friday, residential real estate brokerage firm Redfin released new data on home prices, showing that prices fell 0.6 percent in February, year over year. According to Redfin's numbers, this was the first time that home prices actually fell since 2012. The year-over-year drop was pulled down by especially large declines in five markets: Austin (-11%), San Jose, California (-10.9%), Oakland (-10.4%), Sacramento (-7.7%), and Phoenix (-7.3%). According to Redfin, the...

Neo-Calvinist economic thought claims that prices and private property cause scarcity. However, they provide no methodology for their claims. Original Article: "Making Nonsense from Sense: Debunking Neo-Calvinist Economic Thought" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.  [embedded content]...

The unencumbered realist concludes that there are no solutions within a status quo structure that is itself the problem. Realists who question received wisdom and conclude the status quo is untenable are quickly labeled pessimistsbecause the zeitgeist expects a solution is always at hand–preferably a technocratic one that requires zero sacrifice and doesn’t upset the status quo apple cart. Realists ask “what if” without selecting the “solution” first. The...