SNB & CHF

Human Rights: Fact or Fancy?by Henry B. VeatchLSU Press, 1985; xii + 258 pp. Henry Veatch was one of the foremost philosophers of the twentieth century, though sadly neglected by most contemporary analytic philosophers. He was a resolute defender of Aristotelian ethics against rival ethical systems, and in this week’s column, I’d like to look at an argument which he deploys against these rivals in his book Human Rights: Fact or Fancy? The argument is this. A system...

At Wealthion, we talked about the current state of copper mining and how it has changed over time. It mentions that boulders are no longer being mined and instead weaker dilute grades of copper are being targeted. TExtracting copper has become more expensive and difficult compared to the past. The Canyon Mine in Utah is used as an example of this. Two drivers of growth in the last 40 years: financialization and globalization. Financialization refers to the increasing importance of financial...

There are millions of empty apartments in China that developers and investors are buying as a way to store their wealth, which has disconnected the housing market from the needs of ordinary people. This is a result of entrenched legacy systems that make it difficult to make changes, even if they would benefit the country as a whole. China needs to break free from these systems to create a more sustainable and equitable future. Watch more of this short video from Turmoil Ahead As We Enter...

Opponents of secession say secession is wrong if some people in the population don't want it and say they will be worse off. The American revolutionaries disagreed and seceded anyway. Original Article: "Secession: Should the American Revolutionaries Have Quit to Appease the Loyalists?" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.  [embedded content]...

The largest urban mass-transit systems across the US are entering an all too familiar point in their long history: another looming financial disaster caused by financial mismanagement and the consequences of covid. No urban transit system exemplifies this problem more than the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York. Ridership in New York has not rebounded to precovid levels, and the MTA is projected to have a funding gap of $1.6 billion in 2026...

Overview: Talk from two Fed officials yesterday, which seemed to validate market expectations eased the upward pressure on the dollar and helped equities launch a dramatic recovery. The market is pricing in a terminal rate near 5.50%, a little higher than the median dot in December. The S&P 500 posted a dramatic recover and posted a potential bullish key reversal. Its 0.75% closing gain was the largest advance in nearly three weeks. A large drop in Tokyo's...

We are currently in the midst of a significant and complicated transition from one era to another. This transition is characterized by confusion and complexity because there are people who are benefiting from the current system and they will resist any change. Meanwhile, there are also forces of adaptation and evolution that are working to determine the best way forward. Watch more of this short video from Turmoil Ahead As We Enter The New Era Of 'Scarcity' | Charles Hugh Smith...

People are innovative—if government doesn't get in the way. Entrepreneurs in developing countries find alternatives for people cut off from commercial banking services. Original Article: "Poor People in Developing Countries Find Alternatives to Commercial Banking" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon.  [embedded content]...

[Excerpt from chapter 7 of Power and Market in Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market, pp. 1308–12.] Probably the most common ethical criticism of the market economy is that it fails to achieve the goal of equality. Equality has been championed on various “economic” grounds, such as minimum social sacrifice or the diminishing marginal utility of money (see the chapter on taxation above). But in recent years economists have recognized that they cannot justify...

Over one hundred years ago, Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises discovered what causes the boom-bust business cycle. As Mises explained, the boom is caused by central and commercial banks creating money out of thin air. This lowers interest rates, which encourages businesses to borrow this newly created money to fund capital-intensive investment projects. The bust is caused when the money creation process slows. It is then that businesses discover there are not...