SNB & CHF

If health is wealth, and it most certainly is the highest form of wealth, then we would be well-served to take charge of our health-wealth in terms of what behaviors we can sustainably modify. Longtime correspondent J.F. (MD) recently shared a fascinating graphic ranking the leading causes of death in the U.S. (2016 data, pre-pandemic) compared to searches on Google and what the media reports. (see chart below) Note that this data isn’t a survey asking people to...

Last month, British black studies professor Kehinde Andrews argued that the British Empire was “far worse than the Nazis.” It was a controversial comparison to be sure, but it raises the question: Compared to other expansionist regimes, how bad was the British Empire? A survey of the evidence suggests that the British Empire was relatively less harmful than other imperial efforts, and this is reflected in outcomes—in terms of health and economic growth, among other...

Today on The Daily Objective, Jonathan Hoenig, Seth Levine and Keith Weiner discuss: is gold the next Bitcoin? Consider supporting our work by becoming a member: https://aynrandcentre.co.uk/membership/

What do a famous broken bridge and Jimi Hendrix have in common with the monetary effects on consumer prices? Short answer: a dynamic system & positive feedback. CEO Keith Weiner recently presented at the Austrian Economics Research Conference 2021, discussing his upcoming paper, "The Theory of Interest and Prices". In the video, he discusses: --The fundamental confusion between monetary & non-monetary effects on consumer prices --Why the interest rate is the most...

Real Vision managing editor Ed Harrison welcomes to the Daily Briefing Amanda Agati, chief investment strategist of PNC Financial Services Group, and Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex. Agati shares her view on U.S. equity valuations, noting that stocks might have run too far, too fast amid reflation optimism, and Chandler argues that market performance will ultimately hinge on liquidity conditions, making the long-term case for why the dollar could be...

The Gold Exchange Podcast with Keith Weiner Ep16 - Inflation's Inconvenient Complexities, Part 2 In a prior episode, John Flaherty and CEO Keith Weiner discussed the intricacies of inflation, its definition, and the monetary and nonmonetary forces at play. This time, they go a little deeper. In this episode: --The simplest definition of inflation --How to properly measure inflation --One universal belief that is absolutely wrong --Two pending consequences of the Fed’s current...

Discussions between the EU and Switzerland over the future of their bilateral relations could be on the verge of collapse. Over 100 bilateral treaties set the terms of relations between the two. These need updating. A framework agreement has been hammered out over seven years but there are sticking points and the deal is under fire from across the Swiss political spectrum. --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on...

Ungeachtet der jüngsten Abschwächung des Frankens dürfte die Schweizerische Nationalbank (SNB) am Donnerstag bei ihrer vierteljährlichen geldpolitischen Lagebeurteilung an ihrem Leitzins von minus 0,75 Prozent festhalten, prognostizieren alle 35 von Reuters befragte Wirtschaftsexperten. Auch die Sichteinlagen von Banken bei der Notenbank ab einem gewissen Freibetrag dürften weiterhin mit einer Gebühr von 0,75 Prozent belastet werden. “Die SNB dürfte es nicht eilig...

Fewer people were able to attend cinemas during the pandemic year of 2020. © Keystone / Thomas Delley Ticket sales at Swiss cinemas plummeted by two-thirds last year as venues were forced to close their doors. Of the films that could be shown, Swiss movies made up a greater share of the total offering. Official statistics out on Tuesday revealed the economic impact of Covid-19 on Switzerland’s 263 cinema theatres. Income fell from CHF193 million ($208 million) in...

“Government,” observed the great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, “is the only institution that can take a valuable commodity like paper and make it worthless by applying ink.” Mises was describing the curse of inflation, the process whereby government expands a nation’s money supply and thereby erodes the value of each monetary unit—dollar, peso, pound, franc, or whatever. It shows up in various ways, most visibly in the form of rising prices, which a lot of...