SNB & CHF

President-elect Biden will be inaugurated Wednesday; security in Washington DC and many state capitols has been beefed up due to concerns of violence; the Senate reconvenes Tuesday and will immediately begin work on confirming Biden’s cabinet choices; reports suggest that if asked, Yellen will disavow a weak dollar policy whilst affirming commitment to a market-determined exchange rate Weekly jobless claims data Thursday will be the highlight of an otherwise quiet...

18. Januar 2021 – von Thorsten Polleit [Ein Vortrag gehalten auf der 8. Jahreskonferenz des Ludwig von Mises Institut Deutschland am 10. Oktober 2020 im Hotel Bayerischer Hof in München.] In diesem Vortrag argumentiere ich, dass (1) Eigentum und Umwelt- beziehungsweise Ressourcenschutz keine Gegensätze sind; dass (2) man vielmehr auf das Eigentum setzen muss, wenn Umwelt und Ressourcen wirksam geschützt und ein tyrannischer Weltstaat verhindert werden sollen; und...

In the debate over whether or not China will soon rise to challenge the United States as the world’s hegemon, it is often assumed that states with large aggregate economies are necessarily more militarily powerful ones. This stems from decades-old methods that remain popular among scholars and pundits who write on international relations and foreign policy. The theory goes like this: states that rule over economies with a large gross domestic product (GDP) have more...

A mob, led by a shirtless man wearing a Viking helmet, stormed the Capitol building a couple of weeks ago and five people died before order was restored. A man from upstate New York sat in a Senator’s office and smoked a joint. Another roamed the halls of Congress with a Confederate flag. A Virginia man who was part of the riot wore a T-shirt mocking the holocaust. A Brooklyn judge’s son was photographed in the Capitol wearing an elaborate outfit of furs accented by...

Interest rates in developed countries have been falling for years as governments prop up economies with easy credit. For Keith Weiner, president of the Gold Standard Institute USA and CEO of Monetary Metals, this cheap borrowing comes at the expense of capital productivity, ultimately eroding trust in fiat currencies such as the dollar. Show notes: https://goldnewsletter.com/podcast/problem-record-low-interest-rates/ #Dollar #InterestRate #Debt

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.07% to 1.0754 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 18(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The new week has begun like last week ended. Equities are a bit heavy. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell for the second session, its first back-to-back loss since before Christmas. China and Hong Kong were the notable exceptions, perhaps helped by stronger than expected GDP. Europe’s...

Zurich/Basel, 15 January 2021 – The UBS Board of Directors announced today that Beatrice Weder di Mauro is not standing for re-election to the Board of Directors of UBS Group AG and UBS AG. She has informed the Board of her decision to step down after serving since 2012. UBS Chairman Axel A. Weber: “We will miss Beatrice’s experience and expertise in international economic and financial matters. She has consistently provided important insight to the Board and to me...

Rothbard: “At the outset of every step forward on the road to a more plentiful existence is saving….Without saving and capital accumulation there could not be any striving toward nonmaterial ends.” Original Article: “The Upside of Lockdowns: More Saving​” This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. Narrated by Michael Stack. Original Text: Something good is coming out of the covid lockdowns. Economist David Rosenberg released a special...

I. Warning against Fiduciary Media Early in the 20th century, Ludwig von Mises warned against the consequences of granting the government control over the money supply. Such a regime inevitably creates money through bank credit that is not backed by real savings—a type of money that Mises termed “fiduciary media.” In 1912, Mises wrote, It would be a mistake to assume that the modern organization of exchange is bound to continue to exist. It carries within itself the...

This week, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 17,245 positive Covid-19 cases and 387 deaths. Over the seven days to 15 January 2021, the number daily cases reported in Switzerland averaged 2,464. This figure is significantly below the daily reported average leading up to Christmas. In the 7 days to 18 December 2020, the average daily number was around 4,300. Over the last 24 hours the results of 25,092 tests were reported, with test...