SNB & CHF

(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links) These days, a lot of shopping is done online. It is so practical to shop for something online. It can save you a lot of time. And it allows you to compare many different websites to get the best deals easily. Shopping online can also save you some money. Of course, online shopping also has its dark side. Since it is convenient to shop online, some people are buying many more things than they should. It is...

[Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow (1979), lecture 1 (1958)] Descriptive terms which people use are often quite misleading. In talking about modern captains of industry and leaders of big business, for instance, they call a man a “chocolate king” or a “cotton king” or an “automobile king.” Their use of such terminology implies that they see practically no difference between the modern heads of industry and those feudal kings, dukes or lords of earlier...

The Senate passed a stopgap bill late Friday that will keep the government funded until midnight this Friday; optimism on a stimulus deal appears to be picking up; the two-day FOMC meeting ending with a decision Wednesday will be important November retail sales Wednesday will be the US data highlight for the week; Fed manufacturing surveys for December will start to roll out; weekly jobless claims Thursday will be important; Canada has a busy data week Brexit talks...

Macroeconomic slack is such an easy, intuitive concept that only Economists and central bankers (same thing) could possibly mess it up. But mess it up they have. Spending years talking about a labor shortage, and getting the financial media to report this as fact, those at the Federal Reserve, in particular, pointed to this as proof QE and ZIRP had fulfilled the monetary policy mandates – both of them. A labor shortage would’ve meant full or maximum employment, the...

United States jobless claims have picked up, since the elections and the second wave of coronavirus have slowed down the economic recovery. Uncertainty about tax increases and changes in labor laws, including an increase in the minimum wage, add to the fear of new lockdowns, as employers see the devastating effects of these lockdowns in European employment. While the United States has been able to recover fast and reduce unemployment to 6.8 percent, the eurozone...

We begin to understand the electoral college when we admit the United States is really supposed to be a collection of member states, and not a single unified nation. Abolishing the EC is likely to worsen national conflict and disunity. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at Mises.org/RadioRothbard. You Might Also Like The 2020 Debate: A Breakdown 2020-10-04 Ryan McMaken and Tho Bishop talk about Tuesday’s...

In Mark Thornton’s The Skyscraper Curse, readers are exposed to the unique phenomenon of the Skyscraper Index and provided with a comprehensive overview of Austrian business cycle theory (ABCT). The Skyscraper Index, as readers learn in the first few pages of the book, shows a correlation between the development of a new tallest building in the world and the business cycle. After exposing readers to the Skyscraper Index, Thornton tactfully explains how the Skyscraper...

On the last Sunday of November the Swiss citizens once again rejected efforts staged by left-leaning groups and NGOs to chip away at the nation’s long tradition of free enterprise, respect for private property and financial freedom. Two important proposals were brought before the Swiss people in a set of referendums, both targeting private companies and attempting to place unprecedented burdens, threatening their ability to operate freely and profitably. The first...

Sticking with our recent theme, a big part of what Inflation Hysteria #1 (2017-18) also had going for it was loosened restrictions for US oil producers. Seriously. Legacy of the 1970’s experience depending too much on OPEC, subject to embargoes, American oil companies had been prohibited for decades from exporting oil. Not that it would have mattered before 2014, the country never producing near enough to have ever done so. Export limitations removed, shale boom...

© Alexey Poprotskiy | Dreamstime.com On 9 December 2020, Switzerland’s federal government adopted a change to the rules on healthcare to make vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus free to the public. The cost of vaccinations will be covered by health insurance, the cantons and Switzerland’s federal government. Early on in the pandemic in March 2020, the Swiss government decided the cost of testing should be borne by health insurance companies and patients....