Tag Archives: Featured

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday left the target policy interest rate (the federal funds rate) unchanged at 5.5 percent. This "pause" in the target rate suggests the FOMC believes it has raised the target rate high enough to rein in price inflation which has run well above the Fed's arbitrary two-percent inflation target since mid-2021.  The press release from the FOMC was largely unchanged from previous recent meetings and...

The most recent edition of the US Army War College’s academic journal includes a highly disturbing essay on what lessons the US military should take away from the continuing war in Ukraine. By far the most concerning and most relevant section for the average American citizen is a subsection entitled “Casualties, Replacements, and Reconstitutions” which, to cut right to the chase, directly states, “Large-scale combat operations troop requirements may well require a...

The UAW's strike against US automakers will do long-term damage to the domestic auto industry. Unfortunately, unions and their advocates will learn nothing from this debacle. Original Article: Strikes Always Have Economic Consequences and the Latest UAW Strike Is No Exception [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter...

Recently, anyone who pays attention to current events has been assaulted with the news that both the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ unions are striking simultaneously for the first time since 1960. Workers for UPS also recently reached a deal with their employer after threats of a nationwide strike by the Teamsters union. Although many may think that unions are a thing of the past and are no longer relevant, they clearly remain both a political and economic force to...

Fed policymaking is all about political expedience. When we see Fed policy, we must keep in mind that "managing the economy" is secondary to managing public debt service and public expectations. Original Article: August Price Inflation Accelerated, and the Fed Fears More Is in Store [embedded content] Tags:...

The mission of the Mises Institute is simple. We want to spread the ideas of Ludwig von Mises and the scholars he inspired. Ideas that are vital for a free and prosperous civilization. We do this through our student programs, our popular articles, our podcasts, one of the largest free economic libraries available online, and our new animated videos for beginners. Online and in person, we attack the state, the political class, and their crony clients—without exception...

In the last century, states have had great control over channels of media. In most of the West, lobbying groups and cartels working with “liberal” and “democratic” governments regulated who could broadcast while governments, with their endless pools of money and political force, competed alongside private, or foreign, establishments. South Africa banned television entirely, and then after legalizing it in the ’70s, the industry was still controlled by the state. All...

Overview: The US dollar begins the new week on a firm note. It is trading at new highs for the year against the Japanese yen and is bid against nearly all the G10 currencies, though the Swedish krona and Canadian dollar are resisting the greenback's push. Most emerging market currencies are heavier, with the Polish zloty and a few East Asian currencies holding their own. Gold is trading with a heavier bias near $1922, but within the ranges seen at the end of last...

There are no more rabbits for the Fed monetary magicians to pull out of their hats. In an economy addicted to artificially low interest rates, any more moves by the Fed will trigger an economic downturn. Original Article: There Is No Fed Magic Trick to Achieve a Soft Landing [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

China rose from poverty after the Mao years only because its political leadership embraced private property and a market economy. Unfortunately, today the Communist leadership is moving back to socialism. Original Article: The Chinese Economy: Market Socialism with Chinese Characteristics [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter