On February 16, 2023, President Joe Biden issued his second executive order to strengthen equity within federal agencies. Among other things, it ordered them to install equity officers and implement action plans with the superficial aim of making it easier for “underserved communities” to access federal resources. Although there is plenty of commentary on the specific content of the new order, that is not what this article is about. Rather, the purpose of this...
Read More »Yields Pull Back to Start the New Week
Overview: The modest economic goals announced as China's National People's Congress starts was seen as a cautionary sign after growth disappointed last year. It seemed to weigh on Chinese stocks, though others large bourses in the region advanced, led by Japan's Nikkei and South Korea with gains of more than 1%. Europe's Stoxx 600 is little changed after rising for the past two sessions. US index futures are slightly softer. Strong gains were seen before the...
Read More »Former top Credit Suisse shareholder Harris Associates sells out of bank
© Keystone / Michael Buholzer One of Credit Suisse’s longest-standing shareholders has sold its entire stake in the scandal-hit Swiss bank after losing patience with its strategy amid persistent losses and a client exodus. US investment manager Harris Associates, whose deputy chair and chief investment officer David Herro was for years among the Swiss bank’s most prominent supporters, owned as much as 10 per cent of Credit Suisse’s stock last year. Harris started...
Read More »Loss of Religious Belief Is a Greater Loss for a Civilized Society
Secularists cheer the decline of religion in Western societies, but that loss comes at a huge cost: the decline of civilization itself. Original Article: "Loss of Religious Belief Is a Greater Loss for a Civilized Society" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content] Tags:...
Read More »Wie viele Arbeitsjahre bis zur Traumwohnung notwendig sind
Viele Menschen in der Schweiz können sich Wohneigentum nicht leisten. Und wer es kann, muss länger sparen als früher. Die Preise für Wohneigentum haben sich in den letzten zwanzig Jahren fast immer in die gleiche Richtung entwickelt. Nach oben – und zwar ziemlich steil. Sogar jetzt, nachdem die Nationalbank schon dreimal den Leitzins erhöht hat, sind Einfamilienhäuser und Eigentumswohnungen nicht merklich günstiger geworden – um lediglich 0,2 Prozent gingen die...
Read More »China’s Emerging Global Leadership Isn’t Just the Result of Subsidies: Entrepreneurship Still Matters in This Market
It is easy to dismiss Chinese advancements in electric vehicles as the result of government subsidies, but private entrepreneurship also is playing a major role. Original Article: "China's Emerging Global Leadership Isn't Just the Result of Subsidies: Entrepreneurship Still Matters in This Market" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »Artificial Intelligence Can Serve Entrepreneurs and Markets
In our technocratic age, it is easy to dismiss the latest technological developments as an avenue toward freedom, but some of them still bode well for markets. Original Article: "Artificial Intelligence Can Serve Entrepreneurs and Markets" This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. [embedded content]...
Read More »US Jobs, Kuroda’s Last BOJ Meeting, and Powell’s Congressional Testimony Highlight the Week Ahead
The dollar peaked last September/October and trended lower until the January jobs report and strong service ISM on February 3. These reports and firm inflation readings, owing, at least in part, to benchmark and methodological changes, helped spur the greenback's recovery. However, we learned last week that auto sales and the service ISM prices paid decelerated in February, and this week, we will learn that job growth has slowed considerably. If accurate, the median...
Read More »The Fed’s “Disinflation” Story Just Flew Out the Window
Mark talks about the recent price inflation reports, as well as reports of job openings from private sector job placement companies. Inflation was higher than expected and job openings declined. What will the Fed do? People are making painful adjustments—Domino's reported disappointing sales, because their customers are "eating in". Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues. [embedded content]...
Read More »Altruism vs. Materialism in Market Exchange
[Excerpted from chapter 6 "Antimarket Ethics: A Praxeological Critique" of Power and Market.] One of the most common charges levelled against the free market (even by many of its friends) is that it reflects and encourages unbridled “selfish materialism.” Even if the free market—unhampered capitalism—best furthers man's “material” ends, critics argue, it distracts man from higher ideals. It leads man away from spiritual or intellectual values and atrophies any...
Read More »