Tag Archives: Featured

by Daniel Mitchell While I freely self-identify as a libertarian, I don’t think of myself as a philosophical ideologue. Instead, I’m someone who likes digging into data to determine the impact of government policy. US Consumer Goods and Services, Wages Price Change, 2000 - 2020 - Click to enlarge And because I’ve repeatedly noticed that more government almost always leads to worse outcomes, I’ve become a practical ideologue. In other words,...

[Chapter 2 of Rothbard’s newly edited and released Conceived in Liberty, vol. 5, The New Republic: 1784–1791.] It has been alleged—from that day to this—that the depression which hit the United States, especially the commercial cities, was caused by “excessive” imports by Americans beginning in 1783. But this kind of pseudo-explanation merely betrays ignorance of economics: a boom in imports reflects voluntary choices and economic improvement by consumers, and this...

Shoppers most often chose traditional retailers such as Migros and Coop over discounters and specialty shops for their groceries. Keystone / Laurent Gillieron Consumers spent 11.3% more on food and beverages in brick-and-mortar shops last year than they did in 2019, helping the food retail trade to pull in a record turnover of nearly CHF30 billion ($33.7 billion). In total, the average household spent CHF7,680 on comestibles, according to figures released on Thursday...

The LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) annual forecast survey published last week shows that forecasters expect the average gold price to rise 11.5% in 2021 to US$1973.8 (forecasters’ average) from the actual average gold price in 2020 of US$1769.6, and for the silver price to rise 38.7% in 2021 to US$28.50 from the actual annual average of US$20.55 in 2020. These expected averages show silver might gain three times more percentage than that of gold in 2021....

The seeds of sound-money destruction were sown at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, which established that US dollars could be held as central bank reserves and were redeemable for gold by the US Treasury at thirty-five dollars an ounce. This was the so-called gold exchange standard, but only foreign central banks and some multinational organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), enjoyed this right of redemption. The system depended upon the solemn...

EUROPEAN BANKS’ fourth-quarter earnings, releases of which are clustered around early February, have been surprisingly perky. Those with trading arms, such as UBS or BNP Paribas, rode on buoyant markets. State support helped contain bad loans; few banks needed to top up provisions. Markets should keep them busy and, as the economy recovers, loan volumes should rise. Many banks plan to resume dividends this year. Yet the chronic illness that has dogged the industry...

After decades of financialization and government favors, Wall Street now has little to do with free, functioning markets anymore and has largely become an adjunct of the central bank. Today, entrepreneurship is out, and bailouts are in. Be sure to follow Radio Rothbard at Mises.org/RadioRothbard. You Might Also Like Politics and Ideas 2021-02-09 In the Age of Enlightenment, in the years in...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.06% to 1.0801 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, February 12(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Profit-taking weighs on equity markets, and the dollar is trading higher ahead of the weekend. Most Asia Pacific markets are still closed for the holiday, but Victoria’s snap lockdown dragged Australian shares lower. Japan and Indian markets were narrowly mixed, but the selling...

Die Einlassungen der EU-Kommission zur wachsenden Kritik an ihrer Impfstoffbeschaffung und -verteilung nehmen skurile Züge an. Natürlich verteidigen nicht nur die zuständige Gesundheitskommissarin und die Präsidentin der EU-Kommission, Dr med. von der Leyen, die bisherige Einkaufs- und Verteilungsperformance. Auch die Chefunterhändlerin der Kommission lässt sich öffentlich zu der geharnischten Kritik ein und beharrt auf der Geheimhaltung der Vertragsbedingungen....

More people opted for a car over public transport last year. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally A third of Swiss people chose not to travel on holiday last year as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the world, according to automobile association Touring Club Switzerland (TCS). Of those people who continued to commute to work, a greater proportion opted to get to the office under their own steam rather than take public transport. These are the findings of a TCS survey of 1,297...