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[This article is chapter 1 from Bylund’s new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.] Economics is an exciting field. The economics of old sought to uncover how the world works. It showed, or even proved, that there is a natural order to it. There is structure to the apparent chaos. The economy has something of a life of its own: it has a nature. This means not only that we can study it and learn about its ways, but also that we are not free to tamper with it...

Ladies and Gentlemen I am very pleased to welcome you all to the sixth Karl Brunner Distinguished Lecture. The Swiss National Bank established this annual lecture series in honour of the Swiss economist Karl Brunner, one of the leading monetary economists of the last century. Our aim with these lectures is to reach a broad audience, and to contribute to the public debate on issues related to central banking and economics more broadly. This year’s Karl Brunner...

Im November 2021 hatte der Markt fast die Marke von drei Billionen erreicht. Seitdem ging es jedoch steil bergab. In den letzten Tagen ging es sogar unter eine Billionen US-Dollar, so dass der Markt in weniger als einem Jahr zwei Drittel seines Gesamtwertes verloren hat. Crypto News: Cryptomarkt verliert zwei Drittel seiner MarktkapitalisierungFür Bitcoin ging es im selben Zeitraum sogar etwas mehr als zwei Drittel nach unten. Dies zeigt wieder einmal, dass Bitcoin...

The world’s richest people saw their wealth expand last year as stock markets and real estate gained in value, according to Swiss bank Credit Suisse. When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch’s business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland – including the frozen lake of St Moritz. More from this author | English DepartmentMatthew Allen Total global wealth increased by...

Instability in financial markets has brought back the ideas of post-Keynesian school of economics (PK) economist Hyman Minsky. Minsky held that the capitalist economy inherently is unstable, culminating in severe economic crisis, accumulation of debt being the key mechanism pushing the economy toward a crisis. During “good” times, according to Minsky, businesses in profitable areas of the economy are well rewarded for raising their level of debt. The more one borrows...

This via the folks at eFX. For bank trade ideas, check out eFX Plus. For a limited time, get a 7 day free trial, basic for $79 per month and premium at $109 per month. Get it here. Goldman Sachs maintains a bullish bias on CHF going into this week’s SNB policy meeting. “We are bullish on the Franc. We believe that the SNB is a stricter inflation targeter than its peers, and better equipped to meet the challenges facing policymakers across Europe at the moment. This...

On February 8, the Japanese yen fell to a 24-year low against the dollar, dropping to 143 yen per dollar. Not much has changed since then with the yen hovering between 142 and 144 per dollar. In September of 2021, one only needed 109 yen to buy a dollar. Overall, the yen has dropped 21 percent against the dollar over the past year, yet Japan’s central bank apparently has no plans to change course. Nor should we expect it to do so.  Japan’s debt load has become so...

Business travel commitments keep me from updating the blog until the weekend, but I wanted to share a few thoughts post-Fed. First, the Fed was more hawkish, and the median dot sees 125 bp increase in the target rate in Q4.  The hawkish thrust was also evident in projecting that the target rate will remain higher for longer.  Even in 2025 sees the target rate above the longer-term (neutral) level.   Second, the market still does not fully accept the Fed's message....

Overview: Between Putin’s mobilization of 300k Russian troops and Fed Chair Powell expected to lead the central bank to its third consecutive 75 bp hike later today, the dollar rides high. It has recorded new two-year highs against the dollar bloc and Chinese yuan, while sterling was sent to new lows since 1985. Asia Pacific bourses were a sea of red for the sixth decline in the regional benchmark in the past seven sessions. Surprisingly, Europe’s Stoxx 600 is...

In recent years, Congress has attempted to add various new mandates to the Federal Reserve’s mission. In 2020, Democrats introduced the “Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act.”  Then, in 2021, pundits and politicians were telling us that it’s the Fed’s job to “combat climate change.” These are just the latest efforts to use the enormously powerful central bank to achieve political ends to the liking of elected officials. This is a helpful reminder, of...