Systemic corruption on this vast scale optimizes failure and collapse. Debating which nations will “win” as the global economy unravels is a popular but pointless parlor game.Since the status quo in every nation is deeply, profoundly, systemically corrupt, there won’t be any “winners,” there will only be losers. Apologists love to say that corruption has always come hand-in-hand with power, and this is superficially true.Once a centralized hierarchy takes power,...
Read More »If Government Can Take from One Group, It Can and Will Take from Everyone
While governments have been assaulting private property rights for many years, they now are ramping up the pressure. Nothing less than our civilization is at stake. Original Article: “If Government Can Take from One Group, It Can and Will Take from Everyone” It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to argue that private property rights, as understood by classic liberal thinkers, by those who embrace Austrian economic theory, and by all members of an enlightened society, are...
Read More »The Economy Needs a Volcker Moment
Readers of the Mises Wire are most likely familiar with the Volcker moment. This was when former Fed chair Paul Volcker, in the face of steep price inflation, skyrocketed rates to nearly 20 percent. While critics of the Volcker moment complain that such a move also skyrocketed unemployment to almost 11 percent, it cannot be ignored that the price inflation was finally reined in. Not only did we see the benefit in reduced inflation, but Austrians have an answer...
Read More »Swiss sales of medicines to Russia jump during war
Swiss pharma sales to Russia hit an all time high in June this year. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Swiss exports of medicines to Russia have risen sharply since the start of the Ukraine war, according to an analysis by business news agency AWP. This analysis, based on government foreign trade data, shows Swiss pharma generated record revenue of over CHF330 million ($342 million) in June alone from sales to Russia. Russia has been subject to numerous sanctions owing to...
Read More »Fed Day
Overview: Better US news from the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Texas Instruments has helped lift sentiment today and is encouraging a more risk-on mood ahead of the FOMC meeting. News that US President Biden and China’s Xi will talk tomorrow for the second time this year may be notable but does not appear to be impactful in the capital markets. China’s CSI 300 and the Hang Seng were exceptions to the general advance of equities in the Asia Pacific region today....
Read More »The SNB’s Financial Result, Currency Reserves, and Distribution Reserve
How are SNB profits and losses distributed and what issues are debated? Annual Result Funds two “Reserves” The annual result (Jahresergebnis) of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is split into two parts. The first part funds “provisions for currency reserves” (Zuweisungen an Rückstellungen für Währungsreserven) which are meant to provide a buffer against future losses on the SNB’s asset positions. The second part funds current and future profit distributions to the...
Read More »Lufthansa strike to hit SWISS flights
SWISS flights to Germany are affected by the one-day strike at Lufthansa on Wednesday. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Swiss national carrier is cancelling around a dozen flights to Germany on Wednesday, owing to a one-day strike by ground staff at its German parent company Lufthansa. Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has cancelled flights from Geneva to Frankfurt (three return flights) and Zurich to Düsseldorf (also three return flights), airline spokeswoman Karin...
Read More »What’s Truly Important? The Global Revaluation Is Accelerating
How much gold will you trade for a few eggs? It depends on how hungry you are. Two ideas will help us understand the rest of this tumultuous decade: core-periphery and the revaluation of what’s truly important: systemic adaptability, transparency, accountability, risk, capital and resources. I recently discussed the core-periphery model in a blog post, Crash Is King: “Crashes reveal what’s core and what’s periphery because the core controls the destiny of the...
Read More »Government “Stimulus” Schemes Fail Because Demand Does Not Create Supply
By popular thinking, the key driver of economic growth is the increase in total demand for goods and services. It is also held that overall output increases by a multiple of the increase in expenditure by government, consumers and businesses. It is not surprising, then, that most commentators believe that through fiscal and monetary stimulus, government can prevent the US economy falling into a recession. For instance, increasing government spending and central bank...
Read More »Greenback Jumps Back
Overview: With the exception of Japan, Taiwan, and India, the large equity markets in the Asia Pacific region traded higher today. The Hang Seng led the move (1.65%) amid reports that Alibaba will seek its primary listing there. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is edging higher today. If it can hold on to the gains, it will be the fourth consecutive rise, the longest advance since May. US futures are slightly under water. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly lower, with the US off...
Read More »