Tag Archives: newsletter

Anyone who has ever been to Japan knows: Japan is special. The country has many strange habits. The Japanese culture is simply different and many peculiarities are hardly understood in the West. But it’s not only the old established traditions that are foreign to us Westerners. Just as disturbing are social developments such as the increasing tendency of Japanese people to overwork, parasite singles who isolate themselves, or the existence of platonic relationships...

It will be very interesting if the police—who did nothing to disperse protests that were obviously in violation of bans on mass gatherings—turn around and arrest business owners and other “violators” of a second round of stay-at-home orders. This Audio Mises Wire is generously sponsored by Christopher Condon. Narrated by Millian Quinteros. Original Article: “Will the Police Crack Down on Lockdown Violators the Second Time Around?​“...

Queuing up near Vevey on Lake Geneva. © Keystone / Cyril Zingaro Fuel consumption and emissions limits for new cars in Switzerland missed their target in 2019 for the fourth year in a row. This resulted in sanctions totalling CHF78 million for car importers. Last year, the 314,000 new cars registered in Switzerland spat out CO2 emissions of about 138.1 grams per kilometre, a rise of 0.2% on 2018, the Federal Office for Energy said on Thursday. This means new cars...

© Nora Tarvus | Dreamstime.com Recently published figures show a overall jump of 30.2% in retail sales in May 2020 compared to April 2020. May’s rise of 30.2% follows falls of 6.5% in March and 13.7% in April. However not all retail sectors experienced the same rise in May sales. Food, drink and tobacco sales rose 3.4% and fuel sales were up 6.3% month on month. Clothing and shoe sales were up a whopping 433.5% compared to April. Clothing and shoe sales fell 55.4%...

What a difference a month makes. The euphoria clearly fading even as the positive numbers grow bigger still. The era of gigantic pluses is only reaching its prime, which might seem a touch pessimistic given the context. In terms of employment and the labor market, reaction to the Current Employment Situation (CES) report seems to indicate widespread recognition of this situation. And that means how there are actually two labor markets at the moment. Occupying the...

◆ Central Banks Are “Gold’s Greatest Ally” and They Will Push Gold Prices Much Higher Jim Rickards holds gold bar in Zurich vault You’re likely aware of the price action in gold lately. Gold has rallied from $1,591 per ounce on April 1 to $1,782 per ounce as of today. That’s a 12% gain in less than three months. My earlier forecast was that gold would hit $1,776 by the Fourth of July. I guess I was a bit early! Today’s price of $1,782 per ounce is the highest since...

© Vsg Art Stock Photography And Paintings | Dreamstime.com In 2019, Swiss salaries were on average of 0.9% higher than the year before. A nominal rise of +0.9% combined with low inflation of 0.4% delivered a real boost of 0.5% to someone earning an average salary in Switzerland. This is the first time in two years that the average Swiss salary has grown faster than inflation. In 2017 and 2018 the real average salary fell -0.1% and -0.4% in real terms. Overall, in...

The Novartis offices in Basel, Switzerland. Keystone / Georgios Kefalas Swiss pharma company Novartis will pay $729 million (CHF688 million) to US authorities in an out-of-court settlement over various charges, including that the company bribed doctors to use its drugs. Audrey Strauss, the acting Manhattan US Attorney, said the firm had paid out for “speaking fees, exorbitant meals, and top-shelf alcohol that were nothing more than bribes to get doctors across the...

The elites dancing through the minefield all have plans, but how many are prepared for the punch in the mouth? Open any newspaper from the past 100 years and you will soon find a newsworthy geopolitical hotspot or conflict. Geopolitical conflict is the default setting for humanity, it seems, but it does feel as if the minefield of geopolitical rivalries and flashpoints has been thickly sown and many of the players are dancing through the minefield with a worrisomely...

Princeton University has made it official: Woodrow Wilson’s name no longer will have any place on campus. The former president, or at least his memory, now is part of cancel culture, which is sweeping the nation. The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs will replace the former president’s name with “Princeton,” and Wilson College now will be called First College. This hardly is surprising but in many ways discouraging, but not for reasons that...