Tag Archives: Notes

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...

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 Confederation and cantons...

 Leitwolf 008, May 2022. HTML, PDF, Video.

Is it a default? Discussions in NZZ and FT.

Central banking after the pandemic: challenges ahead This year’s conference focused on the question of how central banks can meet their mission to preserve the value of money. The sessions focused on inflation – the containment of which is an important aspect of preserving money’s value – as well as preserving the value of money from the longer-term, structural perspective, focusing on the challenges of digital innovation. Program

4th IFAWG Meeting — G20 Side Event on Macro-Financial Implications of CBDC, Bali

Interview in NZZ with the leader of the palliative care section at the University of Zurich’s childrens’ hospital: Wie sprachen [Kinder] darüber [ihre Ahnung, bald sterben zu müssen]? Ein Kind sagte, es müsse zwei Koffer packen. Den einen nehme es auf seine Reise mit, den anderen lasse es zu Hause, damit es nicht vergessen werde. Ein anderes wollte auf einem Besen in den Himmel reiten. Ich habe auch schon ein kleines Kind erlebt, das kaum sprach und plötzlich zu seinen Eltern sagte, wie...

By Axel Leijonhufvud, September 1973, Economic Inquiry. The Econ tribe occupies a vast territory in the far North. Their land appears bleak and dismal to the outsider, and travelling through it makes for rough sledding; but the Econ, through a long period of adaptation, have learned to wrest a living of sorts from it. They are not without some genuine and sometimes even fierce attachment to their ancestral grounds, and their young are brought up to feel contempt for the softer living...

Tom Sargent describes how he learnt macroeconomics the Lucas way, starting from the Cowles Commission approach and digesting Muth’s (or Richardson’s?) rational expectations.

An executive order dated March 9, 2022 outlines what is on the White House’s mind: The United States has an interest in responsible financial innovation, expanding access to safe and affordable financial services, and reducing the cost of domestic and cross-border funds transfers and payments, including through the continued modernization of public payment systems.  We must take strong steps to reduce the risks that digital assets could pose to consumers, investors, and business...