Tag Archives: Uncategorized

Interview with Godfrey Bloom The latest election in the UK promised to bring about a long-overdue end to the Brexit story. Getting out the EU has been a long and winding road for Britain and the multiple delays and setbacks have both infuriated and disappointed the millions of citizens who voted to Leave, by now three times already. Ever since the referendum, all (at least, foreign) eyes have been fixed on the latest Brexit updates, however, there have been other important shifts...

Christine Lagarde. Photo Credit: European Parliament On December 12, Christine Lagarde introduced her goals and vision in her first rate-setting meeting as the new President of the ECB. On the actual policy front, there were no surprises. She remained committed to the path set by her predecessor, Mario Draghi, and kept the current monetary stimulus unchanged. The central bank kept its deposit rate at the present record-low -0.5%, and pledged to continue its €20...

On December 12, Christine Lagarde introduced her goals and vision in her first rate-setting meeting as the new President of the ECB. On the actual policy front, there were no surprises. She remained committed to the path set by her predecessor, Mario Draghi, and kept the current monetary stimulus unchanged. The central bank kept its deposit rate at the present record-low -0.5%, and pledged to continue its €20 billion bond purchases every month, to the chagrin of its many critics who...

Claudio Grass (CG): During the 2017 hype, when most people became aware of Bitcoin, it was mainly sold as the payment vehicle of the future, as a great investment for the “little guy” who has no access to equity markets and even as a store of value that would replace precious metals. In your opinion, what are the main misconceptions that the average “crypto layman” may still hold today?  Konrad S. Graf (KG): Some critics argue that Bitcoin as a whole can just be copied to make...

I have long been fascinated by both the progress made so far, and by and the promise of this new era of decentralized money that is only just beginning. Although I lack the technical expertise to fully understand the finer points of the code behind the different cryptocurrencies or to assess the nuances of the inner workings of Bitcoin, I do understand money, its history, its multifaceted functions, and the potential for abuse once a monetary monopoly arises. Therefore, I was...

Economists, conservative investors and market observers have been issuing stern warnings for years regarding the severe impact of the current monetary policy direction. The problems In a recent statement, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos warned of potential side effects and risks to the economy resulting directly from the central bank’s policies. He outlined how a decade of extremely aggressive monetary interventions have resulted in an erosion of financial...

Economists, conservative investors and market observers have been issuing stern warnings for years regarding the severe impact of the current monetary policy direction. The problems In a recent statement, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos warned of potential side effects and risks to the economy resulting directly from the central bank’s policies. He outlined how a decade of extremely aggressive monetary interventions have resulted in an erosion of financial stability and now...

We’ve recently seen a lot of coverage and even more “expert analyses” on the state of the bond market, to the extent that the average investor, or the average citizen for that matter, is likely to be overwhelmed and very confused about what it all means. Experts from the institutional side and defenders of the current monetary direction argue that it is all the result of policy choices, that’s it’s all under control and that we really shouldn’t worry about the...

We’ve recently seen a lot of coverage and even more “expert analyses” on the state of the bond market, to the extent that the average investor, or the average citizen for that matter, is likely to be overwhelmed and very confused about what it all means. Experts from the institutional side and defenders of the current monetary direction argue that it is all the result of policy choices, that’s it’s all under control and that we really shouldn’t worry about the extreme phenomena and...

We’ve recently seen a lot of coverage and even more “expert analyses” on the state of the bond market, to the extent that the average investor, or the average citizen for that matter, is likely to be overwhelmed and very confused about what it all means. Experts from the institutional side and defenders of the current monetary direction argue that it is all the result of policy choices, that’s it’s all under control and that we really shouldn’t worry about the extreme phenomena and...