Tag Archives: Featured

Overview: Most of the G10 currencies are trading quietly in narrow ranges today. After a slightly firmer than expected national CPI reading, which still moderated, and a pullback in US yields, the Japanese yen is the strongest of the major currencies. The dollar has pulled back from almost JPY151 to nearly JPY150. The New Zealand dollar is the weakest, off about 0.2% ahead of tomorrow's central bank meeting. After selling $127 bln of coupons yesterday, the US...

In spring 2023, the Swiss National Bank conducted its second payment methods survey of companies in Switzerland. Around 1,750 companies, across all sizes, language regions and industries, participated in this survey on payment method topics. In-depth knowledge of these topics helps the SNB to fulfil its statutory tasks in relation to the supply and distribution of cash and to cashless payments. . The most important findings of the payment methods survey of...

Policy errors have consequences, and we’re only in the first inning of those consequences. Please note: Of Two Minds subscription rates are going up this Friday 3/1/24 from $5/month or $50/year to $7/month or $70/year, so subscribe by Thursday if you want to lock in current rates. Thank you for understanding the necessity of adjusting rates that have been unchanged since 2011. If we ask, “what’s changed?,” two under-appreciated dynamics pop out: risk and...

EUR/CHF up over 3% from December’s lows. ECB President Lagarde looks ahead to growth rebound. Swiss Franc is broadly weaker across the majors market. EUR/CHF knocked into fresh multi-month highs on Monday as the pair steps into a ten-week peak above 0.9550. The Swiss Franc (CHF) has depreciated notably against the majority of its major currency peers in 2024, and is down 2.88% YTD against the Euro (EUR). European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde hit...

Imagine someone giving a State of the World address that begins with a reminder that people possess free will and ought to be doing a better job of exercising it. This could possibly raise doubts about the speaker’s mental stability—at least until the talk went into the dark details of civilization’s condition. If the state of the world reflects the choices people make, and if those choices are autonomous, originating from within the minds of individuals, then the...

There will be life after Trump one way or another, but in the long run, it seems as though the ruling party always wins. Original Article: After Trump, Then What? [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

In 2022, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used political favors and government grants to maneuver thousands of workers into jobs producing electric trucks. But consumers aren’t interested. Original Article: How Governor Whitmer Doomed Detroit Autoworkers [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

While South Africa’s political authorities pursue genocide accusations against other countries, those same leaders are destroying the nation’s economy and basic infrastructure. This is a failed state. Original Article: The "New" South Africa Is Now a Newly-Failed State: Don't Look for Things to Improve [embedded content]...

School choice would seem to have benefits, but as Thomas Sowell says: “There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.” Enthusiastic “school choice” proponents forget that with government money comes government control. Original Article: The Double-Edged Sword of School Choice [embedded content] Tags: Featured,newsletter

Another Pentagon audit, another massive failure. But the Pentagon's problems are not just simple accounting. They reflect the reality of an unaccountable rogue empire that tries to prop up the US empire. Original Article: What Can We Learn from the Latest Pentagon Audit? Both Plenty and Not Much [embedded content] Tags:...