Monthly Archive: June 2022

What If the U.S. Had Invaded Ukraine?

2022-06-09

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2022-06-09

Let’s engage in a thought experiment. Suppose that Ukraine was headed by a pro-Russia regime. After repeated failed attempts at assassination by the CIA, the Pentagon finally decides to invade Ukraine for the purpose of bringing about regime change — i.e., ousting the pro-Russia regime from power and replacing it with a pro-U.S. regime.

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The Greenback Bounces Back

2022-06-08

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2022-06-08

Overview: After modest US equity gains yesterday, the weaker yen and Beijing’s approval of 60 new video games helped lift most of the large markets in the Asia Pacific region.

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54.0 percent increase in overnight stays in the Swiss hotel sector during the 2021/2022 winter season

2022-06-08

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2022-06-08

The Swiss hotel sector registered 14.6 million overnight stays during the winter tourist season (November 2021 to April 2022). Compared with the same period last year, overnight stays increased by 54.0% (+5.1 million overnight stays). With a total of 5.6 million overnight stays, foreign demand increased by 196.7% (+ 3.7 million). Domestic visitors registered an 18.9% increase (+1.4 million) with 9.0 million units.

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The Fed, and No One Else, Is Responsible for Inflation

2022-06-08

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2022-06-08

According to commentators in the mainstream press and various federal officials, inflation is like the coronavirus. It spreads around the world, hitting different countries in different ways. Sometimes a country will  experience only mild symptoms and sometimes more severe symptoms, like what happens with Covid.

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Let’s Boycott Them!

2022-06-08

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2022-06-08

Tom Woods’ bestseller Meltdown placed the blame for the financial debacle of 2008–09 on the government’s counterfeiter, the Federal Reserve. It was the Fed’s policies that created the problems, although most economists and economic talking heads didn’t see it that way. The Fed’s loose monetary policies funded the meltdown and became the “elephant in the living room” most pundits couldn’t see.

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Sky High Inflation May Mean Another Hefty Social Security Increase in 2023

2022-06-08

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2022-06-08

In 2022, Social Security recipients got a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). That was the largest increase in 40 years. The COLA coming in 2023 may be even bigger.

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A Look at Switzerland’s Booming Digital Asset Ecosystem

2022-06-08

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2022-06-08

In recent years, Switzerland’s blockchain and digital asset ecosystem has matured rapidly and grown into one of the world’s leading blockchain hubs, a position that’s asserted by its expanding workforce and a rising number of foreign companies setting up operations locally.

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Bored Apes Meta Projekt gehacked

2022-06-07

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2022-06-07

Die Bored Apes gehören zu den bekanntesten NFTs. Ihre Popularität wird derzeit genutzt, um einen Immobilienmarkt aufzubauen, der sich im virtuellen Meta-Universum befindet. Der dazugehöroge Discord-Server wurde jedoch zum Ende der letzten Woche gehacked – ungefähr 380.000 US-Dollar gingen verloren. Crypto News: Bored Apes Meta Projekt gehackedOffenbar schickten die Betrüger Phishing-E-Mails an Mitglieder des Servers, auf die einige der Nutzer...

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Reserve Bank of Australia Surprises, but Aussie Struggles

2022-06-07

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2022-06-07

Overview: The jump in US interest rates helped lift the greenback to new 20-year highs against the Japanese yen and pushed the euro back below $1.07. US equities saw initially strong gains pared and this set the tone for today’s activity.

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May Payrolls (and more) Confirm Slowdown (and more)

2022-06-07

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2022-06-07

May 2022’s payroll estimates weren’t quite the level of downshift President Phillips had warned about, though that’s increasingly likely just a matter of time. In fact, despite the headline Establishment Survey monthly change being slightly better than expected, it and even more so the other employment data all still show an unmistakable slowdown in the labor market.

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Swiss government changes solar electricity rules

2022-06-07

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2022-06-07

On 2 June 2022, Switzerland’s parliament adopted two motions to accelerate the adoption of solar panels.

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Does Capitalism Make Us More Materialistic?

2022-06-07

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2022-06-07

There was a time when the advocates of socialism argued that it would lead man to material abundance, whereas free-market capitalism would lead only to increasing misery and would ultimately collapse under its own internal stresses. You don't hear that too much these days, and for good reason.

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Finland and Sweden in NATO: Disregarding the Benefits of Neutrality

2022-06-07

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2022-06-07

Finland and Sweden’s recent decision to apply for North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership is a major win for the military alliance, but a far more dubious one for these two countries. NATO badly needs a success at this moment, since neither the economic war on Russia nor the conflict in Ukraine seems to be going the West’s way.

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"Pay-to-Play" for the Rest of Us

2022-06-06

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2022-06-06

The more kafkaesque quagmires you've slogged through, the more you hope "pay-to-play for the rest of us" beomes ubiquitous. You know how "pay-to-play" works: contribute a couple of million dollars to key political players, and then get your tax break, subsidy, no-bid contract, etc., slipped into some nook or cranny of the legislative process that few (if any) will notice because the legislation is hundreds of pages long or a "gut and replace" magic...

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Greenspan Would Be Proud: A Lesson in Fed Speak

2022-06-06

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2022-06-06

It has become a familiar sight over the past decade and a half: a supposedly venerable member of the financial elite tells us with utmost calm that what we think we are seeing isn’t really all that bad. The Fed already knows all about it and has already taken all necessary steps. Further, they are monitoring the situation closely and are ready to make any necessary adjustments with ease and alacrity.

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Swiss salaries shrink for men and rise for women in 2021

2022-06-06

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2022-06-06

Overall, in 2021, Swiss salaries shrunk by 0.2% in nominal terms and by 0.8% in real terms, given an annual rate of inflation of 0.6% across the year, reported the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week.

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Debt-Fueled Demand and Oil Price Inflation Brings Airfares Roaring Back

2022-06-06

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2022-06-06

If you’ve purchased any airline tickets lately, you’ve probably noticed that prices are up. It’s quite a reversal from the days of covid lockdowns, when airline tickets could be had for half the price of 2019 fares. Or even lower, in many cases.

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No Pandemic. Not Rate Hikes. Doesn’t Matter Interest Rates. Just Globally Synchronized.

2022-06-06

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2022-06-06

The fact that German retail sales crashed so much in April 2022 is significant for a couple reasons. First, it more than suggests something is wrong with Germany, and not just some run-of-the-mill hiccup. Second, because it was this April rather than last April or last summer, you can’t blame COVID this time.

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Bastiat Predicted the Baby Formula Crisis 170 Years before It Happened

2022-06-06

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2022-06-06

The current baby formula shortage in the United States is a pressing crisis, and many in the media have been rushing to explain how such a thing could have happened. But on close analysis, it appears to share the same root as virtually every other crisis experienced in the modern world: a government promised benefits without costs.

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Greenback Looks Poised for Additional Gains

2022-06-05

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2022-06-05

The divergent performances make it challenging to talk about the G10 currencies last week. The Canadian dollar led the advancing major currencies with a 1.2% gain last week.

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