Tag Archive: Featured

Escaping Paternalism

2020-12-10

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2020-12-10

Some economists, such as the 2017 Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler and his colleague Cass Sunstein, have proposed an unusual justification for government interference with people’s choices. They do not intend, they say, to override the preferences that people have. They don’t want to tell people what they “should” want, according to an external standard that people don’t accept.

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Italy suspends rail links with Switzerland

2020-12-09

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2020-12-09

Update: It appears rail connections between Italy and Switzerland will not be interrupted after Switzerland’s president and the Italian minister of transport spoke on Wednesday. Solutions have been identified to ensure compliance with Italy’s anti-COVID measures. Rail links are expected to gradually return to normal over the next few days, according to a report by RSI.

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Covid, December 10: Bern to consider new measures as cases rise again

2020-12-09

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2020-12-09

Laboratory-confirmed cases
On 8 December 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Council announced it was considering further restrictions starting from 12 December 2020 and running until 20 January 2021.

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FX Daily, December 9: Hope Burns Eternal

2020-12-09

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2020-12-09

The market is hopeful today. The Johnson-von der Leyen dinner is seen as evidence that both sides see one more opportunity, and sterling is among the strongest currencies today. Hopes of a $900 bln+ fiscal stimulus package in the US helped stir animal spirits and lift US stocks to record highs yesterday.

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Climate Change Policy Isn’t Worth Its High Cost

2020-12-09

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2020-12-09

Audio Mises Wire
In most economies, inventories are valued at market prices, while in China they are valued by the authorities and adjusted later. This is just one of many ways China manipulates GDP data.

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Inflation Hysteria #2 (Nominal UST)

2020-12-09

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2020-12-09

UST Yield Curve, 2017-2018
What had given Inflation Hysteria #1 its real punch had been the benchmark 10-year Treasury note. Throughout 2017, despite the unemployment rate in the US, globally synchronized growth being declared around the world (and being declared as some momentously significant development), and whatever other tiny factors acceding to the narrative, longer-term Treasury rates just weren’t buying it.

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Jittery Markets Keep the Dollar Afloat (For Now)

2020-12-09

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2020-12-09

Performance vs. Dollar, 2020
US fiscal negotiations are taking longer than expected; US Treasury auctions $56 bln of 3-year notes; we believe the Fed is watching the yield curve closely; Brazil reports November IPCA inflation; Chile kept rates on hold at 0.50% and tweaked its asset purchase program.

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Introduction to the Entrepreneurship Special Issue

2020-12-09

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2020-12-09

The Austrian school of economics has been all but left by the wayside in economics (e.g., Backhouse 2000). This fate, shared with all “heterodox” approaches that do not fully comply with mainstream dogma, means Austrian theory is at best discounted by other economists. More often, and typically, it is forgotten and a relic of the past.

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FX Daily, December 8: Consolidative Moment as Markets Wait for Fresh Developments

2020-12-08

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2020-12-08

EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, December 8
Overview:  Three brinkmanship dramas continue to play out.  The UK-EU trade talks have reportedly made little progress and may have even moved backward, according to some reports, over the past two days.  The EU and Poland, and Hungary will be butting heads at the leaders' summit that begins Thursday.  The US federal spending authorization is exhausted at the end of the week.

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Endet die Jahresendrallye?! | Der große Marktausblick | KW 50

2020-12-08

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Endet die Jahresendrallye?! | Der große Marktausblick | KW 50 Dieses Video ist die Aufzeichnung des großen Marktausblicks. In der wir auf die momentane Marktlage eingeben. Trage dich jetzt in unseren Newsletter ein, um den "Blick auf die Woche" am Montag noch vor allen anderen zu erhalten: https://mariolueddemann.com/aktuelles/#newsletter Basiskurs Trading: https://mariolueddemann.com/basiskurs-trading/ Screeningdienst für nur 1€ testen:...

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WEF annual meeting moves from Switzerland to Singapore

2020-12-08

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2020-12-08

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the World Economic Forum (WEF) to relocate its flagship event to Singapore next year. It will be only the second time in 50 years that it will be staged outside of the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.

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Swissair liquidator extracts CHF2.75 million from former bosses

2020-12-08

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2020-12-08

Former Swissair bosses have been ordered to pay CHF2.75 million ($3 million) almost 20 years after the national airline carrier went bust. The bill has been presented to 14 former managers after many years of legal wrangling and court battles.

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Polar Opposite Sides of Consumer Credit End Up in the Same Place: Jobs

2020-12-08

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2020-12-08

CPS Household Survey, 2003-2020
If anything is going to be charged off, it might be student loans. All the rage nowadays, the government, approximately half of it, is busily working out how it “should” be done and by just how much. A matter of economic stimulus, loan cancellation proponents are correct that students have burdened themselves with unprofitable college “education” investments.

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FX Daily, December 7: Holy Mackerel Will UK-EU Talks Really Flounder?

2020-12-07

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2020-12-07

Overview:  Optimists see the belabored talk between the UK and EU as providing for a dramatic climax of a deal, while the pessimists warn that the divergence is real.  Sterling opened three-quarters of a cent lower in early turnover and is now off around two cents. 

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Take Advantage of These COVID Estate Planning Opportunities by the End of 2020

2020-12-07

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2020-12-07

May you live in interesting times. Although that sounds like an ancient blessing, it’s believed to be a Chinese curse casting instability and uncertainty on the person who hears it. Blessing or curse, it’s a great description of the year we’ve just come through, and in spite of all the turmoil, there are some things you can do before the end of 2020 to take advantage of all the madness.

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Covid continues to stress Swiss economy

2020-12-07

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2020-12-07

Overnight hotel stays fell by more than 40% during the summer as Switzerland locked down against coronavirus. The pandemic has also battered the finances of the airline industry, but most smaller companies have retained some optimism for the future.

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Swiss National Bank accused of lagging behind in green investment

2020-12-07

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2020-12-07

Swiss banks and retirement funds are still investing enormous sums in fossil fuel companies and thereby contributing to global warming. This is the conclusion of a government climate compatibility test. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) didn’t even take part in the test – and is lagging far behind foreign institutions in climate protection.

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Oil market outlook: Land in sight but rough seas ahead

2020-12-07

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2020-12-07

In November, new vaccines showed great promise in fighting Covid-19, and the exhilaration was clear in markets around the world. However, the enthusiasm was not sustained. Many experts and political leaders rushed to warn that while a vaccine could mean the end of the health crisis, the economy – and oil markets in particular – are still in for a rough ride.

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A Hackers Teleology by Charles Hugh Smith

2020-12-06

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"What every human wants is fairness, a chance to belong that offers everyone opportunities to get ahead by our own merit and a say when decisions are made. Even before the global upheavals, our system was failing—it wasn’t fair at all. Now that it’s unraveling, it’s time for a new arrangement that’s actually sustainable on our resource-depleted planet that doesn’t favor wealthy insiders. Hear it Here – https://bit.ly/hackersteleology Those...

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This Pandemic Has Too Many Predictable “I Told You So’s”

2020-12-06

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2020-12-06

Most of Europe is back in lockdown, presumably as punishment for our sins of going outside during the summer, and as preparation for the Christmas holidays. It feels like being back in school, where a patronizing teacher indicates that the children are incapable of behaving themselves. To some Europeans, this is a surprising development. Yet to lovers of liberty, the fact that power leads to ever-expanding power is no news.

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