Is the world economy strong and growing, or is it weakening? Are we in a boom or in a bust?
Two ways that I use to gauge the strength is to look at the price of oil and the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). Oil is used in the production and transportation of most goods produced. The Baltic Dry Index reflects the price of shipping manufactured goods and materials internationally.
Those who wish to portray Ludwig von Mises as the “moderate” one, compared to the more radical Murray Rothbard, will often point out that Mises was no “anarchist.”
This assertion, however, runs into trouble when we consider Mises’s comments in Liberalism on the topic of radical decentralization:
The topic of our Mises Circle going on in Houston this weekend is “Where Are We Headed in 2016?” (Click here to watch live on Saturday.) While Austrians understand that the future is unknowable, this week give us some clues as to what may be ahead.
In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan announced last night that it would employ negative interest rate policy for the first time in its history.
The formula for this is rather complex. It’s based on interest for bank reserves held with the central bank, and it seems that only new deposits will be charged the negative rate.
In their new book, Phishing for Phools, Nobel-prize winning economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller use a behavioral economics approach to criticize the “manipulation and deception” that can exist between businesses and consumers.
According to Shiller,
Last week, the Bank of Canada announced it would stay at 0.5 percent for its target overnight rate (the equivalent of the Federal Funds Rate in the US).
The Fed announced today that, as expected, it will not change the target Federal Funds Rate. This follow’s last month’s rate change when the Fed increased its target rate from 0-0.25 up to 0.25-0.50, which was the first increase in seven years.
Today’s lack of action thus leaves the target rate near what are historic lows:
The economic causes and consequences of immigration are among the most important issues facing the world today. Both pro- and anti-immigration advocates are digging in their heels, and both sides look increasingly unlikely to relent. Despite the bleak outlook, however, there is still hope for a peaceful and charitable discussion of the economics of immigration.
The exhortations of our rulers and their crony fractional-reserve banksters to renounce our irrational desire to hoard cash and embrace a brave new cashless world appear to be falling on deaf ears, at least in Europe. In 2015 there were 1.08 trillion euros ($1.17 trillion) of bank notes in circulation, up 6.5 percent from 2014.
