The Austrian school – on account of the logical, deductive character of its theories and their realistic applicability to the actual economy – is the only economic tradition that consciously aspires to the discovery of timeless, universally relevant truths that govern the realm of human action. Thus, it should come as no surprise that its analytical apparatus is naturally suitable for the evaluation of all the recent newfangled socioeconomic phenomena.

Hans-Hermann Hoppe, in his book Democracy: The God That Failed and his 1995 article in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, set forth an interesting theory concerning the difference in time preference between a monarch and a democratic politician. The argument stresses the difference in the use of political power according to the degree to which the ruler is future oriented.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) embargo on sales of crude oil from their member countries to the United States was a response to US support for Israel in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War against invading Egyptian and Syrian military forces. This oil embargo raised barrel prices on the open market and, when combined with US price controls, reduced the amount of oil available in the US for refining into gasoline, leading to domestic gasoline shortages and higher prices at the pump.

The summit of the so-called BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has closed with an invitation to join the group extended to the Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Ethiopia.

The summit has generated a lot of headlines about the impact of this widespread group of nations, including speculation about the end of the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency if this group is perceived as a threat to the United States or even the International Monetary Fund.

Several things need to be clarified.

Jonathan Weil at the Wall Street Journal reports that Republic First Bancorp (not to be confused with First Republic Bank, which failed earlier this year) is in trouble.

It is suffering the same kinds of problems that sank Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank in March 2023.

The great Wanjiru Njoya has done a podcast for the Tom Woods Show that is available here: https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/wanjiru-njoya/

Recently, anyone who pays attention to current events has been assaulted with the news that both the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ unions are striking simultaneously for the first time since 1960. Workers for UPS also recently reached a deal with their employer after threats of a nationwide strike by the Teamsters union.

According to many commentators, the Fed’s monetary policy, which aims at price stability, is the key factor in attaining stable economic growth. They claim that what prevents the attainment of price stability are fluctuations in the federal funds rate relative to the neutral interest rate, also known as the natural interest rate. Under this view, since the natural interest rate is consistent with stable prices and a balanced economy, Fed policymakers should steer the federal funds rate toward it.