45 years ago today, on August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon officially closed the gold window. While US citizens had been forbidden from owning gold or from redeeming their gold certificates for gold coins since the early 1930s, foreign governments still had the privilege of redeeming their dollars for gold. Due to the Federal Reserve’s
The Japanese response to negative interest rates was to buy personal safes . The German response is to pull money out of bank accounts and stick it in safe deposit boxes . Both are perfectly understandable reactions to the prospect of having to pay interest to a bank for holding deposits. It is particularly interesting in Germany, where the
The European Central Bank (ECB) made waves recently with its decision to lower interest rates on its deposit facility to -0.30%. That means that banks wanting to park their money at the ECB have to pay the ECB for that privilege. The supposed reason for introducing negative interest rates is to spur lending on the part of banks. Rather than being
According to the website of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the IMF’s purpose is: to ensure the stability of the international monetary system—the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries (and their citizens) to transact with each other. One of the ways in which the IMF does that is by providing loans to
It’s not breaking news, but the cost of producing pennies and nickels is still higher than their face value . This has been an issue for the past decade, with no progress being made. If the US Mint decides to change the composition of the penny and nickel, operators of vending machines and other coin-operated machines would have to spend hundreds
Boeing is cutting production of its 747 in half. Demand that had been expected for the 747-8 freighter, in particular, never materialized. Is this just the result of airlines and air freight companies preferring twin-engine jets to the four-engine 747? Is there overcapacity among airlines, making it cheaper to buy or lease used planes than
Banking today is not the same as it was 100, 50, or even 20 years ago. The next 20 years will see even more changes to the banking system, perhaps a complete upheaval. At the turn of the 20th century, banknotes could still be redeemed for gold, and silver coins circulated in everyday commerce. Fifty years ago, silver had just disappeared from
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has come out in favor of eliminating the $100 bill . Following on the European Central Bank’s decision to scrap the €500 note , it is clear that the international war on cash is about to intensify. In the United States the lowest coin denominations, the penny and nicke l, are increasingly devalued by
Neel Kashkari used his first public speech as President of the Minneapolis Fed to argue in favor of breaking up big banks. Big banks are problematic for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that their size, reach, and systemic importance makes it incredibly difficult for the government to allow them to go bankrupt. While small
The Russian government is readying a new issuance of foreign bonds and has invited non-Russian banks to participate in the bond auction. US banks would like to participate in the auction but have been warned by the State Department that this would violate the spirit, if not the letter, of US sanctions against Russia. Even though it wouldn’t be
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.