Lessons from 2021: The rational way out
As we are all preparing to bid farewell to 2021, there is a general feeling that this year, much like its predecessor, will not be missed. To my mind, however, it is clear that even though the past 12 months didn’t really teach us anything new, they did help cement…
“We are witnessing the mother of all bubbles” – Part II
Interview with Fernando del Pino Calvo-Sotelo – Part II of II Claudio Grass (CG): We often refer to inflation as a “hidden tax” or a “silent thief”, due to the fact that most of the time, its effects are hardly noticed by the average household in real time. However, this time appears…
“We are witnessing the mother of all bubbles”
Part I of II – Interview with Fernando del Pino Calvo-Sotelo As 2021 draws to an end, it is a good time for us all to pause for a moment, look back and take stock of the year that is almost behind us. It is especially interesting to recall what…
The taper that never was
For many months now, the mainstream financial press and market analysts have been anticipating some kind of violent reaction or a “taper tantrum”, based on what they described as “hawkish” statements from the Fed and other central banks. Removing the “crutches” from the economy, by hiking interest rates and stopping the asset purchasing…
Government interventions and the Cobra effect – Part II
Part II of II Unsound money, unsound society Of course, one of the most important and consequential parts of the incredibly complex organism that is the economy is money itself. It is its lifeblood and as the song goes, “it makes the world go round”. Therefore, manipulating the currency itself is…
Government interventions and the Cobra effect – Part I
Part I of II Almost two decades ago, German economist Horst Siebert coined the term the “Cobra effect” to describe the real-world consequences of “well-intentioned” government interventions that go awry and produce the exact opposite results from what they aim for. The term was inspired by an incident that took place in…
Inflation on the rise – The blame game
After months of outright denials and fiery persistence that inflation is not a problem and never will be, central bankers in the US, the EU and other advanced economies are now being forced to face reality, as well as the consequences of their own actions. Instead of doing that, however,…
Corruption of the currency and decivilization
Lessons from the Fall of the Roman Empire – Part I of II The rise and fall of the Roman Empire is arguably one the most studied, written about and theorized over subjects in academia, with fiery debates raging for hundreds of years among historians, sociologists and political scientists. The…
Germany in limbo: what lies ahead for savers and investors
The September 26 election was an extremely close race, with the eyes of the world fixed upon the country as it tried to find the successor of Angela Merkel, one the most influential and longest-serving leaders in Europe. But even after the results came in, the suspense was far from…