Today, we want to say two things about negative interest rates. The first is really simple. Anyone who believes in a theory of interest that says “the savers demand interest to compensate for inflation” needs to ask if this explains...
Let’s revisit a point that came up in passing, in the Silver Doctors’ interview of Keith. At around 35:45, he begins a question about weights and measures, and references the Coinage Act of 1792. This raises an interesting set of...
Not too long ago, we wrote about the so called Modern Monetary so called Theory (MMT). It is not modern, and it is not a theory. We called it a cargo cult. You’d think that everyone would know that donning...
Keith gave a keynote address—the only speaker with an hour to cover his topic—at the Gold and Alternative Investments Conference in Sydney on Saturday. Said topic was the nature of money.
“Money is a matter of functions four: a medium, a...
We talk a lot about the falling interest rate, the too-low interest rate, the near-zero interest rate, the zero interest rate, and the negative interest rate. Hat Tip to Switzerland, where Credit Suisse is now going to pay depositors -0.85%....
This week, we will delve into something really abstract. Not like monetary economics, which is so simple even a caveman can do it.
A Clever Ruse
We refer to a clever rhetorical trick. It’s when someone makes a broad and important assertion,...
It seems one cannot make a name for one’s self on the Left, unless one has a proposal to tax wealth. Academics like Tomas Piketty have proposed it. And now the Democratic candidates for president in the US propose it...
We discuss capital consumption all the time, because it is the megatrend of our era. However, capital consumption is an abstract idea. So let’s consider some concrete examples, to help make it clearer.
Flipping Homes, Consuming Capital
First, let’s look at the...
Something happened in the credit market this week. A Barron’s article about it began:
“There have been disruptions in the plumbing of U.S. markets this week. While the process of fixing them was bumpy, it was more of a technical mishap...
This week, the prices of the metals fell further, with gold -$18 and silver -$0.73.
On May 28, the price of silver hit its nadir, of $14.30. From the last three days of May through Sep 4, the price rose to...
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