Riots and earthquakes are good for business
bySeveral thoughts pirouetted across my mind as I watched the coverage of Saturday’s protest and riots. I wondered why anti-capitalists were wearing clothing with…
Economics
From Lombard Street to Easy Street
byThe old adage about how to succeed in banking was the formula of ‘3-6-3’: borrow at 3%, lend at 6% and get onto the…
The Spectator Goes Austrian (This Week Anyway)
byI had a meeting two years ago with James Forsyth, the editor of The Spectator, and talked about the alternative world of Austrian Economics, how…
Building White Elephants in China
byLoose US monetary policy has had its echoes all around the world. The US dollar, once thought to be “as good as gold”, has…
Live blogging the 2011 Budget
byToday is the 2011 Budget, and I will be live blogging it for Reuters. Click here to follow live coverage throughout the day. As…
Congratulations Professor Philipp Bagus
byOn behalf of everyone associated with The Cobden Centre, I want to congratulate Professor Philip Bagus – Professor for Economics at University Rey Juan…
Zimbabwe now has lower inflation than UK and US!
byDo you remember when Zimbabwe was the country that had a $100 trillion dollar note but it was only worth a few US dollars?…
Jeremy Vine Show
byFollowing the Robert Peston BBC 2 documentary “Britain’s Banks: To Big to Save?” I was invited to appear on the Jeremy Vine Show yesterday…
Fractional Reserve Free Banking: Some Quibbles
byIn this article recently published in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, David Howden and I discuss the theoretical problems of fractional reserve free…
The meaning of the neutral interest rate
byThe idea of a neutral interest rate emanates from the writings of the Swedish economist Knut Wicksell. According to Wicksell, There is a certain…