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The socialist idea of a planned economy is gradually being made a reality by the monetary policies of central banks, such as the United States Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The idea is also promoted by a considerable number of western economists and politicians. The conventional wisdom within that group is that economies […]

Essay by Dr. Tillmann C. Lauk; presentated at the ECAEF Workshop, in Bratislava on September 8, 2016  Since the GFC1 of 2008 all central banks of the Triade are pursuing the same monetary policies. All central banks of the advanced-/over-indebted economies stick to this recipe. The main tools are QE2, ZIRP3 and NIRP4 and possibly in the […]

GIS statement by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein It has been the intellectual fashion among commentators, politicians and some economists to claim that the financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing economic downturn were caused by excessively free markets, or “turbo-capitalism.” From this they deduce that free markets foster inequality, and that inequality is the main source […]

It is almost impossible to listen to politicians, intellectuals and media personalities lately without hearing the lament that liberal democracies are being threatened by populists, usually of an authoritarian bent. At face value this assessment seems correct. But on closer examination, doubts grow about whether Western political systems can still be called democratic and liberal. […]

   During the press conference, which followed the 21st July’s meeting of the ECB Governing Council held in Frankfurt, Governor Mario Draghi declared that the European banking system currently has a “future profitability problem” rather than a “solvency problem”. He related profitability imbalances afflicting European banks with the high amount of non-performing loans (NPLs) in […]