December 2007 - Love of Liberty - Mises Community Archive

Determining If The Recession Has Begun

In this article from Fortune, the author tries to make the case that you don't know you're in a recession until months after it starts. The author writes: Investing successfully is about looking ahead, while determining whether we're in a...

Published Thu, Dec 27 2007 10:02 AM by ChrisR

Filed under: inflation, business cycles

Free Market to Blame For The Mortgage Crisis?

I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would read that the free market is to blame for the current housing bust. Below is an excerpt from a letter to the editor of the New York Times : Its cause is the rigid, unrealistic ideology of the “magic...

Published Sat, Dec 22 2007 11:56 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: housing

ECB's Contradictions

From CNNMoney : European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet warned Wednesday that the euro area's inflation surge was likely to last longer than expected - a remark suggesting the bank will stick to its tough stance on interest rates even...

Published Wed, Dec 19 2007 9:05 AM by ChrisR

Filed under: inflation, eu

A New Way to Look at History

Murray Rothbard wrote that Lao-Tzu was the first libertarian intellectual. I recently read Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching and received some real insight from the following passage: (Note: "Tao" is the word that Lao-Tzu used to describe God): "Things...

Published Tue, Dec 18 2007 9:10 AM by ChrisR

Filed under: history

Brian Tracy Acknowledges Von Mises

For those who don't know who Brian Tracy is, here is a short bio: Brian Tracy has traveled and worked in more than ninety countries worldwide. He has started, built, managed, or turned around twenty-two different companies and produced more than 300...

Published Mon, Dec 17 2007 4:16 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: mises

My Thoughts on the Wii Shortages

In Jan. 2007, I was fortunate enough to purchase a Wii from Toys "R" Us. Back then, I never would have thought that the same supply/demand situation would still exist today. They are still very hard to find. One recurring thought that I've...

Published Fri, Dec 14 2007 4:19 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: supply and demand

Greenspan On A Possible Recession

Alan Greenspan gave an interview to NPR News' Morning Edition. Here is an excerpt ( via AP ): Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the odds the U.S. will fall into a recession are "clearly rising"... He said he felt this way...

Published Thu, Dec 13 2007 8:41 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: business cycles, greenspan

Another Browser War?

I am a big fan of the Opera web browser. However, I am not happy with the latest news ( via AP ): Web browser developer Opera Software ASA asked European regulators Thursday to force Microsoft Corp. to give users a choice of Internet software with its...

Published Thu, Dec 13 2007 2:20 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: monopolies

Fed Cranks Up The Presses

CNN/Money reports : "One day after disappointing Wall Street with a quarter-point rate cut, the Federal Reserve announced a plan to inject billions of dollars into the financial system." The fact that the Fed is working together with central...

Published Wed, Dec 12 2007 1:19 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: inflation, ron paul

Philosophy of Ownership

I just finished reading Robert LeFevre 's Philosophy of Ownership. Here's the link to the Mises Store. You can also read the free electronic version . Even though I was familiar with most of the ideas that Mr. LeFevre presented, I still found...

Published Mon, Dec 10 2007 7:20 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: savings, socialism, private poperty

China Tightens Credit

The Bank of China has raised rates five times this year. And today (via Bloomberg ): China ordered banks to increase reserves by the most in four years to try to prevent the world's fastest-growing major economy from overheating. With sound money...

Published Sat, Dec 08 2007 8:23 AM by ChrisR

Filed under: inflation, china

Inflation in Venezuela

The process is so predictible: The central bank increases the money supply Prices rise Government imposes price controls Shortages occur It's the classic one-two punch. Venezuela is one of the latest countries to take a trip down inflation trail ...

Published Thu, Dec 06 2007 4:17 AM by ChrisR

Filed under: inflation

Paulson's Plan

Here is an article written by Michael Pento via the Financial Sense website. Below are some highlights from the article: The essence of his plan is to convince the owners of sub-prime adjustable mortgage debt to freeze the interest rate resets for a period...

Published Wed, Dec 05 2007 8:20 AM by ChrisR

Filed under: housing

Dr. Paul mentions Mises in BusinessWeek Interview

Maria Bartiromo interviewed Ron Paul in BusinessWeek. I think it was a great interview...really got to the heart of what Dr. Paul stands for: I especially liked this question and answer: Maria: Who are your economic advisers? Ron Paul: I don't have...

Published Tue, Dec 04 2007 5:05 PM by ChrisR

Filed under: ron paul

Google & The Ron Paul Revolution

It recently dawned on me how important Google has been to the Ron Paul Revolution : There is the notorious " Google Ron Paul ." YouTube has been invaluable! Google hosted Ron Paul at the their Headquarters. Here is the great video . Vijay Boyapati...

Published Mon, Dec 03 2007 5:56 PM by ChrisR