-
Derivative Demons
Derivatives are not bad per se. They can help transfer risk. Transfer in time or to a different holder or both. But risk never goes away. In May 2022, the CBOE (Chicago Board of Options Exchange) introduced options on the S&P 500 stock index with expiration on every single day of the week. Meaning traders…
-
US October 2022 Fiscal Situation
The good news: Individual federal income taxes are STILL growing, and growing at a good clip: Corporate income taxes are also growing, but barely: Unfortunately, the gap between receipts and outlays is widening again, and so is the deficit: The “official” deficit (last 12 months) stands at $1.3 trillion. However, the actual deficit, as calculated…
-
Money, Matter, Anti-Matter
You cannot create money (in our current fiat monetary system) without simultaneously creating the same amount of debt. That is a hard thing to understand. Yet it is the key to understanding our monetary system. Most people immediately say “Well, the central bank just prints the money – where is the debt?” Yes, central banks…
-
Thoughts on Digital Currencies: Are Liability-free CBDC possible?
I recently attended the #CBDC #CentralBank #Digital #Currency Summit in Washington, DC in collaboration with the #IMF and George Washington University. Here are my thoughts. According to John Kiff, former Senior Financial Sector Expert at the IMF, retail CBDC are currently being explored in more than 90 jurisdictions: Source: John Kiff (www.Kiffmeister.com) Central Banks are spending a lot of effort on exploring…
-
Physical Demand for Gold is Strong
In September, #Switzerland exported 174 tonnes of #gold , an increase of 48% compared to a year ago. Exports by destination: 1. #China 44t (22t in Sept’21) 2. #India 35 (50) 3. #Turkey 32 (0) 4. #Thailand 13 (4) 5. #Emirates 11 (2) 6. #Singapore 9 (5) 7. #SaudiArabia 7 (1) Turkey had its strongest month since at least 2013. In general, physical gold is flowing from west to east. On the import…
-
Did US Fiscal Deficit Decline by “Record $1.4 Trillion”?
The US federal #fiscal #deficit decline by a record $1.4 trillion for the 12 months ending September 30. This is what the latest monthly #Treasury statement claims. But is that true? Let’s dig in. For a start, the September deficit went up almost by factor of 7. Partially due to debt limit theatre a year ago: The good news: individual…
