Tag: Ludwig von Mises

  • What Gives Cryptocurrencies Their Value

    The value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, just like any other kind of money, comes fundamentally from what you can do with it. As a follow up to What Backs Bitcoin, I want to dig into that value. The idea, which comes from Austrian economist Carl Menger, is that just as a shovel’s value comes from its…

  • About how to trade properly

    Q: I am interested in learning more about how to trade properly. Can you help me? Your material on pyramiding: It sounds too good to be true. So, is it true? A: It is a mathematical model that permits you to compare alternatives. Q: It is not realistic. People do not get these types of…

  • About the magic of compounding

    Q: Magic of compounding sounds too good to be true. So, is it true? A: It is a mathematical model that permits you to compare alternatives. Q: It is not realistic. People do not get these types of returns. Reality is different. A: Yes, most people are negative and do not even try. Then there…

  • The Nature of Market Speculation

    Q: Are you turned off by the zero sum and negative nature of market speculation? Especially short selling? A: No. It is only a zero sum game for the speculators involved. For the market economy, it is a win win. The price signals sent by the changes caused by the nature of market speculation are…

  • Economic Law and the Price of Gold

    Price of Gold Q: Can you give us an update on how close we are to the end of the bear market in Price of Gold? A: We get closer every day. That much is for sure. My best guess is the low will occur a month and a half to three and a half…

  • Market Timing the Low in Gold

    From a purely mental perspective it’s a snap. We know when the low will occur and the gold market will turn from a bear to a bull. It will happen when most market participants expect a higher future price than the then spot price plus the cost to carry. Ludwig von Mises, in Human Action,…

  • The Money Illusion

    Freedom is, in the historical context, a new idea. Perhaps 97 percent of the time, tyranny has ruled men’s lives. Sun Tzu was popular 2,500 years ago and remains so today while Ludwig von Mises received only a passing mention in the last century. Though one explored the science of war and the other the…