Free Republic

A Johns Hopkins University economist wasn’t having any of has-been comedian Jon Stewart’s gaslighting over the true source of America’s inflation crisis: a drastically inflated money supply. Economist Steve Hanke joined the Oct. 19 edition of Apple TV’s The Problem with Jon Stewart and didn’t mince words. “Inflation is always and everywhere caused by one thing: too much money. Period,” Hanke said. “That’s the end of the story. It is simpler than you think.” Stewart immediately tried to retort with pseudo-economic reasoning: “I’ve read studies that contradict that, but I don’t know.” Hanke didn’t waste time rebutting: “Whatever you’re reading...

Guest(s): Steve Hanke Professor of Applied Economics, Johns Hopkins University President Donald Trump is not facing stiff competition for the presidential elections in November, and a low chance of a recession should further help his odds, this according to Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins university. “If you look at the challengers, there’s not much to write home about. They’re pretty pathetic,” Hanke told Kitco News. “The economy might not make Trump a shoe-in, but it’ll be in pretty good shape and he’ll be pretty tough to challenge. (Video at link)

As the Trump administration tightens sanctions against Iran and Russia, and as the imposition of tariffs against China as a means of negotiating a more favorable trade arrangement continue, all three nations are moving away from the U.S. dollar primarily when it comes to oil sales, as a way of circumventing the punitive measures. “There is a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements. There is a need for this, as well as the wish of the parties,” Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said earlier this month when discussing the move....

Venezuela came to a standstill on Tuesday as the country tried to deal with its newly introduced currency. Thousands of businesses closed in order to adapt to the "sovereign bolivar", and many workers stayed at home. President Nicolás Maduro launched the new banknotes on Monday, revaluing and renaming the old bolivar currency. The government says this will tackle runaway inflation, but critics say it could make the crisis worse. The notes went into circulation on Tuesday.

Venezuela is doing something completely unprecedented. Some even say illegal. As part of an attempt to stop skyrocketing inflation, the country is issuing a new fiat currency called the "sovereign bolivar," which will be backed by a cryptocurrency. But that cryptocurrency, called the "petro," does not trade, and Venezuela's own parliament says it's being illegally used to mortgage the nation's cash-strapped oil reserves. "This is a smoke-and-mirrors operation typical of Venezuela — I'll believe it when I see it," said Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University and one of the world's leading experts on hyperinflation. "The...

The IMF, boat people and a better way Lawrence Minard, 04.06.98 A great deal has been written about the International Monetary Fund in the past few months. So why offer more, as we do in this issue? Because most of the coverage has accepted the IMF's opinion that it must take on ever bigger and more expensive responsibilities to supervise the world economy. Globaloney, say our three contributors to the debate. Each looks at the IMF from a different perspective, yet they arrive at similar conclusions. Forbes Global Deputy Editor Nigel Holloway, who covered the world's financial markets for 18...