ECONOMICS

Authored by Frank Shostack via Mises.org,

According to the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), money is something decided by the state. The MMT regards money as a token. For instance, when an individual places a coat in the cloakroom of a theater, he receives a tin disc or a paper receipt. This receipt or a disc is a proof that the individual is entitled to demand the return of his coat.

According to the MMT, the material used to manufacture the tokens is irrelevant—it can be gold, (more…)

After Friday's (tariff-front-running-import-surge-driven) tumble in Atlanta Fed's GDPNOW accelerated growth scare anxiety in bonds (and stocks), this morning we see US Manufacturing PMI surge back into expansion (52.7 – better than the expected 51.6) – its strongest level of implied growth since June 2022 (despite the slide in US Macro Surprise data over the past month).

The ISM Manufacturing survey, on the other hand, disappointed, falling from 50.9 to 50.3 (50.8 exp).. (more…)

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow model projection for real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025) is now showing a slump to -1.5%. This marks a significant downward revision from the previous estimate of 2.3% on February 19, 2025.

Such an enormous decline is strange. How did we go from +2.3% to -1.5% in less than a month? That kind of collapse in an economy as large as the United States is exceedingly rare. [ZH: It's even (more…)