Gold tests $1960

Hyatt Executive Chairman Thomas Pritzker Resigns Over Epstein Ties Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times, Thomas J. Pritzker, the longtime executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, announced his retirement effective immediately on Feb. 16, acknowledging what he described as “terrible judgment” in maintaining contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Pritzker, 75, said in a statement released by the company on Monday that he will also not stand for reelection to Hyatt’s board of directors at the company’s 2026 annual shareholder meeting. In a letter shared...

France's Debt Spiral: Tax Hikes Mask A Looming Crisis Submitted by Thomas Kolbe On both sides of the Franco-German border, the same problem persists: overburdened and reform-averse politicians struggle against a rapidly accelerating debt spiral. Their preferred tool: higher levies. Last week, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure reported a revision of the projected budget deficit for the current year. Initial estimates for 2026 had suggested a deficit well above five percent. Yet numerous fiscal measures brought last year’s deficit down to 5.1%. For 2026, the Finance Ministry expects it to stabilize at around...

Ludwig von Mises Mises argues in Nation, State, and Economy that nationalism is compatible with economic and political liberty if it is peaceful, based on self-determination as an individual right.