After a miraculous first quarter, gold prices began to correct again. After the first five months, gold has returned 14.3% (or 10.9% in euros) year-to-date. The gold price broke through the $1,300/oz-barrier, but has declined over the past few weeks to just above $1.200 per troy ounce. The gold price in 2016 has exceeded expectations by a landslide, but what is the outlook for gold prices in the second half of 2016?

Recently, I was interviewed by Lex Hoogduin, professor in monetary economics at the University of Groningen and former director of the Dutch central bank (DNB), about the publication of the first Dutch edition of Ludwig von Mises’ magnum opus, Human Action. Despite the fact that this book appeared for the first time in 1949, the lessons of Mises are as relevant as ever. How relevant exactly? Let’s look at five quotes from Mises’ masterpiece to see just how relevant his work still is

“Helicopter money” once started as a scientific aid. It was part of a thought experiment, for monetary economists to understand the consequences of changes in the supply of money. Assume, as the experiment would say, that central banks instead of buying bonds (with which they increase the monetary base), would throw money out of helicopters, giving every citizen instantly an x amount of additional money? What would that do to prices? In contrast, today we are discussing helicopter money as a practical policy tool, instead of an abstract, analytical aid.