Salud Financiera - Chile

In 2012 I wrote an article that followed the events that occurred after the Subprime crisis that ended the existence of several large banks in the United States, including the largest bankruptcy up to that time, that of Lehman Brothers investment bank. The point that was highlighted in that article (1) was the possible appearance of a phenomenon of rising prices of goods due to the excessive printing of paper money, as a response to the crisis by the central banks of the world, thus called quantitative easing. This expansion of the monetary base is literally the definition of inflation. A runaway inflation with exponential growth that, according to yours truly, could become a phenomenon of hyperinflation, as occurred in 1923 in Weimar Germany. The prediction I published did not come true, due in part to the fact that the world's central banks pulled all the tricks out of their magic hats, calming and managing (manipulating) the most important markets in the world until an apparent ...

El año 2012 escribí un artículo ( 1 ) que seguía la línea de los eventos sucedidos tras la crisis Subprime que terminó con la existencia de varios grandes bancos en Estados Unidos, entre ellos la mayor quiebra hasta ese momento, la del banco de inversión Lehman Brothers.  El punto que se destacaba en ese artículo era la posible aparición de un fenómenos de alza de precios de los bienes debido a la excesiva impresión de papel moneda, como respuesta a la crisis por parte de los bancos centrales del mundo, el así llamado alivio cuantitativo (Quantitative Easing). Esa expansión de la base monetaria es literalmente la definición de inflación. Una inflación desbocada y de crecimiento exponencial que, según su servidor, pudiese transformarse en un fenómeno de hiperinflación, tal como ocurrió en 1923 en la Alemania de Weimar. La predicción que publiqué no se cumplió, debido en parte a que los bancos centrales del mundo sacaron todos los trucos de sus sombreros mágicos, calmando y manejando...

El capitalismo es un concepto tan antiguo como la civilización más primigenia que podamos imaginar. En pocas palabras, el capitalismo es la capacidad humana para ahorrar parte del esfuerzo del trabajo (capital), para invertir ese capital y para obtener ganancias, repitiendo el ciclo infinitas veces. El concepto de capitalismo no encontró otro lugar más icónico para desarrollarse que Occidente, que se ha fundado y crecido en torno a los conceptos de libre emprendimiento y derecho de propiedad. Las ideas de Adam Smith sobre el capitalismo se plasmaron en su obra la "Riqueza de las Naciones", publicado en 1776, al mismo tiempo que nacía la así llamada cuna del capitalismo, los Estados Unidos de América. No se puede negar que los países desarrollados de Occidente (Norteamérica y Europa) han sido un ejemplo que ha permeado al mundo, afianzando terreno fértil en cada continente bajo las ideas de emprendimiento y libertad para invertir.   El capitalismo solo ha sido desafiado con me...

 As I commented before, there are a series of economic factors that suggest that we would be facing a seasonal change in relation to the world economy. Something like the fall of the financial system ( see article ). The actions of central banks appear to be increasingly focused on adjusting to extraordinary and unprecedented conditions. On June 30, 2023, the first storm of the economic fall may begin to form. This is due to the implementation of SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate), replacing LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate). You can see the countdown here . LIBOR has been the reference rate for large banks that need liquidity in transactions between banks, the so-called Repo market. For almost four decades, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London has published LIBOR's 35 daily rates, based on five exchange currencies, the US dollar, the euro, the British pound, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen, with different maturity rates. LIBOR rates issued daily impact credi...

Tal como he comentado antes, hay una serie de factores económicos que hacen pensar que estaríamos ante un cambio estacional en lo referente a la economía mundial. Algo así como el otoño del sistema financiero ( ver artículo ). Las acciones de los bancos centrales parecen estar cada vez más enfocadas en ajustarse a condiciones extraordinarias e inéditas. El día 30 de junio de 2023 puede comenzar a formarse la primera tormenta del otoño económico. Esto debido a la puesta en marcha de SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate), en reemplazo de LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate). Puede ver la cuenta atrás aquí .  LIBOR ha sido la tasa referente para los grandes bancos que necesitan liquidez en las transacciones entre bancos, el llamado mercado Repo. Por casi cuatro décadas, el Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) de Londres, ha publicado las 35 tasas diarias del LIBOR, basadas en cinco monedas de intercambio, el dólar norteamericano, el euro, la libra esterlina, el franco suizo y el yen jap...

Not being a soccer fan myself, I am struck by the dedication that soccer fans put into the performance of their favorite teams. Without a doubt, there is great passion guiding fans to witness each game and shout each goal. Technology has lived up to the passion of the fans and has provided high-definition streaming services for mobile phones, to watch the games at any time, with an additional service that catches my attention; the "Goal Alert", which is a message that arrives every time a goal occurs during a match of interest to the user, so that he can react quickly in case he is not connected to the broadcast of the match. The bad thing about the alarm is that when it arrives, the goal has already been scored, taking away a bit of the sparkle when seeing the repetition of the happy or sad event (depending on who's goal is it). I was thinking how valuable it would be to have a service like "goal alert" for other important things in life. However, beyond having...

No siendo un fan del fútbol, me llama la atención la dedicación que los fanáticos de este deporte le prestan al desempeño de sus equipos favoritos. Sin duda hay una gran pasión que guía a los hinchas para presenciar cada partido y gritar cada gol. La tecnología ha estado a la altura de la pasión de los hinchas y ha provisto servicios de streaming de alta definición para el móvil, para ver los partidos a la hora que sea, con un servicio adicional que llama mi atención; la "Alerta de Gol", que es un mensaje que llega cada vez que ocurre un gol durante un partido de interés para el usuario, para que pueda reaccionar rápidamente en caso de no estar conectado a la trasmisión del partido. Lo malo de la alarma es que cuando esta llega, el gol ya fue convertido, quitándole un poco de chispa al ver la repetición del alegre o triste acontecimiento (dependiendo de quién es el gol). Estuve pensando cuan valioso sería tener un servicio como la "alerta de gol" para otros temas im...

Just as autumn follows summer, it seems that human behavior patterns follow some kind of seasonal rhythm when it comes to the economy, because it has more to do with human needs than anything else and these change over time.  In this analogy, in the economic summer things are going well, banks grant loans with good rates, there is liquidity, there is an abundance of products and services, with prices to bargain, people have the chance to meet their basic needs, to experience new sensations, to plan, to project into the future with confidence and tranquility. When an economic summer situation occurs, society as a whole is relatively happier. On the contrary, when unmistakable signs of economic fall appear, of high interest rates, inflation and scarcity, human behavior takes a turn towards contraction, with greater restrictions when starting new projects, with a lesser tendency to experiment, and in general uncertainty makes appear more pessimism in the environment. According to my a...

 Eating is a basic need, there is no doubt about it. Eating is one of the greatest motivators to action. More than once in our lives we have heard or even said something like: "If I don't work, I don't eat", or "I have to put bread on the table", or "I have mouths to feed". Food safety is a constant concern for human beings. However, not everyone achieves that security in the world every day.  According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) ( 1 ), hunger increased in the world from 2019 (8.4%) to 2020 (10%), which is equivalent to more than 770 million people, mostly as a result of the pandemic. As we already know, the pandemic kept most of the world locked up for many months, which led to the destruction of jobs and the stagnation of production and logistics processes. Many foods stopped being grown, processed or distributed throughout the planet. When people lost their sources of employment, they did not...