The Better Than Cash Alliance (Visa, Mastercard, Citibank, Bill Gates, USAID) coordinates the global war against cash from New York. Now, the city council of the headquarters of the Alliance has decided to oblige all brick and mortar stores and restaurants to accept cash. The justification of the regulation is a low blow for the alliance's financial inclusion propaganda.

Since the tragic collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh, western textile companies have enforced higher safety standards there - and have made workers pay for it.

Jens Berger, editor of the popular progressive German Website "NachDenkSeiten", has just published an eye-opening book on the power of the three asset management giants BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street (in German). I have been allowed to publish the first chapter as an appetizer, which translates as "Breakfeast with BlackRock & Co."

The OECD and the EU want to change international tax principles to curb tax evasion. The United States is opposed to the plans as they would affect its internet companies and other US multinationals.

Germany's economic output contracted in the second quarter and most indications point to a worsening in the third quarter, which is just halfway through. The culprit is only superficially Donald Trump with his trade wars. The German economy has been on an unsustainable path in several respects. Now the government is called upon to act courageously and intelligently to ensure that a deep restructuring crisis is avoided.

On 27 March, the highest administrative court in Germany, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht, has referred my case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg. I have insisted to pay my legally required contributions to public radio and TV with the legal tender, euro cash. This is not possible according to their regulations. The Bundesverwaltungsgericht has ruled that there is indeed a requirement for all public institutions to accept cash based on §14 of the Bundesbank Act, which makes euro-banknotes legal tender. However, they will ask the ECJ to clarify, if this law is in agreement with higher ranking European law.

My book "Schönes neues Geld" (Brave new Money: PayPal, WeChat, Amazon Go - A Totalitarian World Currency in the Making) has found a Vietnamese publisher. Korean and Chinese versions are scheduled to be published this year. An English language summary of the book is here.

European Economic & Monetary Union (EMU) is in permanent crisis. The economic strengths of the participating nations are drifting apart instead of converging. This creates great frustration among the governments of countries being left behind and fierce disputes between them and Brussels and governments of core countries.

A year ago, I described how the controversial and well-financed ride-hauling platform Uber pays economists with data and money to do Uber-related research. This research invariably leads to favourable results, which can be used to fend off criticism and regulation. One such study has now been ripped apart in the Industrial & Labor Relations Review (ILR), a top journal in labor-economics.

Two years ago, on 8 November 2016 at 8 pm, prime minister Narendra Modi declared most cash in India demonetised, starting a period of several months of severe cash shortage, which imposed a lot of hardship and suffering on the people. The National Herald India invited me to write a guest-comment on the occasion.

The Bundesverwaltungsgericht in Leipzig, Germany's highest administrative court, has set the date for hearing my complaint against the refusal of the German public broadcasters to accept the payment in cash of the "Rundfunkbeitrag". That is the fee that all Germans have to pay by law to finance public braodcasting. At stake is the meaning of legal tender. Can public institutions refuse to accept the settlement of a money debt by means of the legal tender? Aktenzeichen: BVerwG 6 C 6.18

The German publisher of "Schönes neues Geld" (Brave New Money), Campus, has sold foreign rights to publishers in South Korea and in China. I am glad that the information on the global campaign to ablish cash and civic rights is spreading.