Tag Archive: Switzerland

Gold is money – everything else is credit!

What physical precious metals investors can expect 2023 and beyond Throughout the better part of 2022 there has been one question that has consistently, and predictably, popped up in conversations with my friends, clients and readers. Those who know me and are familiar with my ideas are well aware of my position on precious metals and the multiple roles they serve, so I can’t blame them for them for being curious whether I still “stick to my...

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Consolidative Tuesday

Overview: The yen and sterling are trading quietly after the recent drama, but with the Party Congress ending, the Chinese yuan has been permitted to fall faster. It approached the 2% band today and its loss of about 0.65% today makes it the weakest among the emerging market currencies.

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SNB Losses in the News

My written statement for 20minuten: Anlageverluste der SNB sind schlecht für den Schweizer Steuerzahler, denn ihm gehört die SNB. Sie können aber auch Entwicklungen widerspiegeln, die ihre guten Seiten haben. Jetzt zum Beispiel führt die Frankenstärke zu Anlageverlusten, bremst aber auch die importierte Inflation.

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The SNB’s Financial Result, Currency Reserves, and Distribution Reserve

How are SNB profits and losses distributed and what issues are debated? Annual Result Funds two “Reserves” The annual result (Jahresergebnis) of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is split into two parts.

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Euro Tests Parity

Equities remain under pressure as investors contemplate tighter financial conditions and the risks of recession. Most of the large equity markets in the Asia Pacific region sold-off, led by a 2.7% drop in Taiwan.

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Risk Appetites Improve Ahead of the Weekend

Overview: Equities are higher and bonds lower as the week's activity winds down. Asia Pacific markets rallied, paced by more than 2% gains in Hong Kong and South Korea.

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A crack-up boom in the making

The great Ludwig von Mises first described the concept of a crack-up boom as part of the Austrian business cycle theory, based on real life events that to an unsuspecting bystander might have appeared unconnected, or perhaps even quite bizarre and counterintuitive. Indeed, such a bystander might think the same of today’s economy and would likely have trouble making sense of the picture painted by stock markets, by our monetary and fiscal policies...

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A Look at Switzerland’s Booming Digital Asset Ecosystem

In recent years, Switzerland’s blockchain and digital asset ecosystem has matured rapidly and grown into one of the world’s leading blockchain hubs, a position that’s asserted by its expanding workforce and a rising number of foreign companies setting up operations locally.

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Inflation outlook – A battle lost before it started

After months of consumer price increases and after countless working households found themselves in dire financial straits struggling to make ends meet, in the late May, President Biden finally revealed his grand plan to fight inflation in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. The much-anticipated response to the cost of living crisis that has been ravaging the nation sadly did not contain the silver bullet that so many Americans were hoping for....

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Dollar Starts the Week Bid ahead of the FOMC

Overview: Equities, bonds, and the dollar begin the new week on a firm note.  Japanese, Chinese, Australian, and New Zealand equities advanced in the Asia Pacific region.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is snapping a three-day decline, and US futures are 0.25%-0.35% higher.  The US 10-year yield is a little softer at 1.48%. European benchmark yields are mostly 1-2 bp lower, and near 0.71%, the UK Gilt's yield is at a three-month low.  The dollar is rising...

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RBA Jettisons Yield Curve Control but Continues to Resist Market Pressure

Overview: The third record close of the S&P 500 failed to lift Asia Pacific and European shares today.  In Asia, the large bourses fell, except South Korea, which rallied a little more than 1%.  Europe's Stoxx 600 is threatening to snap a three-day advance, while US index futures are soft.  The US 10-year yield is firm, around 1.56%.  European bonds are rallying.  Peripheral yields are off 8-9 bp, while core rates are 3-5 lower.  The Reserve...

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Markets Look for Direction, Currencies in Narrow Ranges

Overview: The global capital markets are subdued today as investors wrestle with the rising virus, the shifting stance of several central banks, and a more tense geopolitical backdrop.  Equity markets are struggling today. 

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“Die Nationalbank ist an vielen Fronten gefordert (Challenges for the Swiss National Bank),” NZZ, 2021

Should the SNB follow the Fed and the ECB and rework its strategy? There is a case for rethinking the broad inflation target, the monetary policy concept, and the communication strategy. Equally important is a strategy review outside of the SNB: The SNB cannot and must not decide about the framework within which it operates.

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Precious metals are and always have been the ultimate insurance

As we enter the second quarter of 2021, the year during which so many mainstream analysts and politicians have predicted we’ll see a miraculous recovery from the covid crisis, it is becoming increasingly clear that the damage inflicted by the lockdowns and the shutdowns is really very extensive an persistent. Of course, I’m referring to the damage to the real economy, that is, to actual businesses, households and the countless citizens that were...

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Switzerland’s Blockchain Fintech Industry in 2021

Switzerland is home to 130 startups that are applying blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to finance use cases, new data from Swisscom show. Most of these companies (48%) operate in the banking infrastructure vertical, followed by investment management (24%), and payments (21%).

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FX Daily, December 17: Dollar Thumped

Overview: The prospects of a UK-EU deal and US stimulus continue to underwrite risk appetites and weigh on the dollar.  Equity markets are moving higher.  Led by Australia and China, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose to new record highs, while Dow Jones Stoxx 600 in Europe is at its best level since February.

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House View, October 2020

Rising coronavirus cases accompanied by flagging recovery momentum and a fractious run-up to the US elections make prospects for equities highly reliant on 3Q results and further policy stimulus. Against this background we have downgraded our stance on euro area equities from neutral to underweight, following a similar downgrade for US equities in August.

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FX Daily, September 28: Stocks Recover while the Greenback Consolidates

Overview: Following the strong finish in the US before the weekend, global equities are paring last week's slide.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose to for a second session. Markets in  Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and India rose by more than 1%.  China and Australia were notable exceptions. 

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“The U.S. economy felt like a balloon in search of a needle” – Part I

As we move deeper and deeper into this covid crisis, more and more people understand that there’s a lot more to fear besides the disease itself. As the economic impact and the full scale of the damage caused by the lockdowns and the shutdowns become undeniable, there are too many questions lacking any sort of convincing answer and the future for so many employees, business owners, investors and ordinary savers seems bleak and uncertain.

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You cannot print your way to prosperity – Part II

Looking at the damage inflicted upon supply chains, production facilities and global trade in particular, how quickly could these operations snap back even if all COVID-related restrictions were lifted tomorrow? Do you think we’ll eventually get back to business as usual, or have we now experienced a permanent shift to a “new normal”?

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