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SNB CHF Blog: A beleaguered central bank in the dangerous world of global macro and euro crisis

SNB CHF Blog: An economic encyclopedia on the Swiss safe-haven and its central bank written by an association of independent financial advisers.

 

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Negative Interest Rates SNB

Why negative rates would imply that the Swiss franc rises

Once again SNB chairman Thomas Jordan spoke about negative interest rates. What should he do? Since August 2012, the ECB does not pay interest on banks’ deposit facility. The consequence was that banks removed these excess reserves at the ECB. Jordan impressed FX traders and they pushed the EUR/CHF over 1.2650, to its highest level …

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ISM YoY

EUR/CHF 1.30 Soon and Then Never Again?

CHF: The long way to a risk-on currency The Swiss franc continues to weaken. We think that the EUR/CHF might top close to 1.30 in the coming months. After that the franc should slowly improve again because it will become a sort of risk-on currency. As basis you should understand that the Swiss franc has …

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Equity-Risk-Premium-per-Country

Jim O’Neills Bullish BRICS Outlook until 2020 and our Critics

Goldman Sachs Asset Management via Business Insider “I have chosen to focus on the world,” said Jim O’Neill in his final note as an economist for Goldmans Sachs. O’Neill, who is famous for coining the acronym BRICs, discusses how the BRICs and other growth markets will continue to be an increasingly important driver of global …

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How Long Will the U.S. Recovery Last? A Reminder: The False Japanese Recovery in 1998/1999

Whoever is betting on a quick and long lasting U.S. recovery after the deep financial crisis should look on Japan in 1998/1999. After the Asian financial crisis, the Japanese yen recovered from 147 yen per dollar to 115 in just 4 months. This at the height of the strong dollar period. We often see over-enthusiam …

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Target Balances November 2012

A Monetarist Approach: Did the Fed Cause the Euro Crisis with Excessive Monetary Easing?

Monetary and fiscal policy in the Euro crisis: The Balance of Payments Crisis The euro zone crisis is a balance of payments crisis.1 Balance of payments crises (“BoP” crises) often appear during inflationary periods – when inflation in the leading country of the global monetary system, the United States, is high. During inflationary periods, during …

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Money Supply China EU US

The Inflation Lie? Friedman’s Monetarist Business Cycle Applied to Emerging Markets and Developed Economies

Many people claim that “money printing” and increasing money supply does not create inflation, some even speak of the “inflation lie”. Effectively, higher money supply did not create high inflation in developed nations, yet, because many of them were in a balance sheet recession, a period when firms and individuals prefer to reduce debt instead of spending, …

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Beppe Grillo

Why it Makes Sense to Exit the Euro Zone in Times of Balance Sheet Recessions

We think that the Italian, other peripheral economies and also France will follow Japan for a decade or more of balance sheet recession: stagnant wages, falling real estate prices and a reduction of private debt. On one side, we reckon that this might not be so bad because it will help exports and competitiveness, but …

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SNB Q1-Q4 Currency Breakdown

SNB Q1 Results: Bottom-Fishing Cheap Yen, Increases Equity Share with Gains and Margin Debt

We regularly publish the SNB asset structure by currency, rating & duration, they might be a template for the tactical asset allocation in these dimensions (CHF certainly excluded) for other fixed income and/or rather conservative asset managers. Composition of SNB Forex Reserves, Q1/2013 With the strong results of 11.2 billion francs, the SNB reduced the …

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richard-koo

Richard Koo’s newest paper: About the Ineffectiveness of Monetary Expansion

Richard Koo’s Central Banks in Balance Sheet Recessions: A Search for Correct Response   In the following some extracts: Koo bashes Quantitative Easing as pure measure to increase asset prices:   About the inability of FX markets to judge the effects of monetary expansion: Koo: As more and more people began to realize that increases …

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Swiss gold

SNB Reveals Location of Swiss Gold and Comments on Gold Initiative

The Swiss National Bank speaks out against the gold initiative and reveals that the Swiss gold is stored mostly in Switzerland and 20% in the UK and 10% in Canada. There is no Swiss gold in the United States according to SNB chairman Jordan. We speculate that the gold stored in the U.S. got transferred …

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Swiss CPI Eurozone Mar 2013

Understanding Price Movements of the Swiss Franc

Not even the Swiss National Bank seems to understand the CHF price movements and why it is currently weakening.   In this post we indicate some fundamental reasons why the franc could weaken. (This post contains a movie which should start immediately) Based on Verdelhan’s “The Share of Systemic Risk in Bilateral Exchange Rates“, the SNB …

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US household and private wealth March 2013

Are Asset Price Bubbles Needed to Make the US Economy Recover?

About the trade-off between economic recovery and financial stability In the recent post on gold prices, we maintained that the Fed will raise interest rates far later than most FOMC members admit. This would imply that the years of financial repression will continue and investors will push up asset prices, incl. gold, instead. Many libertarians …

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Gold vs US Interest Rates 1973 to 2009

Which Of The Six Major Fundamental Factors For Gold And Silver Are Still Positive? Which Are Not?

In the first part we identified the six major fundamentals that drive gold and silver prices. In this second part we speak about the relationship between gold and silver. We explain which fundamental factors speak for an increase of gold and silver prices and which don’t. Since fundamentals are very difficult to grasp, many people …

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