Monthly Archive: April 2016

FX Daily: Yen Pares Gains, Dollar-Bloc Firms

2016-04-08

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2016-04-08

The surging yen has been the main feature in the foreign exchange market in recent days, but its advancing streak has been stopped with today's setback.  The greenback traded briefly dipped below JPY107.70 in North America yesterday but has not ...

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Swiss Consumer Price Index in March 2016: -0.9 percent against 2015, +0.3 percent against last month

2016-04-08

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2016-04-08

08.04.2016 09:15  - FSO, Prices (0353-1603-50) Swiss Consumer Price Index in March 2016 Neuchâtel, 08.04.2016 (FSO) – The Swiss Consumer Price Index increased by 0.3% in March 2016 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.1 points (December 201...

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Great Graphic: WSJ survey of Fed Expectations

2016-04-07

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2016-04-07

This Great Graphic shows the results of the last three Wall Street Journal survey of business and academic economists on the outlook for Fed policy. The key take away is that despite all the talk and ink spilled on the shifting Fed stance and the split within the FOMC, economists views did not change much … Continue...

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Big Players (Read: Governments) Make Markets Unsafe

2016-04-07

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2016-04-07

Authored by Steve H. Hanke of the Johns Hopkins University. Follow him on Twitter @Steve_Hanke. Reportage in The Wall Street Journal on April 4th states that “A fund owned by China’s foreign-exchange regulator has been taking stakes in some of the co...

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FX Daily, April 7: Yen Continues to Climb

2016-04-07

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2016-04-07

The main feature in the foreign exchange market continues to be the surge of the Japanese yen.  A convincing explanation of the yen's strength seems elusive.  Until last week, which means through the fiscal year-end last month, Japanese fund managers have been buying foreign bonds at a near-record pace.  Foreign investors, for their part, have …

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Statistics on tourist accommodation in February 2016: Overnight stays in February fall despite rise in domestic demand

2016-04-07

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2016-04-07

07.04.2016 09:15  - FSO, Tourism (0353-1603-40) Statistics on tourist accommodation in February 2016 Neuchâtel, 07.04.2016 (FSO) – The Swiss hotel industry registered 3.1 million overnight stays in February 2016, which corresponds to a decrease of 1....

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Frisky Yen Upsets Japan’s GOSPLAN

2016-04-06

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2016-04-06

  It Wasn’t Supposed to Do That… When you’re a central banker in a pure fiat money system and even your ability to print your own currency into oblivion is questioned by the markets, you really have a problem. This is actually funny on quite a number...

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Going Into Debt to Invest Into Debt…

2016-04-06

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2016-04-06

  Bankers Hate It When You Hold Cash In an extraordinary turn of events, last week we were contacted by our local bankers. Since we were turned down for a mortgage in 1982 (our business finances were thought to be “too shaky”), we have had little tru...

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Great Graphic: Head and Shoulders in Dollar-Yen

2016-04-06

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2016-04-06

The old head and shoulders pattern in the dollar against the yen is back in vogue.  We first pointed it out in the first week of January here. Recall the details.  The neckline is drawn around JPY116.30 and measuring objective is near JPY107.00....

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Dutch Referendum: Devil is not in the Details

2016-04-06

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2016-04-06

In what is possibly one of the under-appreciated political events of the year, the Netherlands holds a plebiscite today on an associational agreement with Ukraine that has already been approved by the Dutch parliament, the European Parliament and all other 27 EU members.   When stated so baldly, it is difficult to see what is at …

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FX Daily, April 6: Greenback Finds A Little Traction

2016-04-06

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2016-04-06

The US dollar is better bid today but remains largely in the ranges seen in recent days.  There a few developments to note, which together are lifting European equities after Asian equities softened.   First, the API oil inventory estimate showed an unexpected fall of 4.3 mln barrels.  An increase of half the magnitude was expected.  The …

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Rotten to the Core

2016-04-06

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2016-04-06

  Poison Money BALTIMORE – We live in a world of sin and sorrow, infected by a fraudulent democracy, Facebook, and a corrupt money system. Wheezing, weak, and weary from the exertion of trying to appear “normal,” the economy staggers on.   Staggering...

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Talk of Secret Shanghai Agreement is a Distraction

2016-04-05

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2016-04-05

(I have been sick with pneumonia but am just about back.  I expect to resume my commentary tomorrow.  Here is my overdue monthly column for a Chinese paper.   Thanks to everyone for their support.) Conspiracy theories have run amok.  After sev...

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The Gold – Money Supply Correlation Report

2016-04-04

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2016-04-04

  A Spot of Irrational Exuberance There were some fireworks last week. Gold went up on Tuesday (it was a shortened week due to Easter Monday), from a low of $1,215 to $1,244 over the day, a move of over 2 percent. Silver moved from $15.02 to $15.44, ...

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A Tribute to the Jackass Money System

2016-04-04

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2016-04-04

  A Witless Tool of the Deep State? Finance or politics? We don’t know which is jollier. The Republican presidential primary and Fed monetary policies seem to compete for headlines. Which can be most absurd? Which can be most outrageous? Which can ge...

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March 2016: Highest SNB Interventions since January 2015

2016-04-04

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2016-04-04

snb intervention, chairman philipp hildebrand
Speculative position: Strong shift to CHF long: +4967x 125K contracts after the Fed reduced their expectations of rate hikes for this year. …………Sight Deposits: SNB intervenes for 6.1 bln. CHF during the month of March. This is the higest level since January 2016. ……….FX: EUR/CHF steady slightly over 1.09. As I expected last week, the EUR/CHF …

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10 years of Swiss Social Assistance Statistics: Social assistance rate the same as 10 years ago

2016-04-04

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2016-04-04

04.04.2016 11:00  - FSO, Social Assistance (0353-1603-30) 10 years of Swiss Social Assistance Statistics Neuchâtel, 04.04.2016 (BFS) – The Swiss Social Assistance Statistics cover ten years of observation with the latest data from 2014. The social as...

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The Gold Money Supply Correlation Report, 3 Apr, 2016

2016-04-04

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2016-04-04

There were some fireworks this week. Gold went up on Tuesday (it was a shortened week due to Easter Monday), from a low of $1,215 to $1,244 over the day, a move of over 2 percent. Silver moved from $15.02 to $15.44, almost 3 percent. What happened on...

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Gold Prices Rise 16% In Q1 – Best Quarter In 30 Years

2016-04-02

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2016-04-02

Gold Prices Rise 16% In Q1 – Best Quarter In 30 Years – Gold prices gained 16% in Q1 – best quarterly performance since 1986– Gains due to increasing global financial, macroeconomic and monetary risk– Stocks come under pressure – Flat in U.S.; Falls ...

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The Other Problem with Debt No One is Talking About

2016-04-01

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2016-04-01

  Faux Growth Recovery Nearly 7 years have elapsed since the official end of the Great Recession.  By now it’s painfully obvious the rising tide of economic recovery has failed to lift all boats.  In fact, many boats bottomed out on the rocks in earl...

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