Monthly Archive: December 2017

Switzerland Unemployment in November 2017: Up to 3.1 percent from 3.0 percent, seasonally adjusted decreased to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent

2017-12-07

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2017-12-07

Switzerland Unemployment Rate Not Seasonally Adjusted, November 2017
Registered unemployment in November 2017 - According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) surveys, at the end of November 2017 there were 137'317 unemployed registered at the Regional Employment Centers (RAV), 2'517 more than in the previous month. The unemployment rate rose from 3.0% in October 2017 to 3.1% in the month under review. Compared with the same month of the previous year, unemployment fell by 11,911 persons (-8.0%).

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Bi-Weekly Economic Review: Who You Gonna Believe?

2017-12-07

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2017-12-07

We’ve had a pretty good run of data recently and with the tax bill passing the Senate one would expect to see markets react positively, to reflect renewed optimism about economic growth. We have improving economic data on pretty much a global basis. It isn’t a boom by any stretch of the imagination but there is no doubt that the rate of change has recently been more positive.

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FX Daily, December 07: Equities and Oil Stabilize

2017-12-07

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2017-12-07

Global equities are stabilizing today after the recent downside pressure. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index snapped an eight-day slump with a 0.4% gain, led by a rebound in Tokyo and India. European markets are firm, with the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 up around 0.25% near midday in London. All sectors are higher but telecom and real estate are performing best, while energy and health care are laggards.

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Great Graphic: Euro Pushes below November Uptrend

2017-12-07

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2017-12-07

EUR BGN Currency
Euro is lower for the third day, the longest downdraft in a month and a half. It violated the November uptrend. It is testing the $1.1800 area, which houses a few technical levels (retracement, moving average and congestion).

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An Interview with GoldCore Founder, Mark O’Byrne

2017-12-07

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2017-12-07

Gold Bars
“Uber-bull predictions of gold at over $5,000 per ounce are not beyond the realms of possibility…” So says GoldCore founder and self-confessed gold bug, Mark O’Byrne. Indeed, I recently caught up with Mark to get his thoughts on gold and what’s going on with it right now… But before we got to the nitty-gritty, I started by asking him a little about his background.

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Swiss Consumer Price Index in November 2017: Up +0.8 percent against 2016, -0.1 percent against last month

2017-12-06

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2017-12-06

Switzerland Consumer Price Index (CPI) YoY, Nov 2017
The consumer price index (CPI) fell by 0.1% in November 2017 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.9 points (December 2015=100). Inflation was 0.8% compared with the same month of the previous year.

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Tourist accommodation during the 2017 summer season: Big increase in overnight stays in hotel

2017-12-06

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2017-12-06

Hotels and spa companies Development of overnight stays for the first half year (May to October) 2013-2017
The hotel sector registered 21.3 million overnight stays in Switzerland during the summer tourist season (from May to October 2017). This represents an increase of 5.9% (+1.2 million overnight stays) compared with the same period a year earlier. With a total of 12.1 million overnight stays, foreign demand rose by 7.3% (+823,000). Domestic visitors registered a 4.0% increase (+356,000) with 9.2 million units.

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FX Daily, December 06: Equity Slump Continues, Lifts Bonds, Bolsters Yen

2017-12-06

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2017-12-06

The swoon in equities, perhaps sparked by a rotation spurred by potential US tax changes, is continuing today. It is providing a risk-off mood, which is expressed in the foreign exchange market as a stronger yen. The most compelling answer of yen strength is not that investors are buying yen as a haven.

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SWISS expands Zurich flights, fears airport restrictions

2017-12-06

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2017-12-06

Switzerland’s national airline has enjoyed a profitable year and expects continued success, but its chief executive says restrictions at Zurich Airport are making it difficult to meet passenger demand. Thomas Klühr, the head of the Lufthansa-Group-owned Swiss National Airlines SWISS, told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that developments such as the bankruptcy of German carrier Air Berlin have led to increased demand for certain European routes.

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What’s the Point? Precious Metals Supply and Demand Report

2017-12-06

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2017-12-06

Crystal Ball
Keith Weiner’s weekly look on Gold. Gold and silver prices, Gold-Silver Price Ratio, Gold basis and co-basis and the dollar price, Silver basis and co-basis and the dollar price.

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The Cost Basis of our Economy is Spiraling Out of Control

2017-12-06

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2017-12-06

US Healthcare Spending, 1960 - 2010
What will it take to radically reduce the cost basis of our economy? If we had to choose one "big picture" reason why the vast majority of households are losing ground, it would either be the stagnation of income or the spiraling out of control cost basis of our economy, that is, the essential foundational expenses of households, government and enterprise.

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FX Daily, December 05: Sterling Sold on Negotiating Snafu, Aussie Bounces on Retail Sales and RBA

2017-12-05

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2017-12-05

The US dollar is confined to narrow ranges against the euro and yen, straddling unchanged levels in the Asian session and the European morning. The action in elsewhere. The British pound is the weakest of the majors, paring 0.4% against the greenback, though around $1.3425, it can hardly be considered weak. A month ago, sterling was a few cents lower. Still, its gains reflected two things: broader dollar weakness and optimism on Brexit talks.

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Weekly Technical Analysis: 04/12/2017 – USD/CHF, GBP/USD, EUR/GBP, GBP/JPY, GBP/CAD

2017-12-05

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2017-12-05

USD/CHF, December 05
USD/CHF, GBP/USD, EUR/GBP, GBP/JPY, GBP/CAD

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Frustrated Investors File Lawsuits Against World’s Largest ICO

2017-12-05

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2017-12-05

2 persons
ere's the latest sign that the massively fraudulent ICO market is headed for a collapse. Tezos’s investors are still waiting to learn when they can expect to receive the digital tokens that they paid a premium for during the company’s record-setting crowdsale. But as reports of abuse, internal strife and outright embezzlement have surfaced in the press, three groups of angry investors have filed class action lawsuits accusing the company of fraud...

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Study shows Swiss soils are suffering

2017-12-05

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2017-12-05

A first nationwide report on the health of Swiss soils has shown that virtually all are polluted and that the resource is not being put to sustainable use. The report, published Thursday by the Federal Office for the Environment in collaboration with the offices for agriculture and spatial development, brings together information about soil health that until now has been gathered in isolation through separate cantonal or regional research projects.

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What Gives Cryptocurrencies Their Value

2017-12-05

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2017-12-05

Number of Bitcoin Transactions
The value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, just like any other kind of money, comes fundamentally from what you can do with it. As a follow up to What Backs Bitcoin, I want to dig into that value. The idea, which comes from Austrian economist Carl Menger, is that just as a shovel’s value comes from its ability to dig, a currency’s value comes from its ability to help you do two things: transactions and savings.

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The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being an Idiot

2017-12-05

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2017-12-05

Trump
There are many things that could be said about the GOP tax bill. But one thing is certain. It has been a great show. Obviously, the time for real solutions to the debt problem that’s ailing the United States came and went many decades ago. Instead of addressing the Country’s mounting insolvency, lawmakers chose expediency without exception. They kicked the can from yesterday to today.

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FX Daily, December 04: US Dollar Marked Higher After Senate Passes Tax Reform

2017-12-04

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2017-12-04

The US dollar opened higher in Asia and retained those gains through the European morning. The greenback has recouped most of the pre-weekend losses recorded in the wake of the indictment of a fourth former Trump Administration official by the special investigation into Russia's involvement in last year's election. However, two weekend developments seemed to blunt the impact of the guilty plea and admission of cooperation.

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FX Weekly Preview: Politics may Continue to Overshadow Economics

2017-12-04

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2017-12-04

The new monthly cycle of high frequency economic data has begun. The manufacturing PMI shows the synchronized global recovery is continuing. The service sector and composite PMI will be reported in the week ahead. They are unlikely altering the general expectation for robust growth in Q4.

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UBS launches world’s first performance-based healthcare investment

2017-12-04

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2017-12-04

The Zurich-based UBS Optimus Foundation has announced the launch of the first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in the field of healthcare. If successful, it could save over 10,000 lives in India. The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the Swiss bank UBS, will invest a total of $3.5 million (CHF3.45 million) to help reduce mother and infant mortality rates in the state of Rajasthan in northwestern India.

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