Monthly Archive: February 2021

FX Daily, February 12: Animal Spirits Start the Weekend Early

2021-02-12

by

2021-02-12

Profit-taking weighs on equity markets, and the dollar is trading higher ahead of the weekend. Most Asia Pacific markets are still closed for the holiday, but Victoria's snap lockdown dragged Australian shares lower.

Read More »

Impfsozialismus

2021-02-12

by

2021-02-12

Die Einlassungen der EU-Kommission zur wachsenden Kritik an ihrer Impfstoffbeschaffung und -verteilung nehmen skurile Züge an. Natürlich verteidigen nicht nur die zuständige Gesundheitskommissarin und die Präsidentin der EU-Kommission, Dr med. von der Leyen, die bisherige Einkaufs- und Verteilungsperformance.

Read More »

Covid changes Swiss holiday and transport habits

2021-02-12

by

2021-02-12

A third of Swiss people chose not to travel on holiday last year as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the world, according to automobile association Touring Club Switzerland (TCS).

Read More »

Gains Are Unreal, Losses Are Real

2021-02-12

by

2021-02-12

Why would anyone sell when further gains are guaranteed? Because the gains are unreal but the losses are real. When markets are soaring and your portfolio is rocketing higher, the gains seem unreal.

Read More »

How Not to Argue against the Minimum Wage

2021-02-12

by

2021-02-12

Among the hotly contested list of Joe Biden’s promises is an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. There are plenty of sound reasons to oppose government minimum wage laws, but there is one objection making the rounds that is based on bad economics and should be avoided, and that’s the "businesses will pass on the costs to consumers" objection.

Read More »

Middle class shrinks in Switzerland

2021-02-12

by

2021-02-12

Statistics published at the end of January 2021 show a fall in the percentage of the population included in the definition of middle class in Switzerland.

Read More »

FX Daily, February 11: Oil Set to Snap 8-day Advance while Consolidative Tone Emerges in FX

2021-02-11

by

2021-02-11

Overview: The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were unable to sustain the gap higher opening to new record levels and reversed lower and fell to new three-lows. The settlements were just inside Tuesday ranges, though the Dow Industrials set a record close. Yet, there was spillover to equity trading in the Asia Pacific region and Europe today.

Read More »

Extreme Poverty Shifts Gear… in Reverse

2021-02-11

by

2021-02-11

The coronavirus has dominated all of our lives in recent months. Radical paths were taken by politicians in the form of lockdowns to contain the pandemic. But we should recognize that even if the coronavirus is a (major) challenge for us, we always have to keep a holistic view of world events.

Read More »

Covid: new negative test requirement for entering Switzerland

2021-02-11

by

2021-02-11

From Monday 8 February 2021, many people entering Switzerland require a negative PCR test. Currently, there are restrictions on who can enter Switzerland. Generally, only those with a Swiss passport, a valid Swiss residence or cross-border permit, and those who are citizens of an EU or EFTA nation are allowed to enter Switzerland under the current Covid-19 restrictions.

Read More »

What Collapsed the Middle Class?

2021-02-11

by

2021-02-11

The middle class has already collapsed, but thanks to debt and bubbles, this reality has been temporarily cloaked. What collapsed the middle class? In many ways the answer echoes an Agatha Christie mystery: rather than there being one guilty party, a number of suspects participated in the collapse of the middle class.

Read More »

The Endangered Inflationary Species: Gazelles

2021-02-11

by

2021-02-11

BLS National Business Employment Dynamics, 1993-2020
Nevada is, by all accounts and accountants, in rough shape. Very rough shape. An economy overly dependent upon a single industry, tourism, in this case, is a disaster waiting to happen should anything happen to that industry. Pandemic restrictions, for instance.

Read More »

Why No State Needs Thousands of Nuclear Warheads

2021-02-11

by

2021-02-11

Last week, the United States signed a five-year extension of the New START arms control treaty with Russia. Russia’s President Putin signed the treaty shortly thereafter. The “Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty” allows Russia and the US to monitor each other’s nuclear forces, facilities, and activities.

Read More »

FX Daily, February 10: China’s Expansion Does not Prevent Deflation

2021-02-10

by

2021-02-10

Despite a soft close in US indices yesterday, global shares are on the march again today.  Led by China and Hong Kong, most large markets in the Asia Pacific region advanced today.  Officials gave approval for a new game from Tencent, which helped lift the Hang Seng.

Read More »

‘Looking after citizens’ ID data is a sovereign task’

2021-02-10

by

2021-02-10

Lawyer and parliamentarian Sibel Arslan explains why she is against the proposed new law on digital identity (eID) and why rejecting it would be an opportunity for digitisation. 

Read More »

AOC and Schumer Want Taxpayer Funding for Covid-19 Funerals

2021-02-10

by

2021-02-10

US residents whose family members died with or of covid will be eligible to receive $7,000 for funeral and related expenses, New York senator Chuck Schumer (D) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) announced.

Read More »

The Dystopian Bubble: George Orwell Meets Charles Mackay

2021-02-10

by

2021-02-10

“Threats to freedom of speech, writing, and action, though often trivial in isolation, are cumulative in their effect and, unless checked, lead to a general disrespect for the rights of the citizen.”

Read More »

Covid: time to double down, says Swiss expert

2021-02-10

by

2021-02-10

Since reaching a peak in early November 2020, Covid-19 cases in Switzerland have fallen significantly. The 7-day daily average was 8,238 on 8 November 2020. By 8 February 2021, this figure was down by more than 80% at 1,437. However, according to Martin Ackermann, head of the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, now is not the time for Switzerland to relax.

Read More »

FX Daily, February 9: Players are Not Buying Everything Today

2021-02-09

by

2021-02-09

The rally of US benchmarks to new record highs helped lift most Asia Pacific markets today, but the bulls are pausing in Europe, and there has been little follow-through buying of US shares.  Australia, South Korea, and Indonesia did not participate in today's regional advance led by a 2% rally in China's main indices.

Read More »

Stillbirths on the Rise

2021-02-09

by

2021-02-09

The coronavirus has dominated all of our lives in recent months. Radical paths were taken by politicians in the form of lockdowns to contain the pandemic. But we should recognize that even if the coronavirus is a (major) challenge for us, we always have to keep a holistic view of world events.

Read More »

Permanent Jobs And Permanent Job Losses

2021-02-09

by

2021-02-09

Consumer Credit, Levels NSA 1990-2020
Even the feds haven’t been able to keep up. Without the government having taken over student loans in the wake of 2008-09’s Great “Recession”, there’d have been almost no additional consumer credit extended during the decade since.

Read More »