Monthly Archive: June 2021

Front-Running the Crash

2021-06-21

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2021-06-21

We have a fine-sounding word for running with the herd: momentum. When the herd is running, those who buy what the herd is buying and sell what the herd is selling are trading momentum, which sounds so much more professional and high-brow than the noisy, dusty image of large mammals (and their trading machines) mindlessly running with the herd.

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So spielt man Blackjack

2021-06-20

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2021-06-20

So spielt man Blackjack Im deutschsprachigen Raum auch als „17 und 4“ bekannt, ist Blackjack nach Poker wohl weltweit eines der beliebtesten Kartenspiele in den Casinos. Natürlich hat jedes gute Online-Casino ebenfalls Blackjack im Angebot. Doch nicht jeder kennt die Grundregeln des Spiels. Deshalb haben wir hier für Sie die entsprechenden Basics zusammengestellt. Der Grundaufbau … Continue reading »

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Governments Are Failing at Their Most Basic Duties—While Promising Free Stuff

2021-06-20

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2021-06-20

Three city blocks were systematically burned to the ground as hundreds of the local police stood by and viewed the violence. They were obeying orders not to harm the arsonists. The National Guard was called, adding more armed watchers. A passive gendarmerie consorting with open rebellion has rarely been seen in American history, until recently.

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Credit Suisse carnage brings financial risk for banks into focus

2021-06-20

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2021-06-20

Credit Suisse’s disastrous Greensill and Archegos investments have highlighted the destructive side of banking. Regulators and politicians are asking what the Swiss bank did wrong and what can be done to protect investors from future risk-assessment failures.

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Switzerland commits CHF12 million to humanitarian aid in Venezuela

2021-06-19

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2021-06-19

This year Switzerland will provide more than CHF12 million ($13 million) in humanitarian aid to Venezuela and the region, it said at the Donors’ Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants.

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End the Draft Permanently

2021-06-19

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2021-06-19

Recently the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a challenge to the all-male draft. The plaintiffs in the case argued that excluding women from the draft was unconstitutional. Apparently the Court is simply letting Congress decide the issue. 

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FX Daily, June 18: Markets Quiet Ahead of Triple Witching

2021-06-18

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2021-06-18

After some dramatic moves over in the immediate post-Fed period, the markets have quieted. The kind of volatility that is sometimes associated with triple witching expirations in the US may have already taken place. Asia Pacific equities were mixed, but the MSCI benchmark finished with its second consecutive weekly decline. 

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Swiss Banks Boost Capital Bases Despite Coronavirus Crisis 

2021-06-18

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2021-06-18

Swiss banks have been able to strengthen their capital bases despite deteriorating economic conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Swiss National Bank (SNB). This applies to the two big banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, and also domestic banks.

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Swiss among last to embrace wind and solar power 

2021-06-18

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2021-06-18

Switzerland is lagging behind most European countries when it comes to solar and wind power. In terms of per capita production, it ranks second to last in comparison with surrounding countries, according to the Swiss Energy Foundation (SES).

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The FOMC Accidentally Exposes Itself (Reverse Repo-style)

2021-06-18

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2021-06-18

UST Yield Curve, Mar 2021 - Jun 2021
Initially, the dots got all the attention. Though these things are beyond hopeless, the media needs them to write up its account of a more fruitful monetary policy outcome because markets continue to discount that entirely.

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FX Daily, June 17: Fed Rocks the World

2021-06-17

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2021-06-17

A more hawkish than expected Federal Reserve sent the US dollar and interest rates higher and spurred an equity sell-off. The knock-on effect sent ripples through the capital markets today. Most equity markets in the Asia Pacific region fell. China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were notable exceptions.

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SNB Monetary Policy Assessment June 2021

2021-06-17

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2021-06-17

SNB Switzerland Conditional Inflation Forecast, June 2021
The SNB is maintaining its expansionary monetary policy with a view to ensuring price stability and providing ongoing support to the Swiss economy in its recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It is keeping the SNB policy rate and interest on sight deposits at the SNB at −0.75%, and remains willing to intervene in the foreign exchange market as necessary, while taking the overall currency situation into consideration.

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Basel to become the fifth canton with a minimum wage

2021-06-17

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2021-06-17

Over the weekend, a majority of voters in the canton of Basel-City voted in favour of a minimum wage of CHF 21 (US$ 23) an hour. The move will make Basel-City the first German-speaking Swiss canton to adopt a minimum wage, following in the footsteps of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura and Ticino.

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A plea to Swiss banks from the Russian Arctic

2021-06-17

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2021-06-17

Swiss banks might not be the most obvious allies for indigenous communities struggling to survive in Russia’s Far North. But their financial clout could drive multinationals to change their business practices, argue those affected by a major environmental disaster last year.

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Copper Corroding PPI

2021-06-17

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2021-06-17

Copper Futers, Continuous Frn Month, Jan 2002 - May 2021
Yesterday, lumber. Today, copper. The “doctor” has been in reverse for better than two months now, with trading in the current session pounding the commodity to a new multi-month low. Down almost $0.19 for the day, an unusual and eye-opening loss, this brings the cumulative decline to 9.2% since the peak way back on May 11.

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Covid: Swiss cases fall as UK cases turn exponential. Why?

2021-06-16

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2021-06-16

Coronavirus Data Explorer, May and June 2021
The number of Covid-19 cases in Switzerland continues to fall. On 15 June 2021, 243 new cases were reported. A month earlier the 7-day average was 2,161 cases. Swiss cases have dropped by 89% in a month. In the UK the number of cases has roughly tripled over the same period and the government has decided to extend current restrictions until 19 July 2021.

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FX Daily, June 16: Will the Fed Talk the Talk?

2021-06-16

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2021-06-16

With the outcome of the FOMC meeting awaited, the dollar is narrowly mixed in quiet turnover. The Scandis are the weakest (~-0.3%) among the majors, while the Antipodeans are the strongest (~+0.25%). JP Morgan's Emerging Market Currency Index is snapping a three-day decline

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Swiss hail ‘cordial’ talks with Biden

2021-06-16

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2021-06-16

Swiss President Guy Parmelin has underlined the importance of bilateral relations after a “cordial” meeting with US President Joe Biden. Parmelin also called Wednesday’s US-Russia meeting a “sign of hope”. Biden arrived in Geneva on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

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Another Round of Transitory: US Retail Sales & (revised) IP

2021-06-16

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2021-06-16

U.S. Retail Sales, Jan 2016 - May 2021
Same stuff, different month. We can basically reprint both what was described yesterday about supply curves not keeping up with exaggerated demand as well as the past two months of commentary on Retail Sales plus Industrial Production each for the US. Quite on the nose, US demand for goods, anyway, is eroding if still artificially very high.

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This Is What Could Trigger Big Growth in CPI Inflation

2021-06-16

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2021-06-16

Many episodes of monetary inflation, some even long and virulent, do not feature a denouement in a sustained high CPI inflation over many years. Instead, these episodes have the common characteristics of asset inflation and the monetary authority levying tax in various forms – principally inflation tax or monetary repression tax.

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