Tag Archive: Featured

Sterling Pounded by Brexit Developments

2020-09-11

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2020-09-11

The dollar rebound continues; odds of a near-term stimulus bill in the US are falling; ahead of inflation readings later this week, the US holds a 10-year auction today. Bank of Canada is expected to keep policy steady; Mexico reports August CPI; Brazil reports August IPCA inflation.

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Where Did the US Government Get the Power to Assassinate People?

2020-09-11

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2020-09-11

In an August editorial, the New York Times called for an investigation into the attack on Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny, who was recently transported to Germany in a coma after apparently being poisoned.

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FX Daily, September 10: ECB and Beyond

2020-09-10

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2020-09-10

Overview:  A strong recovery in US stocks, a softer dollar, and higher gold and oil prices may signal the end of the brief though dramatic correction, but the market is in a bit of a holding pattern ahead of the ECB meeting.  Most of the major equity markets in the Asia Pacific region stabilized, except for Hong Kong and China.

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Weekly View – Election nerves increase

2020-09-10

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2020-09-10

The sell-off in stocks last week showed a certain nervousness about the sharp run-up in tech stocks and the role of big option bets. Indeed, prices in some instances had risen too fast. But this was a technical correction. With the US tech titans generating free cash flow, we do not believe we are facing a repeat of the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000. 

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Valcambi refinery denies sourcing ‘dirty’ gold from Dubai

2020-09-10

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2020-09-10

The Swiss-based Valcambi refinery has rejected accusations about gold dealings with a controversial company in the United Arab Emirates.

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ECB Preview

2020-09-10

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2020-09-10

Balance Sheets, USD Trin, 2007-2019
The ECB meets tomorrow and is widely expected to stand pat. Macro forecasts may be tweaked modestly and there are some risks of jawboning against the stronger euro, but it should otherwise be an uneventful meeting. Looking ahead, a lot of room remains for further ECB actions.

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You cannot print your way to prosperity – Part II

2020-09-10

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2020-09-10

Looking at the damage inflicted upon supply chains, production facilities and global trade in particular, how quickly could these operations snap back even if all COVID-related restrictions were lifted tomorrow? Do you think we’ll eventually get back to business as usual, or have we now experienced a permanent shift to a “new normal”?

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The EU’s Drive toward Political Centralization Will Doom Its Economy

2020-09-10

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2020-09-10

In the wake of the economically disastrous covid-19 shutdowns, the political class has desperately tried to save the failing euro system. On July 21 European leaders agreed on what they called a "historic" deal. It was nothing more than a multitrillion euro stimulus package.

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FX Daily, September 09: Investor Anxiety Continues to Run High Despite Some Stability in the Capital Markets

2020-09-09

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2020-09-09

News that the AstraZeneca Phase 3 test had to be stopped to study the adverse reaction of one subject added to the uncertainty of investors amid one of the more significant reversals of risk appetites since March. Equities continued to slump in the Asia Pacific region, with many large markets off more than 1%, led by Australia's more than 2% decline.

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Art Basel and UBS art market survey shows online sales and millennial collectors increasingly important to an art market hit hard by COVID-19

2020-09-09

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2020-09-09

Art Basel and UBS today published a 2020 mid-year survey 'The Impact of COVID-19 on the Gallery Sector' written by renowned cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew, Founder of Arts Economics. The survey findings present an analysis of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted 795 galleries operating in the Modern and contemporary gallery sector, representing 60 different markets across all levels of turnover, throughout the first six months of 2020.

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Switzerland takes Belgium and Mexico off Covid-19 ‘high risk’ list

2020-09-09

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2020-09-09

People arriving in Switzerland from Belgium, Mexico and Luxembourg will no longer have to go into quarantine for ten days.

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Bottleneck In Japanese

2020-09-09

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2020-09-09

US / Japan, 2018-2020
Japan’s yen is backward, at least so far as its trading direction may be concerned. This is all the more confusing especially over the past few months when this rising yen has actually been aiding the dollar crash narrative while in reality moving the opposite way from how the dollar system would be behaving if it was really happening.

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Bankruptcies Rise Despite Trillions in New Liquidity

2020-09-09

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2020-09-09

Misguided lockdowns have destroyed the global economy and the impact is likely to last for years. The fallacy of the “lives or the economy” argument is evident now that we see that countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Austria, Sweden, and Holland have been able to preserve the business fabric and the economy while doing a much better job managing the pandemic than countries with severe lockdowns.

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We’re Headed toward Stagnation—Unless the Fed Reins In Its Money Printing

2020-09-09

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2020-09-09

The US Fed is considering lifting its inflation target above 2 percent in order to revive the economy. Contrary to the accepted practice, the Fed is not expected to raise an alarm if the measured price inflation begins to rise.

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FX Daily, September 8: US Threats to Decouple from China and the Greenback Strengthens

2020-09-08

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2020-09-08

The markets remain on edge. US-China tensions are escalating. Strained Brexit talks are set to resume today. Profit-taking in the tech space has continued. The ECB meeting is around the corner. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index snapped a three-day slide today with most markets moving higher, led by a 1% gain in Australia. 

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Monthly Market Monitor – August 2020

2020-09-08

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2020-09-08

Russell 3000 Value/Growth
Many of the weak dollar trends I noted in June’s update have moderated – even as the dollar has weakened further. US stocks surged over the last month, with growth indices leaving their value counterparts in the dust…again.

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Rights activists want Swiss-Chinese trade deal to be overhauled

2020-09-08

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2020-09-08

Campaigners are urging the Swiss government to renegotiate a six-year-old free trade agreement with China to try to improve human rights and labour conditions for its Uighur Muslim minority.

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EM Preview for the Week Ahead

2020-09-08

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2020-09-08

EM performance this week will hinge crucially on whether US equity markets can find some traction. If sustained, last week’s equity rout could lead to a deeper generalized risk-off trading environment this week that would weigh on EM FX and equities.

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How Capitalists Improve Human Productivity

2020-09-08

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2020-09-08

Income to Land and Labor
To quote the last paragraph of this 2008 article by Robert Murphy, when asked why Austrian school economics should be studied, the best answer is: the Austrian theory of capital is the best one you can find if you really want to grasp how the economy actually works—beyond sterile mathematics and static timeless analysis.

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Ceneri Base Tunnel is officially open

2020-09-07

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2020-09-07

The Ceneri Base Tunnel has been officially opened, with the first freight train passing through the tunnel in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino shortly after 11:30am. Passengers will have to wait for the new national rail timetable in December.

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