Tag Archive: Featured

Why Economics Cannot Be Understood through Experimentation

In the natural sciences, a laboratory experiment can isolate various elements and their movements. There is no equivalent in the discipline of economics. The employment of econometrics and econometric model building is an attempt to create a laboratory where controlled experiments can be conducted.

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FX Daily, September 3: Corrective Forces Maintain Grip

The US dollar is continuing to recover after hitting new lows earlier in the week. It is lower against all the major currencies and most of the emerging markets. A report in the Financial Times suggesting that there is a concern about the euro's recent strength at the ECB has added a bit more fuel to the move, and the euro, which had pushed above $1.20 earlier in the week, briefly traded below $1.18. 

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Geneva Airport expects 23 percent fewer passengers in 2021

Geneva Airport officials say the shockwaves of the Covid-19 pandemic will reverberate into next year, with the number of passengers flying to and from the airport expected to be down by almost a quarter compared with pre-coronavirus levels, according to Swiss public radio, RTS.

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Industrialization and Free Trade Are the Way out of Poverty

Progressive politicians repeatedly tell us that capitalism is a system rooted in the wealthy’s exploitation of the poor. To convey this in an emotionally resonant way, they employ images of "sweatshops" in the developing world. While some people labor away in factories, often in terrible conditions, the owners of Walmart and Nike rake in profits, enjoying their luxurious penthouses in Manhattan. Many find this compelling.

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FX Daily, September 2: Corrective Pressures Give the Greenback a Reprieve

After poking above $1.20 for the first time in more than two years, the euro reversed lower yesterday and is continuing to succumb to profit-taking pressures today.  Comments from ECB's Lane appeared to trigger a reversal yesterday throughout the currency markets.

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Credit Suisse “Beschattungsaffäre”: FINMA eröffnet Enforcementverfahren

Die Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht FINMA hat im Kontext der "Beschattungsaffäre" ein Enforcementverfahren gegen die Credit Suisse eingeleitet.

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September Monthly

The US dollar's rally in the initial phases of the pandemic has been unwound, and sentiment appears to be the most negative since the Great Financial Crisis.  New lows for the year against the euro, Swiss franc, the British pound, Swedish krona, and the Australian dollar were recorded in recent weeks.

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Trading platforms profit from pandemic chaos

While Covid-19 has been wreaking havoc on the economy, many banks and trading platforms have recorded bumper results. Profits were boosted by elevated trading activity, but future prospects are mixed depending on the type of financial player.

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Protectionism and “Weak Dollar” Trade Policy

Until disco came back to me at dance clubs and via the great “boogie nights” in the 1990s, I didn’t recall a whole lot from my childhood in the 1970s. Trying to build my own “Speed Racer” and being in awe of the rock group KISS stand out. “Too many dollars chasing too few goods” was another.

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FX Daily, September 1: Dollar Lurches Lower

The US dollar has been sold-off across the board. The euro approached $1.20, and sterling neared $1.3450. The greenback traded below CAD1.30 for the first time since January. Most emerging market currencies but the Turkish lira, are also advancing today.

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Swiss Retail Sales, July 2020: 3.4 percent Nominal and 4.1 percent Real

Turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 3.4% in nominal terms in July 2020 compared with the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover rose by 0.7% compared with the previous month.

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Weekly View – The Last Samurai

The CIO office’s view of the week ahead.We are in the midst of a decisive elections season, from the surprise, poll-defying victory of the conservative coalition in Australia and Indian general elections last weekend to the European parliament elections in the week ahead.

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Coronavirus: protestors march against Covid-19 measures in Zurich

On Saturday, around one thousand people took to the streets of Zurich to protest against government rules aimed at slowing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to RTS.

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Swiss PostBus faces lawsuit in Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein transport companies are claiming CHF35 million ($38.7 million) in damages against Switzerland’s state-owned PostBus over alleged unfair business practices.

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Coming Apart, Coming Together

Last time we met in Orlando, Bob Murphy mentioned how much worse our political and social divide would be if the economy crashed like 2008. Now we face this very problem—with COVID-19 lockdowns and George Floyd protests decimating the economy and social media exposing raw animosity along racial and "woke" lines.

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FX Daily, August 31: Month-End Gyrations and the Fed’s Ad Hocery

Markets are searching for direction at month-end. Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan lower. Berkshire Hathaway confirmed taking a $6 bln stake in Japanese trading companies over the past year, and the pullback in the yen helped lift shares.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 2% last week. 

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Drivers for the Week Ahead

The dollar is likely to remain under pressure after Powell’s dovish message at Jackson Hole. August jobs data Friday will be the data highlight of the week. The Fed releases its Beige Book report Wednesday; Powell will face many questions about the Framework Review that he unveiled at Jackson Hole.

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Swiss economist says Covid-19 ‘winners’ should pay more tax

Companies that netted their best-ever earnings during the coronavirus crisis should be subject to extra tax, finds one of Switzerland’s top economists.

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Nihilism Embodied: Our Lawless Financial System

Not only have the billionaire class made money, they have tightened their monopolistic grip on the levers of money supply and distribution, turning a global rigged casino into a global company town.

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America’s Riots Are Just the Latest Version of Marxist “Syndicalism”

The year 2020 is one of the most disrupted times in at least the last half century, maybe longer. Global protests and riots, the covid-19 virus, lockdowns, and police killings of unarmed citizens. Add to that widespread rioting, looting, arson, homelessness, and destruction of property, including the tearing down of statues.

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