Tag Archive: Featured

FX Daily, August 20: FOMC Minutes Spur Profit-Taking

2020-08-20

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2020-08-20

Overview: The FOMC minutes depicted a Federal Reserve that appeared to be not quite ready to take fresh initiatives, whether it is yield curve control or changing the composition or quantities of its bond purchases.  This unleashed profit-taking on some of the large moves in equities, the dollar, and gold.

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Swiss labor force survey in the 2nd quarter of 2020: labor supply

2020-08-20

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2020-08-20

Unemployed According to ILO, Q1 2015-Q2 2020
The number of employed persons in Switzerland fell by 1.6% (–82 000) between the 2nd quarter 2019 and the 2nd quarter 2020. Furthermore, the actual weekly hours per employed person declined by 9.5%.

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Neo-banks challenging Swiss financial sector

2020-08-20

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2020-08-20

New digital banks are popping up in Switzerland without a single branch or counter.  One of them, Zurich-based Neon, is staking its success on doing more with less and has attracted 30,000 customers.

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Cool Video: TD Ameritrade with Ben Lichtenstein

2020-08-20

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2020-08-20

With the dollar continuing to trend lower, it was time to check again with Ben Lichtenstein at TD Ameritrade.  It was a privilege to join him today to discuss the drivers. I sketched out my views that the greenback's two legs, growth and interest rate differentials have been knocked from under it.

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Warren Buffett Shorts The Economy, 18 August

2020-08-20

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2020-08-20

Silver basis price
It must be Monday, because the price of silver skyrocketed. From $26.10, it shot up to $27.50, or +5.4%. The last time we wrote about silver was after its crash to $25. Silver is now priced 10% above that low point.

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The Debt-Inflation Spiral Is Driving up the Demand for Gold

2020-08-20

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2020-08-20

Comex Gold, 2019-2020
Measured in dollars, the current bull market for gold started in December 2015, since which its price in dollars has almost doubled. Other than the odd headline when gold exceeded its previous September 2011 high of $1,920, only gold bugs seem to be excited.

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As Markets Crashed, The Swiss National Bank Went On A Tech Stock Buying Spree

2020-08-19

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2020-08-19

Swiss National Bank US Stock Holdings, 2014-2020
It used to be a running joke among traders that when markets crash, central banks step in - either directly or in the case of the Fed indirectly via Citadel - and buy stocks to prop up the market and shore up confidence. That joke is now the truth.

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FX Daily, August 19: US Equities Outperform but Does Little for the Heavy Greenback

2020-08-19

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2020-08-19

EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 19
Overview:  The S&P 500 and NASDAQ set new all-time highs yesterday, but the continued outperformance of US equities have failed to lend the dollar much support.  It was sold to new lows for the year yesterday against the euro, sterling, the Swedish krona, and the Australian dollar. 

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Switzerland adds 11 more nations to its compulsory quarantine list

2020-08-19

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2020-08-19

From 20 August 2020, people entering Switzerland from Andorra, Belgium, Monaco and 50 other nations must quarantine for 10 days. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recently added 11 places to its existing list of regions where there is an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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How I built my own Swiss watch – in a day

2020-08-19

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2020-08-19

Imagine assembling your own Swiss mechanical watch and taking it home with you at the end of the day. swissinfo.ch tried out the popular new concept run by Jura start-up Initium.

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The Empire Will Strike Back: Dollar Supremacy Is the Fed’s Imperial Mandate

2020-08-19

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2020-08-19

Triffin's Paradox demands painful trade-offs to issue a reserve currency, and it demands the issuing central bank serve two competing audiences and markets. Judging by the headlines and pundit chatter, the U.S. dollar is about to slide directly to zero. This sense of certitude is interesting, given that no empire prospered by devaluing its currency. 

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Gold doing what it does best – Part II

2020-08-19

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2020-08-19

While the economic forces that drive this rush to precious metals are clearly understandable, there are other, deeper and less obvious factors that must also be taken into account. This “fear of uncertainty”, which pushes demand for gold higher as it has done so many times in the past, is different this time.

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MMT Follow-up: A Framework for Money, Inflation, and Debt

2020-08-19

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2020-08-19

As a follow-up to his discussion on MMT with Rohan Grey (in ep. 130), Bob goes solo to explain the basic cash balance framework for thinking about money, inflation, and debt. Specifically, Bob will explain why he thinks it's far more important to know how the government finances a deficit rather than knowing what it spends the money on.

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FX Daily, August 18: Canada Shrugs Off Loss of Morneau and Gold Reclaims $2000 Threshold

2020-08-18

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2020-08-18

The NASDAQ rallied 1% yesterday to record highs as the Dow Industrials struggled, and the S&P 500 was able to eke out a small gain. The coattails were short, and the strength of the yen may have contributed to a 0.2% loss of the Nikkei. Still, its 6.2% advance this month is the best among the G10.

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Families face large differences in tax rates across Switzerland

2020-08-18

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2020-08-18

A comparison of tax rates across different cantons and cities found that Zug – home to many multinational companies – offers the most attractive tax regime for families.

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Here’s Why the “Impossible” Economic Collapse Is Unavoidable

2020-08-18

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2020-08-18

The Rising Wedge Model of Breakdown
This is why denormalization is an extinction event for much of our high-cost, high-complexity, heavily regulated economy. A collapse of major chunks of the economy is widely viewed as "impossible" because the federal government can borrow and spend unlimited amounts of money because the Federal Reserve can create unlimited amounts of money: the government borrows $1 trillion by selling $1 trillion in Treasury bonds, the Fed prints $1 trillion...

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Gold, Silver Jump After Swings Amid Weak Dollar and Economic Woe

2020-08-18

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2020-08-18

Spot gold headed for back-to-back gains as investors weighed the outlook for the metal’s record-setting rally after this week’s dramatic price swings. Silver climbed the most in more than five years.

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It Was Bad In The Other Sense, So Now What?

2020-08-18

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2020-08-18

Japan Real GDP, 2008-2020
According to the latest figures, Japan has tallied 56,074 total coronavirus cases since the outbreak began, leading to the death of an estimated 1,103 Japanese citizens. Out of a total population north of 125 million, it’s hugely incongruous.

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Experteninverview: Einfach berühmt werden – geht das wirklich?

2020-08-17

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FX Daily, August 17: The Dollar Softens to Start the New Week

2020-08-17

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2020-08-17

The capital markets are looking for direction.  Asia Pacific equity markets were mixed, with gains in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan countering losses in Japan, South Korea, and Australia.  European and US shares are trading slightly firmer.

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