Tag Archive: Featured

Why Aren’t Bond Yields Flyin’ Upward? Bidin’ Bond Time Trumps Jay

It’s always something. There’s forever some mystery factor standing in the way. On the topic of inflation, for years it was one “transitory” issue after another. The media, on behalf of the central bankers it holds up as a technocratic ideal, would report these at face value. The more obvious explanation, the argument with all the evidence, just couldn’t be true otherwise it’d collapse the technocracy right down to the ground.And so it was also in...

Read More »

The Empire of Uncertainty

Anyone claiming they can project the trajectory of the U.S. and global economy is deluding themselves. Normalcy depends entirely on everyday life being predictable. To be predictable, life must be stable, which means that there is a high level of certainty in every aspect of life.

Read More »

Where Next for Gold & Silver

Markets have struggled to find a clear direction as they attempt to digest US election news, debate performance, the impact of increased Covid-19 restrictions in many countries and vaccine news.

Read More »

FX Daily, October 1: Hope Springs Eternal

Speculation that a new round of fiscal stimulus from the US is possible is encouraging risk-taking today.  Many large Asian centers were closed for holidays today, and a technical problem prevented the Tokyo Stock Exchange from opening.

Read More »

UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2020: Munich and Frankfurt are the most overvalued housing markets globally

The UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index, a yearly study by UBS Global Wealth Management's Chief Investment Office, indicates bubble risk or a significant overvaluation of housing markets in half of all evaluated cities.

Read More »

Zurich invention may be used in Fukushima nuclear clean-up

Researchers in Zurich have developed a filter membrane made of whey proteins and activated carbon that can clean contaminated radioactive water. They hope to deploy their invention at the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

Read More »

We don’t have to kill the king, if we just can ignore the king

“The right of self-determination in regard to the question of membership in a state thus means: whenever the inhabitants of a particular territory, whether it be a single village, a whole district, or a series of adjacent districts, make it known, by a freely conducted plebiscite, that they no longer wish to remain united to the state to which they belong at the time, but wish either to form an independent state or to attach themselves to some...

Read More »

What’s Zambia Got To With It (everything)

As one of Africa’s largest copper producers, it seemed like a no-brainer. Financial firms across the Western world, pension funds from the US or banks in Europe, they lined up for a bit of additional yield. This was 2012, still global recovery on the horizon – at least that’s what “they” all kept saying.

Read More »

FX Daily, September 30: Nervous Calm

Quarter and month-end considerations could be overwhelming other factors today.  Turnaround Tuesday saw early gains in US equities fade.  Asia Pacific shares were mixed, with the Nikkei (-1.5%) and Australia (-2.3%) bear the brunt of the selling, while China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India rose.

Read More »

Sonderausgabe Edelmetalle: Trading unter Verwendung von CoT Daten bei Rohstoffen (Teil 3)

Im dritten Teil der Serie, welche von der LS-Exchange präsentiert wird, widmet sich der professionelle Trader Martin Goersch folgenden Fragen: • Waren die starken Bewegungen zum August und September im Voraus erkennbar? • Worauf müssen Sie achten, um beim Start der nächsten Rallye rechtzeitig dabei zu sein? • Wann ist mit einem Kurseinbruch zu rechnen? Diese und mehr Themen werden in diesen 60 Minuten behandelt. Nutzen Sie die seltene...

Read More »

How much blockchain does the financial world need?

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is the buzz-phrase of the moment. But the Swiss National Bank (SNB) says producing digital Swiss francs for the general public would create many problems with unclear benefits. The Swiss government has backed up the central bank word for word.

Read More »

The colonial vision of Swiss multinationals

Switzerland is the home of many major multinational companies, many of which date back to the late 19th century, the high tide of colonialism. But is there a link between the rise of great Swiss corporate names and European colonial expansion? The issue turns out to be a complex one.

Read More »

Dollar Softens as Risk-Off Sentiment Ebbs

The dollar continues to soften as risk-off sentiment ebbs; the first presidential debate will take place tonight. House Democrats have staked out their latest position at $2.2 trln; there is a fair amount of US data out today; Brazil has come under renewed pressure from fiscal concerns.

Read More »

Silver Rises, JP Morgan Manipulates!

While the silver price was dropping recently, we published analyses here and here. At that time, we saw a basis that fell with price, but which recovered during “off” days. In short, there was not much of a decrease in abundance of the metal to the markets commensurate with the price drops.

Read More »

Monthly Macro Monitor – September 2020

The economic data over the last month continued to improve but the breadth of improvement has narrowed. Additionally, while most of the economic data series are still improving, the rate of change, as Jeff pointed out recently, has slowed. I guess that isn’t that surprising as the initial phase of the recovery comes to an end.

Read More »

If the US Adopts Eurozone Policies, the Jobs Recovery Will Suffer

The employment recovery in the United States is as impressive as the collapse due to the lockdowns. In April I wrote a column stating that “The U.S. Labor Market Can Heal Quickly,” and the improvement has been positive. Very few would have expected the unemployment rate to be at 8.4 percent in August after soaring to almost 15 percent in the middle of the pandemic.

Read More »

FX Daily, September 29: Consolidation Still Featured

A consolidative tone continues across the capital markets. Equities have lost their momentum. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was mixed, while Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is paring yesterday's sharp 2.2% gain. US shares are little changed but mostly softer. 

Read More »

GDP level corrected from 2.8 percent to 3.6 percent between 1995 and 2017 following revision of the national accounts

The results of the national accounts published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) have been revised upwards. New data series are available for the period 1995 to 2019. This revision was carried out in collaboration with the sector responsible for quarterly estimates at SECO, provides methodological improvements and takes into consideration new data.

Read More »

Switzerland adds 18 more regions to its quarantine list

Today, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) added 18 regions to its compulsory quarantine list. Anyone arriving in Switzerland from these place from 28 September 2020 will be required by law to quarantine for 10 days.

Read More »

Dollar Soft as Markets Ignore Virus Numbers and Switch to Risk-On Mode

Virus numbers are rising across Europe and the US; the dollar is softening as risk-off sentiment ebbs. It is a fairly quiet day in the US; there is a glimmer of hope about a fiscal deal in the US; recent US data support the widely held view that more stimulus is needed.

Read More »