Tag Archive: Featured

FX Daily, September 23: Trying to Find Solid Ground

2020-09-23

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2020-09-23

A more stable tone is evident in the capital markets after the S&P 500, and NASDAQ rose more than one percent yesterday.  Japan returned from a two-day holiday, and local shares slipped fractionally, while China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Australian shares rallied.  India and Taiwan fell.

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Swiss balance of payments and international investment position: Q2 2020

2020-09-23

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2020-09-23

Current Account Switzerland Q2 2020
In the second quarter of 2020, the current account surplus amounted to CHF 10 billion; in the same quarter of 2019 it was CHF 21 billion. This decline was principally due to lower receipts from direct investment abroad. While the goods trade balance and the services trade balance changed only marginally, there was a significant decrease in receipts and expenses.

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WEF Davos conference in doubt for 2021

2020-09-23

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2020-09-23

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) flagship summit may not take place in Davos next year, businesses in the alpine town have been warned. The pandemic had already forced organisers to postpone the event from its usual January slot to a potential early summer date.

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Dollar Remains Firm Ahead of Powell Testimony

2020-09-23

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2020-09-23

Sweden Data and Central Bank Rate, 2016-2020
The dollar remains firm on continued safe haven flows but we still view this situation as temporary. Fed Chair Powell appears before the House Financial Services Panel with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin; the text of Powell’s testimony was released already.

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“The U.S. economy felt like a balloon in search of a needle” – Part I

2020-09-23

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2020-09-23

As we move deeper and deeper into this covid crisis, more and more people understand that there’s a lot more to fear besides the disease itself. As the economic impact and the full scale of the damage caused by the lockdowns and the shutdowns become undeniable, there are too many questions lacking any sort of convincing answer and the future for so many employees, business owners, investors and ordinary savers seems bleak and uncertain.

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Inflation and “Socialism-Lite” Are Just What the Billionaires Want

2020-09-23

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2020-09-23

The Fruit of Financialization
After a bout of inflation and "socialism-light", we could end up with even more extreme inequality when the whole rotten structure collapses.

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Inflation: Its Effects and Failures

2020-09-23

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2020-09-23

Inflationism is that policy which by increasing the quantity of money or credit seeks to raise money prices and money wages or seeks to counteract a decline of money prices and money wages which threatens as the result of an increase in the supply of consumers’ goods.

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‘Switzerland failing to tackle money laundering’: Thelesklaf

2020-09-22

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2020-09-22

The former head of Switzerland’s anti-money laundering office says the country is failing to pull its weight in the fight against large scale corruption. Daniel Thelesklaf is convinced that billions of dollars are still being laundered through Swiss banks, largely unchecked.

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Dollar Gains from Risk-Off Trading Unlikely to Persist

2020-09-22

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2020-09-22

Markets are starting the week in risk-off mode; the dollar is firm on some safe haven flows but this is likely to prove temporary. US politics is coming in to focus as the election nears; we fear that the likely horse-trading and arm-twisting will take away any residual desire to get another stimulus package done.

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The Fed Is Planning Another Ultralong Period of Ultralow Rates

2020-09-22

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2020-09-22

Audio Mises Wire
The Fed plans to keep interest rates near zero, while monetizing debt, financing zombie companies, and pouring new dollars into the market. But that may not be enough.

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The Saving Problem in America: Alternatives and Reforms

2020-09-22

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2020-09-22

Audio Mises Wire
Savings are the foundation for a productive and advanced economy. Unfortunately, governments insist on policies that make it harder for ordinary people to save.

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FX Daily, September 21: Risk Appetites Join Tokyo on Vacation

2020-09-21

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2020-09-21

Global equity markets are off to a poor start to the week, and the dollar appears to be enjoying a safe-haven bid. Tokyo markets are closed until Wednesday, while Asia-Pacific stocks tumbled, and the regional index is unwinding last week's gains. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600  is off around 2.7% near midday in Europe.

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Confidence in vaccine safety remains low in Switzerland

2020-09-21

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2020-09-21

Compared to much of the world, confidence in the safety of vaccines is low in Switzerland, according to a recently published study. In 2015, only 30% of Swiss questioned strongly agreed that vaccines were safe, ranking it 133rd out of 149 nations in terms of confidence in vaccine safety.

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“Inflation” and America’s Accelerating Class War

2020-09-21

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2020-09-21

Wealth inequality, 1910-2010
Those who don't see the fragmentation, the scarcities and the battlelines being drawn will be surprised by the acceleration of the unraveling. I recently came across the idea that inflation is a two-factor optimization problem.

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If Dollar Is Fixed By Jay’s Flood, Why So Many TIC-ked At Corporates in July?

2020-09-21

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2020-09-21

When the eurodollar system worked, or at least appeared to, not only did the overflow of real effective (if virtual and confusing) currency “weaken” the US dollar’s exchange value, its enormous excess showed up as more and more foreign holdings of US$ assets.

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Turning to Keynes in this Crisis Will Only Make Things Worse

2020-09-21

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2020-09-21

In the New York Times on September 8, 2020, Paul Krugman wrote that. The CARES Act, enacted in March, gave the unemployed an extra $600 a week in benefits. This supplement played a crucial role in limiting extreme hardship; poverty may even have gone down.

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Chlorothalonil in Zurich’s groundwater above the limit in 60 percent of samples

2020-09-20

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2020-09-20

The banned substance chlorothalonil, which is in some pesticides, has been found to be above the limit in 60% of ground water samples taken across the canton of Zurich over the last 12 months, reported SRF.

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Do the WTO and the 1972 Free Trade Agreement guarantee Swiss access to the EU market?

2020-09-20

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2020-09-20

The authors of a popular initiative to limit immigration to Switzerland from the 27-nation European Union say a “yes” vote will not affect Swiss businesses’ access to the EU market. A fact check shows the claim to be misleading.

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Reopening Inertia, Asian Dollar Style (Still Waiting On The Crash)

2020-09-20

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2020-09-20

Why are there still outstanding dollar swap balances? It is the middle of September, for cryin’ out loud, and the Federal Reserve reports $52.3 billion remains on its books as of yesterday.

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What the Trade Balance Means for a Currency’s Purchasing Power

2020-09-20

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2020-09-20

In July this year the US trade balance stood at a deficit of $63.6 billion against a deficit of $51 billion in July last year. Some commentators regard a widening in the trade deficit as an ominous sign for the exchange rate of the US dollar against major currencies in the times ahead.

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