Tag Archive: newsletter

Japan’s Bellwether On Nasty #4

One reason why Japanese bond yields are approaching records like their German counterparts is the global economy indicated in Japan’s economic accounts. As in Germany, Japan is an outward facing system. It relies on the concept of global growth for marginal changes. Therefore, if the global economy is coming up short, we’d see it in Japan first and maybe best.

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FX Daily, June 24: Slow Start to Important Week

The Trump-Xi meeting at the G20 this coming weekend and heightened tensions in the Gulf, with the US set to impose new sanctions on Iran's crippled economy are keeping investors on edge. News the opposition won the re-do of the Istanbul mayoral election has lifted the Turkish lira.

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Industry challenges blockchain during hackathon

More than 200 hackers from 19 countries converged on Switzerland at the weekend to take part in the Swiss Blockchain Hackathon. Participants were challenged to come up with blockchain innovations in a variety of sectors as diverse as finance, logistics and agriculture. Switzerland has hosted numerous hackathons over the past few years, designed to stimulate digital entrepreneurship using cutting-edge technologies. Several events have already spun...

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FX Weekly Preview: Cutting to the Quick

Central banks are prepared to take fresh measures to strengthen and extend the business cycle primarily because price pressures are below what their predecessors thought would be acceptable levels. Draghi, speaking for the ECB, the Federal Reserve, and the Bank of Japan ratcheted up their concerns, which, even without new initiatives, were sufficient to drive interest rates lower.

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Smartphone shopping boosts online trade

Online shopping accounts for an ever bigger slice of the Swiss retail market as shopping via smartphone also becomes more popular with consumers, says a new report. Last year, Swiss consumers placed online orders worth a total of almost CHF 10 billion ($10 billion), according to the "E-Commerce Report 2019" published on Thursday. This represents an increase of 10 percent compared with the previous year.

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The Human Cost of “Recovery”: We’re Burning Out

The asymmetries are piling up and we're cracking under the weight. Judging by the record-high stock market and the record-low unemployment rate, the "recovery" has reached new heights of prosperity. Academics and think-tankers viewing the global economy from 40,000 feet are brimming with policies to bring the remaining laggards into the booming economy.

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Swiss-EU friction rises in lead up to expiry of stock market equivalence

In 2018, Switzerland and the EU struck a deal to extend Swiss stock market equivalence until 30 June 2019, a date fast approaching. Stock market equivalence makes a trade on the Swiss stock exchange equivalent to a trade on an exchange in an EU country. This allows trades to be pooled across countries, something that supports global trade and improves international market liquidity, a win-win for all traders.

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The Lessons of Rome: Our Neofeudal Oligarchy

Our society has a legal structure of self-rule and ownership of capital, but in reality it is a Neofeudal Oligarchy. The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000 is not an easy, breezy read; its length and detail are daunting. The effort is well worth it, as the book helps us understand how the power structures of societies change over time in ways that may be largely invisible to those living through the changes.

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Millionaires in Switzerland still on the rise

Switzerland is home to the fourth-largest number of dollar millionaire households, according to a report by the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG). Worldwide, the number of such millionaires continues to rise. There are now some 500,000 millionaire households in Switzerland, BCG said, putting the Swiss in fourth place behind the US (around 15 million), China (1.3 million), and Japan (1.1 million).

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FX Daily, June 21: Markets Pause Ahead of the Weekend

The global capital markets are trading quietly ahead of the weekend. Equity markets are mostly narrowly mixed. Chinese shares extended their run, and the major benchmarks were up 4%+ on the week. Japan, Australia, South Korea, and India saw gains pared.

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The Fed’s Casino Is Giving Away Free Gambling Chips (But Only to the Super-Rich)

The rest of us eat our losses, either all at once or in bitter bites as we trudge through the financial wasteland left after bubbles burst. The news that the Federal Reserve Casino is giving away free gambling chips triggered a frenzied rush that trampled the bears, including poor Yogi:

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A third of young Swiss experience financial hardship

Around 30% of young adults in Switzerland have faced financial difficulties, according to data from the Young Adult Survey Switzerland (YASS). The survey, which questions some 70,000 19-year-olds around the country every four years, aims to gain an “empiric and interdisciplinary insight” into the “educational biographies, living conditions and social and political orientations” of young Swiss adults.

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FX Daily, June 20: Doves Rules the Roost Except in Oslo

Overview:  The prospect of "lower for longer" continues to fuel the bond and stock rally.  The initial US equity response to the Fed was positive but not strong and closed about 0.3% higher.  Asia Pacific equities followed suit with mostly modest gains, except for China and Hong Kong, where gains of more than 1% were recorded.

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Switzerland Construction prices rose by 0.5 percent in April 2019

20.06.2019 - The construction price index recorded a rise of 0.5% between October 2018 and April 2019, reaching 99.8 points (October 2015 = 100). This result reflects an increase in building prices and a stabilisation in civil engineering prices. Year on year, construction prices increased by 0.7%. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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Dear Central Bankers: Prepare to be Swept Away in the Next Wave of Populism

The political moment when the "losers" connect their discontent and decline with central bankers is approaching. The Ruling Elites' Chattering Classes still haven't absorbed the key lesson of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

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Gold Bullion International Lease #1 (gold)

Monetary Metals leased silver to Gold Bullion International, to support the growth of its gold jewelry line. The metal is held in the form of inventory in a third party depository.

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General Electric to slash 450 more Swiss jobs

United States engineering giant General Electric has revealed it will cut a further 450 jobs at two of its Swiss sites. Since 2016, the company has already shed some 2,000 workers. The company, which generated profits of $954 million (CHF952 million) last year, blamed the latest cuts on “financially challenging conditions”. But its GE Power division reported an operating loss of nearly $1 billion globally.

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China looks to new policies to boost infrastructure spending

To stabilise growth, the Chinese government will likely put more focus on infrastructure investment. A new policy announced recently could give a further boost to this sector.Activity data in May point to continued weakness in Chinese economic momentum, with growth in both fixed-asset investment and industrial production slowing last month.

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FX Daily, June 19: Still Patient?

Overview:  Risk-taking was bolstered by the dramatic shift in Draghi's rhetoric less than two weeks after the ECB meeting and a Trump's tweet announcing that there was going to be an  "extended" meeting between him and Xi at the G20 meeting and that the respective staff would begin coordinating. It was later confirmed by the Chinese media.

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