Tag Archive: newsletter

Swiss rank high in energy index

2020-05-17

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2020-05-17

Switzerland has placed second in a global index comparing current energy systems and readiness for the transition to cleaner sources. In its new Energy Transition Indexexternal link, the World Economic Forum (WEF) identifies the coronavirus pandemic as a serious threat to the switch to renewable energies.

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There Was Never A Need To Translate ‘Weimar’ Into Japanese

2020-05-17

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2020-05-17

After years of futility, he was sure of the answer. The Bank of Japan had spent the better part of the roaring nineties fighting against itself as much as the bubble which had burst at the outset of the decade. Letting fiscal authorities rule the day, Japan’s central bank had largely sat back introducing what it said was stimulus in the form of lower and lower rates.No, stupid, declared Milton Friedman.

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Crisis or Opportunity? To Politicians, It’s the Same Thing

2020-05-17

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2020-05-17

Forget performing William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The real art form is politicking. They sport taxpayer-funded windbreakers, speak with authority and urgency, and lead a brigade of specialists. When a crisis unfolds, whether it is a hurricane or a virus outbreak, politicians stand before the cameras, appearing to be in control of the situation—but they see an opportunity.

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Swiss government reveals more on Covid-19 tracing app

2020-05-16

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2020-05-16

On 13 May 2020, Switzerland’s government published more information on the Swiss Proximity Tracing App (Swiss PT), an app designed to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Developed by teams at EPFL and ETHZ, the app uses Bluetooth to detect when your phone comes within two metres of another phone or device with the app. It then records the contact as an anonymous key and the duration of contact, flagging any close contact longer than 15 minutes.

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Tyres and litterbugs spread plastic across Switzerland

2020-05-16

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2020-05-16

Each year some 14,000 tonnes of plastic waste end up in the Swiss environment. A federally commissioned analysis identifies two main culprits: tyre abrasion (around 8,000 tonnes) and littering (around 2,700 tonnes).

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The Collapse of Main Street and Local Tax Revenues Cannot Be Reversed

2020-05-16

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2020-05-16

The core problem is the U.S. economy has been fully financialized, and so costs are unaffordable. To understand the long-term consequences of the pandemic on Main Street and local tax revenues, we need to consider first and second order effects. The immediate consequences of lockdowns and changes in consumer behavior are first-order effects: closures of Main Street, job losses, massive Federal Reserve bailouts of the top 0.1%, loan programs for...

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How Bad Is It?

2020-05-16

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2020-05-16

How bad is it? That is the question on everyone's mind as we come to grips with the economic carnage caused by global economic shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, and ongoing quarantines of million of people. Do we face another Great Depression, or simply a deep recession more like 2008? And equally important, are soft Americans prepared for either? Have we started to process all of this psychologically?

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FX Daily, May 15: Much Talk but Little Action

2020-05-15

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2020-05-15

Overview: The S&P 500 staged an impressive recovery yesterday, a sell-off that took it to its lowest level since April 21, to close more than 1% higher on the day, helped set the tone in the Far East and Europe today. Gains in most Asia Pacific markets, but Hong Kong, Shanghai, and India, trimmed this week's losses. Australia's 1.4% rally today managed to turn ASX positive for the week, extending leg up for a third consecutive week.

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Announcement regarding recall of banknotes from eighth series

2020-05-15

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2020-05-15

The issuance of the ninth banknote series was concluded on 12 September 2019. The Swiss National Bank intends to communicate the statutory recall of the banknotes from the eighth series two months in advance in the first half of 2021.

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Price watchdog criticises cost of becoming Swiss

2020-05-15

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2020-05-15

Naturalisation fees vary among Switzerland’s 26 cantons. This has caught the eye of the federal price watchdog, who doubts that the fees fall within the legal framework. The law on Swiss citizenship stipulates that “the fees may not amount to more than is required to cover costs”. But for price watchdog Stefan Meierhans this is “more than questionable”, as he writes in his newsletter on Thursday. 

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SWISS publishes flight timetable for June

2020-05-15

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2020-05-15

After grounding most of its fleet because of Covid-19, Swiss International Air Lines will partially restart its flight operations in June and plans to operate up to 190 flights from Zurich and Geneva to 41 European destinations. The return to the skies would follow in stages, and the range of flights available will gradually be increased over the coming weeks, SWISS said on Thursday, announcing its timetable for June.

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Dollar Firm as Risk-off Sentiment Intensifies

2020-05-15

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2020-05-15

UK 2-Year Yields Turn Negative
Risk-off sentiment has intensified; as a result, the dollar is getting some more traction. Fed Chair Powell pushed back against the notion of negative rates in the US; US Treasury completed its quarterly refunding. Weekly jobless claims are expected at 2.5 mln vs. 3.169 mln last week; Mexico is expected to cut rates 50 bp to 5.5%

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Ludwig von Mises & “Circulation Credit” Theory of the Trade Cycle

2020-05-15

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2020-05-15

[This article is part of the Understanding Money Mechanics series, by Robert P. Murphy. The series will be published as a book in late 2020.] Starting with Carl Menger’s undisputed role in the “marginal revolution,” which ushered in subjective value theory, the Austrian school has made important contributions that have been absorbed into standard economic theory.

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“We are expecting a new wave and we’re prepared for it.”

2020-05-15

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2020-05-15

Gold Prices, 2015-2020
Interview with Robert Hartmann, Co-Owner ProAurum, Over the last couple of months, we’ve witnessed unprecedented changes in the global economy, in the markets and in our societies. The corona crisis and the governmental measures that were introduced had a dramatic and direct effect on all of us, as investors and as citizens. 

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FX Daily, May 14: Risk Appetites Wane

2020-05-14

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2020-05-14

Overview: Risk appetites have been gradually waning this week. US equity losses mounted yesterday after Tuesday's late sell-off. Asia Pacific equities were off, with many seeing at least 1.5% drops. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is off a little more to double this week's decline and leaves it in a position to be the biggest drop since panicked days in mid-March.

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Swiss Producer and Import Price Index in April 2020: -4.0 percent YoY, -1.3 percent MoM

2020-05-14

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2020-05-14

Switzerland Producer Price Index (PPI) YoY, April 2020
14.05.2020 - The Producer and Import Price Index fell in April 2020 by 1.3% compared with the previous month, reaching 98.1 points (December 2015 = 100). The decline is due in particular to lower prices for petroleum products, petroleum and natural gas. Compared with April 2019, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products fell by 4.0%.

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Top Swiss firms pay respects to ‘formative’ business leader Fritz Gerber

2020-05-14

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2020-05-14

Pharmaceutical giant Roche and Zurich Insurance have paid their respects to business executive Fritz Gerber, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 91. “Fritz Gerber was one of the most influential business leaders in Switzerland during a period of formative development for the country’s modern, open economy,” Zurich Insurance said in a statement on Monday.

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Coronavirus: the dangers of singing

2020-05-14

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2020-05-14

As Switzerland reopens, the details around how SARS-CoV-2 spreads becomes more relevant to everyday life. Matthias Egger, the head of Switzerland’s Covid-19 task force, stresses the importance of continuing to follow social distancing and hygiene rules.

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The global economy doesn’t care about the ECB (nor any central bank)

2020-05-14

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2020-05-14

Europe Industrial Production, 1991-2020
The monetary mouse. After years of Mario Draghi claiming everything under the sun available with the help of QE and the like, Christine Lagarde came in to the job talking a much different approach. Suddenly, chastened, Europe’s central bank needed assistance. So much for “do whatever it takes.”They did it – and it didn’t take.Lagarde’s outreach was simply an act of admitting reality.

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Dollar Mixed as Markets Await Fresh Drivers

2020-05-14

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2020-05-14

The virus news stream is mixed; the dollar continues to consolidate; US-China tensions continue to rise. US Treasury wraps up its quarterly refunding; April budget statement is a harbinger of things to come; the next round of stimulus will be contentious. We got some dovish BOE comments yesterday; UK continues to play Brexit hardball; UK data was slightly better than expected but awful nonetheless.

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