Tag Archive: newsletter

Real wages set to rise in Switzerland for first time in three years

2019-10-28

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2019-10-28

Employees in Switzerland are expected to receive above-inflation pay rises for the first time since 2016, according to a survey of companies. On average, workers are forecast to take home a 1.1% pay hike – a rise of 0.9% when taking inflation into account. These are the findings of research portal Lohntendenzen.ch, as reported by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

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FX Weekly Preview: Fed’s Mid-Course Correction to be Challenged while ECB Resumes Bond Purchases

2019-10-28

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2019-10-28

The week ahead will help shape the investment climate for the remainder of the year.  The highlights include three central bank meetings (Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and the Bank of Canada).  Among the high-frequency data, the US and the eurozone report the first estimates of Q3 GDP, and the US October jobs data and auto sales will be released.  Investors will also get the preliminary Oct CPI for EMU.

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EM Preview for the Week Ahead

2019-10-28

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2019-10-28

EM has been on a good run but this week will be a big test.  Brexit uncertainty may finally end.  Or it may not.  A delay would be positive for EM, whilst a potential hard Brexit would be negative.  The Fed meets Wednesday and key US data will be reported during the week, culminating with the jobs report Friday. 

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Somehow Still Decent European Descent

2019-10-28

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2019-10-28

IHS Markit Germany Flash PMI
How times have changed. In the middle of 2018, we were told the risks to the global economy were all tilted to the upside. If central bankers weren’t careful, they chanced an uncontrollable inflationary breakout, the kind that would make the last few years of the 2010’s look too much like the 1970’s. Always eager to bottle up the inflation genie, Germany out of everyone actually welcomed negative factors as they built up during the year.

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Swiss central bank makes 388 million from negative interest rates

2019-10-27

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2019-10-27

The Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland’s central bank, has earned CHF 388 million from negative interest rates since introducing them in 2014 to tame the rising strength of the Swiss Franc, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick.

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Swiss remain the richest in 2019

2019-10-27

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2019-10-27

According to a recent report by the bank Credit Suisse, the Swiss are worth more on average than the residents of any other nation. The bank’s annual Global Wealth Report calculates average net worth per Swiss adult to be US$ 564,653 (CHF 560,643) at mid-2019. The median figure was US$ 227,891 (CHF 226,273).

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How pension payments are making Swiss housing unaffordable

2019-10-27

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2019-10-27

Under pressure to invest, Swiss pension funds are ploughing money into real estate, considered a safe and profitable option. As this drives up housing prices, however, desperate residents are fighting back through direct democracy. Building land in central Switzerland is scarce, and apartments and houses expensive, especially in cities.

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USD/CHF technical analysis: Jumps back closer to over 1-week tops

2019-10-26

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2019-10-26

USD/CHF 1-hourly chart
The intraday pullback finds decent support ahead of 0.9900 handle. Move beyond 0.9935 will set the stage for additional near-term gains. The USD/CHF pair did witness some intraday pullback but showed some resilience below 38.2% Fibonacci level of the 1.0028-0.9837 recent downfall. The pair managed to find decent support near 200-hour SMA and has now moved back closer to over one-week tops set earlier this Friday.

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Five things to come out of Zuckerberg’s Libra testimony

2019-10-26

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2019-10-26

Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of the US Congress on Wednesday about his company’s plans to launch a new, global digital currency. During a marathon hearing, the Facebook chief executive and founder attempted to change the narrative surrounding Project Libra. The proposed currency has been beset by criticism from regulators and politicians, while support from corporate partners has dwindled.

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Zurich residents take on real estate investors to keep their homes

2019-10-26

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2019-10-26

In a modest Zurich neighbourhood, long-time residents of a sprawling apartment complex will lose their homes if a planned renewal project backed by a pension fund goes ahead. Similar projects are happening across Switzerland as funds invest heavily in real estate amid low interest rates.

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Downward Home Prices In The Downturn, Too

2019-10-26

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2019-10-26

New Home Sales, 2011-2019
The Census Bureau reported today New Home Sales remained at a better than 700k SAAR in September following the big jump over the previous few months. Though the number was slightly lower last month than the month before, it wasn’t meaningfully less. As discussed yesterday, while that might seem the Fed’s rate cut psychology combined with the bond market’s pessimism (reducing the mortgage rate) is having a positive effect, I don’t see it that...

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FX Daily, October 25: Limping into the Weekend both Fighting and Talking

2019-10-25

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2019-10-25

Overview: Amazon and Intel earnings offered conflicting impulses for Asia Pacific equities, but Japanese, Chinese, Australian, and South Korean shares advanced. This will allow the regional MSCI benchmark to solidify its third consecutive weekly gain. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is little changed, and it too is closing in on its third weekly advance.

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USD/CHF rises to one-week highs at 0.9930

2019-10-25

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2019-10-25

More levels
US Dollar strengthens during the American session after US data. Swiss Franc fails to benefit from the demand for safe-haven assets. The USD/CHF pair rebounded at 0.9890 and climbed to 0.9930, the highest level since October 17. As of writing, trades at 0.9920, up almost 20 pips for the day, on its way to the fourth daily gain in-a-row. 

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Self-censorship increases online amid data privacy concerns

2019-10-25

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2019-10-25

The Swiss are using the internet more than ever but have growing angst about companies like Facebook violating their privacy. The consequence is a rising trend to self-censorship: not looking for certain information or not expressing oneself online.

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Startups struggle to make a mark in the conservative luxury industry

2019-10-25

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2019-10-25

Swiss luxury startups are finding it difficult to break into an established market that can be averse to change due to longstanding traditions. “When I was working for an auction house a couple of years ago the chairman handed me a gadget a client had given him. It was a USB stick and he did not know what it was.”

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More Down In The Downturn

2019-10-25

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2019-10-25

IHS Markit US Manufacturing, 2012-2019
Flash PMI’s from IHS Markit for the US economy were split in October. According to the various sentiment indicators, there’s a little bit of a rebound on the manufacturing side as contrary to the ISM’s estimates for the same sector. Markit reports a sharp uptick in current manufacturing business volumes during this month.

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Bundesbank Buys Gold – Increasing Concerns About Deutsche Bank, European Banks, the Euro and Dollar

2019-10-25

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2019-10-25

German Gold Holdings MoM, 1999-2019
◆ The End Of Fiat In One Chart?◆ For the first time in 21 years, Germany has openly bought gold into its reserve holdings◆ With ECB mutiny and Deutsche Bank’s rapid demise, fears are rising of a looming financial crisis, and with that, Germany has shown a renewed interest in gold

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FX Daily, October 24: Flash PMIs Disappoint Despite Negative Interest Rates

2019-10-24

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2019-10-24

Overview: As the UK awaits the EU's decision on its request, disappointing flash PMI readings Japan, Australia, and Germany have filled the news vacuum. Sweden's Riksbank retained a hawkish tone while keeping rates on hold, and Norway's Norges Bank also stood pat. The market expects Turkey to deliver a rate cut, while the ECB meeting is Draghi's last at the helm.

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Bitcoin billionaire twins to address St Moritz crypto event

2019-10-24

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2019-10-24

Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss, who made a fortune out of bitcoin, are to deliver a keynote speech at next year’s Crypto Finance Conference in St Moritz. The annual gathering of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and investors has become a fixture event, running just before the World Economic Forum’s flagship Davos summit.

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Nestlé remains among top plastic polluters in the world

2019-10-24

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2019-10-24

The Swiss food giant has been placed second behind Coca-Cola in an audit of plastic waste by a coalition of environmental organisations. The results of the analysis, released on Wednesday by the Break Free From Plasticexternal link movement, prompted the authors to single out the corporations that finished in the top three for the second year in a row – Coca-Cola, Nestlé and PepsiCo – for having offered “mostly false solutions to the plastics...

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