Tag Archive: newsletter

Glencore suffers $350m hit as cobalt prices decline

2019-08-02

by

2019-08-02

Glencore has taken a $350 million hit because of falling cobalt prices as the problems facing its African copper business continue to pile up. The Switzerland-based miner and commodity trader has been grappling with a string of issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it operates two copper mines, and in Zambia, where it owns another asset.

Read More »

FX Daily, August 1: Mid-Course Correction Sends Greenback Higher

2019-08-01

by

2019-08-01

Overview:  The Federal Reserve delivered the first rate cut since the Great Financial Crisis but couched it in terms of a mid-course correction rather than the start of a larger easing cycle.  By doing so, Fed chief Powell cast the cut in less dovish terms than the market expected and the reaction function of the market has been clear. 

Read More »

DATA ADDS TO THE CASE FOR ECB ACTION IN SEPTEMBER

2019-08-01

by

2019-08-01

Euro Area Real GDP Growth, 2013-2019
Slowing economic momentum in the euro area means that we are lowering our GDP forecasts for this year. The euro area economy grew by 0.2% q-o-q in Q2, down from 0.4% in Q1.While 0.2% is still a decent pace of growth, concerns about the economy in the second half of the year have increased. Recent data have shown that the industrial slump has started to leave some marks on the domestic economy.

Read More »

Nestlé invests CHF99 million in factory expansion in Indonesia

2019-08-01

by

2019-08-01

The Swiss food giant has announced plans to invest CHF99 million (around $100 million) to expand three factories in Indonesia. The goal is to increase Nestlé’s production capacity in the country by 25%, according to a company announcement on Wednesday.

Read More »

FX Daily, July 31: Sterling Steadies, Attention Shifts to FOMC

2019-07-31

by

2019-07-31

Overview: After a shellacking in recent days, sterling has stabilized though there is not much of a bounce to speak of, suggesting the adjustment to the risk of a no-deal Brexit may not be complete. After the S&P 500 posted back-to-back declines, Asia Pacific equities struggled. Hong Kong shares led the regional decline.

Read More »

SNB reports a profit of CHF 38.5 billion for the first half of 2019.

2019-07-31

by

2019-07-31

SNB Profit and Loss since 1999
The Swiss National Bank reports a profit of CHF 38.5 billion for the first half of 2019. The profit on foreign currency positions amounted to CHF 33.8 billion. A valuation gain of CHF 3.8 billion was recorded on gold holdings. The profit on Swiss franc positions was CHF 1.1 billion. The SNB’s financial result depends largely on developments in the gold, foreign exchange and capital markets.

Read More »

Main Street Small Business on the Precipice

2019-07-31

by

2019-07-31

Startups as Share of all Businesses, 1979 - 2014
As a generality, the average employee (including financial pundits) has no real experience or understanding of what it takes to start and operate a small business in the U.S. Government employees in the agencies that oversee and enforce regulations on small businesses also generally lack any experience in the businesses they regulate.

Read More »

Switzerland’s first integrated crypto asset exchange launched

2019-07-31

by

2019-07-31

Smart Valor, the country’s first integrated cryptocurrency exchange offering custody, trading and brokerage, has gone live with nine crypto-fiat trading pairs. The assets on Zug-based platform, that was launched in 2017 as part of the Thomson Reuters Incubator, includes crypto currencies and security tokens.

Read More »

FX Daily, July 30: Sterling Pounded

2019-07-30

by

2019-07-30

Overview:  The prospect of a no-deal Brexit continues to pound sterling lower.  A little more than two months ago, it was testing $1.32.  Two weeks ago it was around $1.25.  Today it traded near $1.2120 before stabilizing.  On the other hand, the 10-year Gilt yield is below 65 bp, a new multiyear low, while the international-laden FTSE 100 is holding its own in the face of heavier equity prices in Europe.

Read More »

Obvious Capital Consumption, Report 28 Jul

2019-07-30

by

2019-07-30

Gold and Silver Price
We have spilled many electrons on the topic of capital consumption. Still, this is a very abstract topic and we think many people still struggle to picture what it means. Thus, the inspiration for this week’s essay. Suppose a young man, Early Enterprise, inherits a car from his grandfather. Early decides to drive for Uber to earn a living. Being enterprising, he is up at dawn and drives all day.

Read More »

Switzerland assists Japanese probe into Carlos Ghosn 

2019-07-30

by

2019-07-30

Canton Zurich’s public prosecutor is assisting the Japanese authorities in an inquiry related to bank accounts associated with Carlos Ghosn, the former leading auto executive. Tokyo prosecutors sent a request for legal assistance to Switzerland in January, a spokesperson for the country's Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) told swissinfo.ch.

Read More »

China’s Big Gamble(s): Betting on QE Again?

2019-07-30

by

2019-07-30

China GDP, 2001-2019
As an economic system, even the most committed socialists had come to realize it was a failure. What ultimately brought down the Soviet Union wasn’t missiles, tanks, and advanced air craft, it was a simple thing like bread. You can argue that Western military spending forced the Communist East to keep up, and therefore to expend way too much on guns at the expense of butter.

Read More »

Uptick in site deposits puts the spotlight on SNB intervention in the franc

2019-07-29

by

2019-07-29

SNB Sight Deposits Increased, 2016-2019
Has the SNB started to intervene. The weekly site deposit data from the Swiss National Bank showed a small uptick but with some perspective, it's a notable turn. Bloomberg highlights the bump and what looks like a bid to keep EUR/CHF above 1.10.

Read More »

FX Daily, July 29: Prospects of a No-Deal Brexit Weigh on Sterling

2019-07-29

by

2019-07-29

Unrest in Hong Kong and disappointing earnings reports from South Korea weighed on local equity markets, and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell for the third consecutive session. European equities are edging higher in tentative trading. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is firmer for the sixth session of the past seven. US shares are little changed after record-high closes before the weekend.

Read More »

Lucerne Considers Coach Tax, other Measures to Manage Tourist Influx

2019-07-29

by

2019-07-29

One of the most popular destinations in Switzerland is reviewing its tourism strategy and mulling introducing coach fees in a bid to curb traffic woes and other disruptions caused by the large number of tourists it welcomes.

Read More »

World’s Central Banks End Pact That Limited Selling Of Gold

2019-07-29

by

2019-07-29

Central Bank Demand, 1971 - 2018
In a surprising announcement on Friday morning, the European Central Bank said the 21 signatories of the 4th Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA) "no longer see the need for formal agreement" as the market has developed and matured, and as a result the signatories "decided not to renew the Agreement upon its expiry in September 2019."

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: The FOMC and US Jobs Headline the Week Ahead

2019-07-29

by

2019-07-29

There is little doubt that the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy at the conclusion of the FOMC meeting on July 31. We never thought the chances of a 50 bp move were anything but negligible, though even at this late stage, the market appears to be pricing in about a one-in-five chance.

Read More »

Why Is What Was Once Affordable to Many Now Only Affordable to the Wealthy?

2019-07-29

by

2019-07-29

S-curve of Rapid Expansion, Stagnation and Decline
Let's start with an excerpt from a recent personal account by the insightful energy/systems analyst Ugo Bardi, who is Italian but writes his blog Cassandra's Legacy in English: Becoming Poor in Italy. The Effects of the Twilight of the Age of Oil.

Read More »

Federal Court to give verdict on UBS tax evasion case 

2019-07-28

by

2019-07-28

Swiss Federal Court
The Swiss Federal Court is to decide on Friday whether Swiss bank UBS should handover data on its French clients to Paris tax authorities as part of a crackdown on suspected tax evasion. The decision has been described as key for Swiss banking circles.

Read More »

Real Estate Perfectly Sums Up The Rate Cuts

2019-07-28

by

2019-07-28

NAR Existing Home Sales, Jan 2011 - May 2019
It’s only a confusing when you just accept the booming economy of the unemployment rate. From this perspective, 2018 was, and more so 2019 is, a downright conundrum. By all mainstream accounts, this just shouldn’t be happening.

Read More »