Tag Archive: newsletter

GDP Begets More GDP (Positive Feedback), Report 30 June

2019-07-02

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2019-07-02

Gold and Silver Price
Last week, we discussed the fundamental flaw in GDP. GDP is a perfect tool for central planning tools. But for measuring the economy, not so much. This is because it looks only at cash revenues. It does not look at the balance sheet. It does not take into account capital consumption or debt accumulation. Any Keynesian fool can add to GDP by borrowing to spend. But that is not economic growth.

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America’s Concealed Crisis: Fifty Years of Economic Decline, 1969 to 2019

2019-07-02

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2019-07-02

U.S. Average Hourly Wages, SA 1964-2018
If we consider the long term, it's clear America's economy and society have been declining for the average household for 50 years. What if the "prosperity" of the past 50 years is mostly a statistical mirage for the bottom 80% of households? 

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FX Daily, July 01: Trade Optimism Meet Reality of Disappointing PMI

2019-07-01

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2019-07-01

Overview: A new tariff truce between the US and China, coupled with the North Korean diplomacy and Russia-Saudi tentative agreement boosted investor confidence and sharp equity rallies. Japanese and Chinese equities rallied 2-3%. Most markets rallied in Asia-Pacific except for South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong markets were closed as the handover was commemorated.

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Swiss Retail Sales, May 2019: -1.6 percent Nominal and -1.7 percent Real

2019-07-01

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2019-07-01

Switzerland Retail Sales YoY, May 2019
Turnover in the retail sector fell by 1.6% in nominal terms in May 2019 compared with the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover fell by 1.5% compared with the previous month. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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FX Weekly Preview: Macro Update: Melodrama Subsides but Capriciousness Remains

2019-07-01

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2019-07-01

Since President Trump declared the end of the tariff truce with China in early May, an important focus for investors was the G20 meeting. It was only as it drew near was a meeting between the two heads of state confirmed. What was billed as an extraordinary meeting reportedly lasted less than 90 minutes, and the results were broadly as expected.

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Vitol overtakes Glencore as biggest company in Switzerland

2019-07-01

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2019-07-01

Commodity trader Vitol has taken the top spot in the ranking of the largest companies in Switzerland by total turnover, relegating Zug-based Glencore to second place. According to the rankingexternal link published in the Handelszeitung on Thursday, in 2018 Vitol boasted growth of 26.8% for a total turnover of CHF226 billion ($231 billion) compared to Glencore’s CHF215 billion.

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Following in Rome’s Footsteps: Moral Decay, Rising Inequality

2019-07-01

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2019-07-01

U.S. Pre-Tax Income Share, 1913-2012
Here is the moral decay of America's ruling elites boiled down to a single word. There are many reasons why Imperial Rome declined, but two primary causes that get relatively little attention are moral decay and soaring wealth inequality. The two are of course intimately connected: once the morals of the ruling Elites degrade, what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine, too.

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Swiss government proposes overhaul of money-laundering laws 

2019-06-30

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2019-06-30

The Swiss government wants to revamp the laws against money laundering so that lawyers, notaries and other advisors are required to comply with due diligence obligations.  The Federal Council (executive body) proposed on Wednesday a set of legal amendments to meet international standards in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. 

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Could a Cryptocurrency Become a Global Reserve Currency?

2019-06-30

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2019-06-30

USD and other Currencies
Could a non-state cryptocurrency like bitcoin become a global reserve currency? I first proposed the idea back in November 2013, long before bitcoin's rise to $19,000, decline to $3,200, recent ascent to $13,000 and current retrace.

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Swiss mortgages and bank profits rise as jobs scale down

2019-06-29

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2019-06-29

Swiss commercial banks achieved higher profits last year, mortgage loans tipped the CHF1 trillion ($1.02 trillion) mark and costs were saved by reducing headcounts. These are the findings of an annual report from the Swiss National bank (SNB).

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Switzerland’s upper house wants incentives for people who work beyond 65

2019-06-29

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2019-06-29

The gap between Switzerland’s official retirement age – 65 for men and 64 for women – and average life expectancy is long. Life expectancy at 65 is 20 years for men (85) and 23 for women (88). More and more people are questioning the viability of living for two decades or more without working, particularly when the population is aging and the pension system is crumbling.

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Big pay gaps remain in Switzerland

2019-06-29

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2019-06-29

Large wage gaps continue by gender and within Switzerland’s largest 26 firms, according to two new surveys. According to the Federal Office for Statistics, the median gross salary of male full-time employees in Switzerland stood at CHF85,200 ($87,276) last year, while for full-time female employees it was CHF71,500 – a 19% pay gap.

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FX Daily, June 28: The World may Look Different Come Monday

2019-06-28

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2019-06-28

Overview: Quarter-end positioning seems to dominate today's activity. The outcome of bilateral talks at the G20 gathering partly reflects the influence of the US President who eschews multilateral efforts as a hindrance to its sovereignty.  Equities in Asia Pacific slipped today but held on to modest gains for the week.

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Banks in Switzerland 2018

2019-06-28

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2019-06-28

Key Figures for 2018
The Swiss National Bank has today published its report Banks in Switzerland 2018 and the corresponding data for its annual banking statistics. The most significant events are summarised below.

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No, Autos Are Not “Cheaper Now”

2019-06-28

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2019-06-28

How much did "cheapest" cars increase in 30 years?
According to the BLS, inflation in the category of "New Vehicles" has been practically non-existent the past 21 years. Longtime readers know I've long turned a skeptical gaze at official calculations of inflation, offering real-world analyses such as The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001 (August 1, 2016) and Burrito Index Update: Burrito Cost Triples, Official Inflation Up 43% from 2001 (May 31, 2018).

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Swiss pensioners most likely age group to be overweight

2019-06-28

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2019-06-28

Swiss seniors are much more likely to be overweight that other age categories, new statistics from the Federal Office for Public Health (FOPH) show. Some 53% of over-65-year-olds have a body mass index judged to be too high (over 25 on the BMI scale), according to the statistics released on Tuesday by the FOPH.

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Big Tech, Big Banks Push for “Cashless Society”

2019-06-28

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2019-06-28

The War on Cash isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s an open agenda. It’s being driven by an alignment of interests among bankers, central bankers, politicians, and Silicon Valley moguls who stand to benefit from an all-digital economy. Last week, Facebook – in partnership with major banks, payment processors, and e-commerce companies – launched a digital currency called Libra.

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FX Daily, June 27: Ready. Set. Wait.

2019-06-27

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2019-06-27

Overview: The approaching month/quarter-end and the G20 meeting dominate considerations. Although the S&P 500 closed on its lows for the third consecutive session yesterday, Asia Pacific equities liked the apparent increase in the prospect of a tariff freeze between the US and China and the pullback in the Japanese yen.

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Swiss central bank asked to issue stock exchange digital currency

2019-06-27

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2019-06-27

The Swiss stock exchange wants the country’s central bank to issue a form of cryptocurrency to settle payments on its new digital securities trading platform. If the Swiss National Bank (SNB) agrees, it would represent a departure from its cautious policy on digital currencies. Stock exchange operator SIX Group revealed at the Crypto Valley Association conference that traders on its forthcoming SDX platform would be able to swap cash for a new...

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‘Mature’ Swiss crypto industry demands banking access

2019-06-27

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2019-06-27

Representatives from Switzerland’s growing cryptocurrency and blockchain sector say it has matured into a viable and respectable industry that demands to be taken seriously by banks. “The hype, nonsense and scams have gone away,” says Daniel Haudenschild, President of the Crypto Valley Association (CVA), referring to a “wild west” phase over the last two years that saw several flimsy and phony companies set up and go bust, burning millions in...

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