Tag Archive: newsletter

Gold ETFs See Strong Demand In Volatile October After Robust Global Gold Demand In Q3

2018-11-08

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2018-11-08

GDT Q3 2018
Gold ETFs saw inflows in volatile October as investors again hedged risk. Gold ETFs see demand of 16.5 tonnes(t) in October to total of 2,346t, the equivalent of US$1B in inflows. Global gold demand was robust in Q3 – demand of 964.3 tonnes – plus 6.2t yoy.

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New Swiss broadcasting fee starts next year

2018-11-08

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2018-11-08

After a referendum in March 2018 threatened to axe Switzerland’s costly broadcasting fee, the government put forward a counter proposal, which was adopted when 71.6% of voters voted to keep the fee. On 1 January 2019, the lower fee contained in the government’s plan will come into force. Next year, instead of CHF 451, each household will need to cough up CHF 365.

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Japan services PMI rebounds strongly in October

2018-11-08

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2018-11-08

The domestic economy is retaining its momentum, but external headwinds are building.The Japanese services purchasing managers index (PMI) rose sharply in October, surging by 2.2 points to 52.4, after a notable drop in September. The manufacturing PMI rose as well, but more moderately, reaching 52.9 in October from 52.4 in September.

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Swiss franc still highly valued, but no policy change

2018-11-07

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2018-11-07

The Swiss franc, investment in arms, and the housing market were some of the issues the government discussed with the chairman of the Swiss National Bank. SNB chairman Thomas Jordan told the government that he sees the Swiss currency as highly valued and warned of the continuing risks of bubbles in the housing market.

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FX Daily, November 07: Equities and Bonds Jump While the Dollar Slumps

2018-11-07

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2018-11-07

The dollar has fallen against nearly every currency. It had been moving lower at the start of the week, but what seems like a correction broadened and deepened following the US midterm election. The outcome was largely in line with expectations for the Republicans to hold the Senate and the Democrats to take a majority of the House for the first time since 2010.

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‘Lighthouse’ Planned for Swiss Mountain Top

2018-11-07

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2018-11-07

Plans have been presented to upgrade a popular tourist destination on a mountain top in central Switzerland. As part of the CHF100 million ($100 million) project on the Titlis, a building made of steel and glass will be added to the existing tower for technical installations on 3,028 metres (9,934 feet) altitude.

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Euro and Yen Outlook

2018-11-07

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2018-11-07

Broadly speaking, the risk is that the dollar's cyclical advance is not complete. The drivers will likely remain in place through at least the middle of next year. Additional gradual interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and a favorable policy mix underpin the dollar.

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Is This “The Most Important Election of our Lives” or Just Another Distraction?

2018-11-07

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2018-11-07

The problem isn't polarization; the problem is neither flavor of the status quo is actually solving any of the nation's most pressing system problems. As I write this at 5 pm (Left Coast) November 6, the election results are unknown. While various media are trumpeting this as "the most important election of our lives," the less eyeball-catching, emotion-triggering reality is this election is nothing but another distraction.

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FX Daily, November 6: US Goes to the Polls

2018-11-06

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2018-11-06

Overview: The US dollar is narrowly mixed against the major currencies today, largely consolidating its recent losses. Equities are mixed.  In Asia, Japan, Australia, and Hong Kong equities gained around 1%, while most other bourses were softer.  In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is little changed in late morning turnover.

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Builders Resume Street Protests

2018-11-06

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2018-11-06

Construction workers have continued their protests against worsening labour conditions in Switzerland. An estimated 4,000 people took to the streets of Lausanne on Monday in the latest stage of a series of short regional strikes underway since mid-October.

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Talking Turkey

2018-11-06

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2018-11-06

Turkey’s economic challenges arise from the imbalances created during the economic boom that saw poverty halved between 2002 and 2011, extensive urbanization, and integration in the world economy through trade and capital flows. The dramatic economic changes saw the rise of Erdogan, who was re-elected as President for a second term in June. His party (AKP) is joined by the Nationalists (MHP).

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Wizard’s First Rule, Report 4 Nov 2018

2018-11-06

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2018-11-06

Gold and Silver Price
Terry Goodkind wrote an epic fantasy series. The first book in the series is entitled Wizard’s First Rule. We recommend the book highly, if you’re into that sort of thing. However, for purposes of this essay, the important part is the rule itself: “Wizard’s First Rule: people are stupid.” “People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything.

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Pushing Past the Breaking Point

2018-11-06

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2018-11-06

Schemes and Shams. Man’s willful determination to resist the natural order are in vain.  Still, he pushes onward, always grasping for the big breakthrough. The allure of something for nothing is too enticing to pass up.

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Does the recent spate of Central Bank gold buying impact demand and price?

2018-11-05

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2018-11-05

There has been a lot of media coverage recently about the re-emergence of central bank gold buying and the overall larger quantity of gold than central banks as a group have been buying recently compared to previous years. For example, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends for Q3 2018, net purchases of gold by central banks in the third quarter of this year were 22% higher than Q3 2017, and the highest quarterly level since Q4 of...

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Federal office decides drug price cuts

2018-11-05

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2018-11-05

There will be an average drop of almost 20% in the price of 288 medicines from December 1, the Federal Office of Public Health says. Savings of around CHF100 million ($100 million) are expected. The move comes at a time of debate over the high costs of medicines in Switzerland.

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FX Weekly Preview: Stocks, Trade, and the Fed in the Week Ahead

2018-11-05

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2018-11-05

Last month's downdraft in equities spooked investors. The fear that is often expressed is that the end of the business cycle may coincide with the end of a credit cycle and a return to 2008-2009 crisis. It seems like an increasing number of economists agree with the sentiment expressed by President Trump that the Fed is too aggressive.

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Turn Off, Tune Out, Drop Out

2018-11-05

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2018-11-05

Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate 1960-2018
An unknown but likely staggeringly large percentage of small business owners in the U.S. are an inch away from calling it quits and closing shop. Timothy Leary famously coined the definitive 60s counterculture phrase, "Turn on, tune in, drop out" in 1966. (According to Wikipedia, In a 1988 interview with Neil Strauss, Leary said the slogan was "given to him" by Marshall McLuhan during a lunch in New York City.)

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The Beginning of the End for Angela Merkel

2018-11-04

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2018-11-04

Germany Next General Elections, Sep 2017 - Nov 2018
As a consequence of the heavy drop of support in recent regional elections, Chancellor Merkel has declared she would not run again for leadership of the CDU at the 6-8 December party convention. Merkel also said she would retire from politics at the end of the current parliament in 2021. It is questionable whether she will get that far, and well before then, the transition to a new leader amid a loss of electoral support for the main centre-right...

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Geneva Aims for a New Company Tax Rate of 13.79 percent

2018-11-04

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2018-11-04

Geneva
According to bilan.ch, Geneva’s Council of State, or executive, has put forward a proposed corporate tax rate of 13.79% as part of its tax reform project, work triggered by international pressure on Switzerland and its cantons to remove preferential tax treatment for certain international companies.

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What’s Behind the Erosion of Civil Society?

2018-11-04

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2018-11-04

Smartphone Addiction Tightens Its Global Grip
Rebuilding social capital and social connectedness is not something that can be done by governments or corporations. As the mid-term elections are widely viewed as a referendum of sorts, let's set aside politics and ask, what's behind the erosion of our civil society? That civil society in the U.S. and elsewhere is fraying is self-evident.

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