Tag Archive: newslettersent

Official: Internal review clears Swiss arms shipments

2017-07-23

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2017-07-23

The head of a Swiss federal office says its handling of export permits for arms manufacturers is improving in the wake of a criminal probe into past shipments. An internal review cleared a federal employee of wrongdoing after prosecutors questioned the handling of a Bernese arms manufacturer’s requests to ship weapons to Kazakhstan in 2008 and to New Zealand in 2009, said Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, director of the State Secretariat for...

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Millennials Can Punt On Bitcoin, Own Gold and Silver For Long Term

2017-07-23

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2017-07-23

BTC Versus Gold Volatility
Bitcoin volatility shows not currency or safe haven but speculation. Volatility still very high in bitcoin and crypto currencies (see charts). Bitcoin fell 25% over weekend; Recent high of $3,000 fell to below $1,900. Bitcoin least volatile of cryptos, around 75% annualised volatility. Gold much more stable at just 10% annualised volatility.

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Pharma remains king of Swiss exports

2017-07-23

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2017-07-23

Swiss watch
Pharmaceutical and chemical goods pushed Swiss exports to record highs in the first half of this year. The value of goods sold abroad peaked at CHF109.6 billion ($105 billion) in the first six months of 2017 - a 4.4% rise on the previous year. Swiss exports were further boosted by resurgence in demand from China that saw a 20% increase in value of goods sold.

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Reports on a Quarterly Survey Conducted: Qualifying Shortage (Labor)

2017-07-23

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2017-07-23

US Nonfarm Payrolls Missing
There isn’t a day that goes by in 2017 where some study is released or anecdote is published purporting a sinister labor market development. There is a shortage of workers, we are told, often a very big one. The idea is simple enough; the media has been writing for years that the US economy was recovering, and they would very much like to either see one and be proven right (and that recent revived populism is illegitimate), or find an excuse why...

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Congress’s Radical Plan to End Illegal Money

2017-07-23

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2017-07-23

What Constitution? One of the many downfalls of being the United States Secretary of the Treasury is the requirement to place one’s autograph on the face of the Federal Reserve’s legal tender notes. There, on public display, is an overt record of a critical defect.  A signature endorsement of a Federal Reserve note by the Treasury Secretary represents their personal ratification of unconstitutional money.

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Swiss banker admits to helping Americans cheat taxes

2017-07-22

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2017-07-22

Credit Suisse
A former Credit Suisse banker pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of aiding Americans in hiding millions of dollars from US tax authorities. Susanne Rüegg-Meier, who worked in the Zurich office of Credit Suisse between 2002 and 2011, entered the guilty plea while on trial in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, for conspiring to defraud the United States, said the US Justice Department in a statement.external link.

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Gold Hedge Against Currency Devaluation and Cost Of Fuel, Food, Beer and Housing

2017-07-22

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2017-07-22

Price changes 1973 to 2017
Gold hedge against currency devaluation – cost of fuel, food, housing. True inflation figures reflect impact on household spending. Household items climbed by average 964%. Pint of beer sees biggest increase in basket of goods – rise of 2464%. Bread rises 836%, butter by 1023% and fuel (diesel) up by 1375%. Gold rises 2672% and hold’s its value over 40 years.

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Emerging Markets: What has Changed

2017-07-22

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2017-07-22

South Korea proposed resuming military and humanitarian exchanges with North Korea. The European Union may sanction Poland over its controversial judicial overhaul. Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim announced a cabinet shuffle after meeting with President Erdogan. Turkey’s worsening relations with Germany will come with economic costs. South African Reserve Bank surprised markets by starting the easing cycle with a 25 bp cut to 7.0%.

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Swiss-US meeting focuses on vocational education and jobs

2017-07-22

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2017-07-22

Schneider-Ammann
Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with his two days of meetings with senior Trump administration officials, capping efforts to boost cooperation between Switzerland and the United States on education, jobs and trade. He also invited Ivanka Trump, the daughter and adviser to US President Donald Trump, and other Trump administration officials to visit Switzerland so that they can "explore ways of...

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China’s Economy Shorthand the Largest Asset Bubble in Human History

2017-07-22

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2017-07-22

China Industrial Production, June 1997 - Jun 2017
The term “ghost city” is a loaded one, often deployed to skew toward a particular viewpoint. In the context of China’s economy, it has become shorthand for perhaps the largest asset bubble in human history. While that may ultimately be the case, in truth China’s ghost cities aren’t about the past but its future.

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India: The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum

2017-07-22

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2017-07-22

Goods and Services Tax, and Gold (Part XV) Below is a scene from anti-GST protests by traders in the Indian city of Surat. On 1st  July 2017, India changed the way it imposes indirect taxes. As a result, there has been massive chaos around the country. Many businesses are closed for they don’t know what taxes apply to them, or how to do the paperwork. Factories are shut, and businesses are protesting.

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FX Daily, July 21: Dollar Licks Wounds as News Stream Doesn’t Improve

2017-07-21

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2017-07-21

The euro has depreciated by 0.13 to 1.1043 CHF. ECB President Draghi did not argue forcefully enough at yesterday's press conference to dampen the enthusiasm for the euro. The initial dip was quickly bought and the euro chased above last year's high near $1.1615, and the gains have been extended to nearly $1.1680 today. The next target is the August 2015  near $1.1715 is near.

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Swiss government to take aim at high Swiss prices

2017-07-21

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2017-07-21

Switzerland’s Federal Council wants to introduce new measures to lower prices in Switzerland to curb cross-border shopping, something that it says hurts Swiss businesses. Minister for Economic Affairs, Johann Schneider-Ammann, said in an interview with the newspaper Schweiz am Wochenende that he’s working on a package of measures to tackle high retail prices in Switzerland.

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Court sentence in multimillion fraud scheme

2017-07-21

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2017-07-21

Swiss authorities
A massive money laundering case unfolded on Tuesday in a Swiss cantonal court where an Englishman, his wife and a financial adviser were found guilty in an elaborate multimillion-franc scheme. The district courtexternal link in the canton of Vaud sentenced the unidentified Englishman to a year in prison on charges of laundering nearly CHF7 million ($7.34 million), the Swiss News Agency reported.

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Bank Of England Warns “Bigger Systemic Risk” Now Than 2008

2017-07-21

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2017-07-21

Bank of England
Bank of England warn that “bigger systemic risk” now than in 2008. BOE, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) concerns re financial system. Banks accused of “balance sheet trickery” -undermining spirit of post-08 rules. EU & UK corporate bond markets may be bigger source of instability than ’08. Credit card debt and car loan surge could cause another financial crisis. PRA warn banks returning to similar practices to those that sparked 08 crisis....

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Russell 2000: The Dangerous Season Begins Now

2017-07-21

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2017-07-21

Readers are surely aware of the saying “sell in May and go away”. It is one of the best-known and oldest stock market truisms. And the saying is justified. In my article “Sell in May and Go Away – in 9 out of 11 Countries it Makes Sense to Do So” in the May 01 2017 issue of Seasonal Insights I examined the so-called Halloween effect in great detail.

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U.S. Industrial Production: Industrial Drag

2017-07-21

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2017-07-21

U.S. Industrial Production, YoY 2015 - 2017
Completing a busy day of US economic data, Industrial Production was, like retail sales and inflation data, highly disappointing. Prior months were revised slightly lower, leaving IP year-over-year up just 2% in June 2017 (estimates for May were initially 2.2%). Revisions included, the annual growth rate has been stuck around 2% now for three months in a row, suggesting like those other accounts a pause or even possible end to the mini-improvement...

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Swiss Trade Balance First half of 2017: Exports with record value

2017-07-20

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2017-07-20

Switzerland Trade Balance, June 2017
In the first half of 2017, both exports (+ 4.4%) and imports (+ 4.8%) were dynamic. While the former scored a record result, the latter scored a higher in eight years. In both directions of traffic, chemicals and pharmaceuticals contributed decisively to growth. The trade balance loops with a surplus of 19 billion francs.

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Fighting inflation with FX, a real traders market

2017-07-20

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2017-07-20

Gain Change, Currencies Popularity, Reward: Risk Ratios, Average Holding Time
The much anticipated document (press release and link to full document) released by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Trump administration aimed to reduce the U.S. trade deficit by improving access for U.S. goods exported to Canada and Mexico and contained the list of negotiating objectives for talks that are expected to begin in one month.

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