Tag Archive: newslettersent

Swiss Trade Balance April 2017: Exports Stagnate

2017-05-23

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2017-05-23

Switzerland Trade Balance, April 2017
In April 2017, adjusted exports of working days shrank as imports strengthened by 2.3%. Changes in sales were marked by the reluctance of the chemical and pharmaceutical sector. The trade balance has closed with the smallest surplus in the last two years.

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The Gnome Underpants Gold Model – Precious Metals Supply and Demand

2017-05-23

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2017-05-23

Getting rich quick
Keith Weiner's weekly look on Gold. Gold and silver prices, Gold-Silver Price Ratio, Gold basis and co-basis and the dollar price, Silver basis and co-basis and the dollar price.

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Swiss agriculture under fire at WTO

2017-05-23

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2017-05-23

The European Union and the United States have criticised Switzerland for the over-protection of its agricultural sector. Responding to the questions raised at the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO), Switzerland said it would make an effort to ease protections, on condition that other member states do likewise.

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Swiss authorities concerned about health impact of certain chemicals

2017-05-23

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2017-05-23

A pilot bio-monitoring project in Switzerland will measure traces of pollutants and micronutrient and endocrine disruptors in organic samples. According to 20 Minutes, the impact of certain chemical products worries the authorities. The pilot project was launched last week by the executive branch of Switzerland’s government, known as the Federal Council.

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Bi-Weekly Economic Review

2017-05-23

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2017-05-23

The economic data releases since the last update were generally upbeat but markets are forward looking and the future apparently isn’t to their liking. Of course, it is hard to tell sometimes whether bonds, the dollar and stocks are responding to the real economy or the one people hope Donald Trump can deliver when he isn’t busy contradicting his communications staff.

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FX Daily, May 22: Dollar Pushes Back

2017-05-22

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2017-05-22

After being shellacked last week, the US dollar is trading with a firmer bias against all the major currencies, but the euro and New Zealand dollar. To be sure, it is not that a new development has emerged to take investors' minds from intensifying political uncertainty in the US.

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Swiss Press Reacts Positively to Energy Legislation

2017-05-22

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2017-05-22

A majority of commentators in Swiss newspapers are pleased with voters’ decision to withdraw from nuclear power and promote renewable energies, even if the government’s energy strategy leaves many open questions.

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Weekly Speculative Positions (as of May 16): Yen and Aussie Bears Push Forward, while Sterling Bears Continue to Run for Cover

2017-05-22

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2017-05-22

swiss franc may 22
The net short CHF position has risen from 15.2 short to 21.1K contracts short (against USD). But the major movement was that speculators are net long the euro now and not the dollar any more. This implies that they are also long Euro against CHF. In the Commitment of Traders reporting week ending May 16, speculators in the futures market made three significant adjustments in the currency futures.

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FX Weekly Preview: Nothing Like A Good US Drama

2017-05-22

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2017-05-22

US drama distracts from the difficult and ambitious economic program. European and Japanese developments have been constructive. Bank of Canada is the only G7 central bank that meets, and it is not expected to shift from its cautious stance.

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Emerging Markets: Preview of the Week Ahead

2017-05-22

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2017-05-22

EM FX ended last week on a firm note, shrugging off political risk that consumed markets earlier in the week. With US rates remaining low, the dollar remains under pressure against the majors, and so EM FX is likely to benefit also. Yet we warn investors not to jump back into EM countries that are inherently riskier, such as Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey. We continue to favor Asia in the current environment.

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Merkel Sends Euro Higher

2017-05-22

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2017-05-22

Markel said the euro was too weak, so it rallied. This is not a new position for Germany. Merkel may now tack to the left since the AfD appears to have been dispatched. Look for Weidmann to begin moderating views or becoming less antagonistic.

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FX Weekly Review, May 15-20: Swiss Franc recovering against EUR

2017-05-21

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2017-05-21

EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, 20 May 2017
The Swiss Franc recovered a lot of the losses that came with the French elections. That political event was mostly driven by speculators that will close their positions. We expected the EUR to trade around 1.07 to 1.0750 CHF in some time.

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Strong Swiss franc could be over reckons currency strategist at UBS

2017-05-21

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2017-05-21

Tribune de Genève. After more than two years of a highly overvalued franc, relative to the euro, the currency should ease in the near term reckons Thomas Flury, senior currency strategist at UBS. He expects a euro to be worth 1.14 francs in 6 months and 1.16 within a year.

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Political Lobbying on the Rise in Switzerland

2017-05-21

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2017-05-21

Links between parliamentarians in Bern and lobby groups have grown steadily in recent years, according to a study by the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva. Between 2007 and 2015, these sorts of ties between interest groups and politicians increased by 20%.

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New Gold Pool at the BIS Basle, Switzerland: Part 1

2017-05-21

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2017-05-21

“In the Governor’s absence I attended the meeting in Zijlstra’s room in the BIS on the afternoon of Monday, 10th December to continue discussions about a possible gold pool. Emminger, de la Geniere, de Strycker, Leutwiler, Larre and Pohl were present.”  

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Trying To Reconcile Accounts; China

2017-05-21

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2017-05-21

China Fixed Asset Investment, April 2013 - April 2017
Chinese economic data for April 2017 has been uniformly disappointing. External trade numbers resembled too much commodity prices, leaving an emphasis on them rather than actual economic forces. The latest figures for the Big 3, Industrial Production, Retail Sales, and Fixed Asset Investment, unfortunately also remained true to the pattern.

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“Sell in May”: Good Advice – But Is There a Better Way?

2017-05-21

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2017-05-21

right time
If you “sell in May and go away”, you are definitely on the right side of the trend from a statistical perspective: While gains were achieved in the summer months in three of the eleven largest stock markets in the world, they amounted to less than one percent on average. In six countries stocks even exhibited losses!

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Emerging Markets: What Has Changed

2017-05-20

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2017-05-20

Stock Markets Emerging Markets, May 17
China’s government approved the creation of a bond link between Hong Kong and the mainland. S&P upgraded Indonesia one notch to investment grade BBB- with stable. Fitch revised the outlook on Vietnam’s BB- rating from stable to positive. Egypt will announce a package of social spending soon. Moody's changed the outlook on Poland's A2 rating from negative to stable.

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6 Swiss regions in Europe’s 10 most prosperous

2017-05-20

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2017-05-20

Six Swiss regions make the top ten most prosperous regions of Europe measured in terms of GDP per person, according to an analysis by the University of Lausanne. The six Swiss regions are Zurich (3rd), Ticino (4th), Basel (5th), the region around Zug (6th), Bern-Solothurn (7th) and Suisse romande, Switzerland French-speaking region (8th).

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An update on SGE Vault Withdrawals and SGE Price Premiums

2017-05-20

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2017-05-20

SGE Gold Withdrawals, 2008 - May 2017
In 2016, withdrawals of gold from the Shanghai Gold Exchange totalled 1970 tonnes, the 4th highest annual total on record. This was 24% less than SGE gold withdrawals recorded in 2015, which reached a cumulative 2596 tonnes (See Koos Jansen’s 6 January 2017 blog at BullionStar “How The West Has Been Selling Gold Into A Black Hole” for more details of the 2016 withdrawals).

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