Tag Archive: Politics
Greetings from Switzerland
I’m back from Geneva where, among other things, I briefly visited the headquarter of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to express my appreciation for this organization. Check out my picture :-). In addition I enjoyed a conversation with Jose El Niño – you will find the podcast under the below link.
Claudio Grass, Switzerland
If you want to listen, please click on the following link to the podcast:...
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“War on cash” update: A brighter outlook
Finally, a victory for the State. Central planners and paper pushers of all stripes are not generally known for their acumen or their ability to recognize and successfully seize opportunities in time. They always tend to lag behind more or less every other member of society: from the innovators and entrepreneurs, to the criminal masterminds, which is why all upstanding citizens still retain a modicum of freedom, but also why we all still have to...
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“War on cash” update: A brighter outlook
For years, I’ve been following very closely all the relevant updates on the State’s war on cash. I’ve read and written a lot about all the direct and indirect efforts to restrict the citizens’ choices and make sure they shift all their transactions and savings to the digital realm, where they can be better monitored, controlled and if need be, confiscated, by central authorities.
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Healthcare and pensions top Swiss worry list
Healthcare costs, the pension system and climate change are the top three burning issues for the Swiss, according to a survey published by the Tamedia group. Covid has slipped out of sight and mind.
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Switzerland’s population older than ever, shows recent data
In Switzerland, almost 1.7 million people were aged 65 or older at the end of 2021, a figure that makes up 19% of the population, according to data published on 28 August 2022.
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Swiss prepare for energy shortage ‘extreme scenarios’
The Swiss government and cantons are aiming to be prepared for “extreme scenarios” in the face of possible energy shortages this winter, a top cantonal security official says. For example, a power grid shutdown or blackout would have far-reaching consequences, Fredy Fässler, the president of the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors, said in an interview published in the tabloid Blick on Saturday.
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Poll finds early support for pension reform and eco-friendly farming
Despite leading in latest polls, a proposed ban on factory farming in Switzerland has limited chances of success at the ballot box next month, pollsters say. A reform of the old age pension scheme enjoys more solid backing.
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Winter electricity cuts feared, says head of Swiss commission
Electricity cuts lasting several hours are predicted this winter in Switzerland, according to Laurianne Altwegg, vice president of the Federal Electricity Commission. This winter we should ensure we have enough candles and wood for a wood stove for those who have one, advised Altwegg in an interview with RTS.
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Paving the way for a 2008 déjà vu
It would appear that the central planners of the Bank of England have very short or very selective memories. After adopting unprecedented easing measures during the covid crisis and after supporting the government in its efforts to flood the economy with fresh cash during that same period, the central bank has put itself in a particularly unenviable position.
With inflation soaring and living costs exploding for most consumers and taxpayers,...
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China Disappoints and Surprises with Rate Cut
Overview: Equities were mostly higher in the Asia
Pacific region, though Chinese and Hong Kong markets eased, and South Korea and
India were closed for national holidays. Despite new Chinese exercises off the
coast of Taiwan following another US congressional visit, Taiwan’s Taiex gained
almost 0.85%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is advancing for the fourth consecutive session,
while US futures are paring the pre-weekend rally. Following disappointing data...
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“Whatever it takes” – Part II of II
The Fascist Boogeyman awakes again
The threat of a far-right takeover has been around for at least three decades in Europe and Italy has been one of the best “candidates” for the “beginning of the end” since the last European crisis ten years ago. Back then it was the Lega, led by Salvini, that fueled the scaremongering campaigns of the mainstream press, labeling every conservative policy point as basically pure fascism. Of course, none of those...
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“Whatever it takes”:
In the case of Italy, it will take a whole lot more – Part I of II
When the collapse of the Italian government was officially announced, on July 21, many political observers both in Europe and across the rest of the West, were aghast. If Mario Draghi, the central banking messiah of the entire Old World, the man, the legend, the hero who rescued the Eurozone and its precious made up currency from the brink of complete annihilation, failed to...
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Weekly Market Pulse: Opposite George
It all became very clear to me sitting out there today, that every decision I’ve ever made, in my entire life, has been wrong. My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have, in every aspect of life, be it something to wear, something to eat… It’s all been wrong.
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Parity hysterics: What it means and what it doesn’t – Part II
Part II of II, by Claudio Grass, Hünenberg See, Switzerland
“Reverse currency wars”?
Although the parity event may have captured the attention of the mainstream financial press and most western citizens, there’s a much bigger shift that has been going on in the background, which received much less coverage.
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Parity hysterics: What it means and what it doesn’t
There’s been a flurry of articles, news stories and headlines lately over the developments in the FOREX market, specifically over the moves of the EUR/USD currency pair. As headwinds on all levels, economic, geopolitical and social, got a lot worse in recent months for the Eurozone, the news-breaking, headline-dominating “parity” event finally came about, with the euro even breaking below parity on July 13, and it seems to have captivated global...
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French air police ground Swiss interior minister’s private flight
The Swiss interior minister, Alain Berset, on a private flight in neighbouring France has been forced to land by the French air force.
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Charities have yet to spend most of Ukraine donations
Despite record public donations for Ukraine, four months since the start of the invasion by Russia, Swiss aid agencies have only been able to spend a small amount of the funds on humanitarian work.
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Swiss fighter jet document reveals secret French tax offer
France offered Switzerland a financial sweetener, worth an estimated CHF3.5 billion, to buy its Rafale fighter jets rather than US F-35A aircraft, according to a secret document seen by Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The document sheds light on background negotiations as Switzerland seeks to replace its ageing fleet of fighter jets.
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Ukraine reconstruction summit was worth the risk, says Swiss press
Newspaper editors in Switzerland offered praise mixed with criticism on the two-day international conference in Lugano to support war-torn Ukraine with its reconstruction efforts.
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The Russian Gold Standard
2022-08-28
by Stephen Flood
2022-08-28
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