Switzerland GDP Q1 2020: -2.6 percent QoQ, -1.3 percent YoY

04.06.2020 – The consumer price index (CPI) remained stable in May 2020 compared with the previous month, remaining at 101.3 points (December 2015 = 100). Inflation was –1.3% compared with the same month of the previous year.

Last week, German chancellor Merkel delivered a surprise about-face when she and French president Macron announced a proposal for a EUR 500bn recovery fund in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The unprecedented plan involves the distribution of grants, rather than loans, to member states in economic need.

Swiss watch exports slumped by over 80% last month, recording sales of just CHF329 million ($339 million) – compared with CHF1.76 billion in April 2019. Both exports and imports in all industries endured a predictably dire performance as Covid-19 resulted in national lockdowns.

The 2021 edition of the Geneva International Motor Show remains touch and go after the organisers rejected the terms surrounding a state rescue loan. This year’s car show was cancelled four days prior to its opening due to the coronavirus outbreak, costing an estimated loss of CHF11 million ($11.3 million) for the organisers of Switzerland’s largest public event.

Tensions between the US and China continue to rise; the dollar is finding some traction. Fed Beige Book contained no surprises; NY Fed President Williams said the Fed is “thinking very hard” about targeting yields; weekly jobless claims are expected at 2.1 mln vs. 2.438 mln last week .

In an attempt to maintain the lockdown and their authority over our lives, politicians, health experts, and the mainstream media have been misusing some unusual analogies to describe the current economy. By using these analogies, our political overlords hope they can continue to keep the economy shut down, force companies to produce what the government forgot to purchase before the virus hit, and toss out trillions of dollars of handouts and bailouts to their friends.

Update June 02, 2020: Reopenings in the U.S.
Sight Deposits have risen by 1.7 bn CHF, this means that the SNB is intervening and buying Euros and Dollars: The change is +1.7 bn. compared to last week.
Market sentiment have become positive during the last 2 or 3 weeks. But for many conservative investors the Swiss franc still serves as safe-haven.

When US attorney general William Barr recently announced that the Department of Justice was reversing course and dropping all charges against former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, the response from Democrats, the mainstream news media, and Never-Trump Republicans such as David French was thermonuclear, to put it mildly.