I joined Tom Keene and Francine Lacqua to talk about US GDP with David Riley from BlueBay Asset Management. Here is a link to a 2.5-minute clip. The initial estimate of Q1 US growth was well more than nearly anyone expected. The details were underwhelming as the consumption was halved and the GDP deflator was halved. Final private domestic sales, which strips away inventories, trade, and government spending rose 1.3%,...
Read More »Is Keith Weiner an Iconoclast? Report 28 Apr
We have a postscript to our ongoing discussion of inflation. A reader pointed out that Levis 501 jeans are $39.19 on Amazon (in Keith’s size—Amazon advertises prices as low as $16.31, which we assume is for either a very small size that uses less fabric, or an odd size that isn’t selling). Think of the enormity of this. The jeans were $50 in 1983. After 36 years of relentless inflation (or hot air about inflation), the...
Read More »There Are Two Little Problems with “Taxing the Rich” to Pay for “Free Everything”
No super-wealthy individual or household is going to pay billions in additional taxes when $10 to $20 million will purchase political adjustments. The 2020 election cycle has begun, and a popular campaign promise is “free everything” paid for by new taxes on the super-wealthy. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Who will vote for whomever offers them free stuff? No wonder it’s a popular campaign promise. As even the most...
Read More »Marc Chandler on the Fed and Financial Instability
Subscribe to our podcast here: https://www.financialsense.com/subscribe Financial Sense Newshour speaks to Marc Chandler about the Fed's role in the business cycle. He says the last three economic downturns were not caused by the Fed but by financial instability. Listen to the full show to also hear from Jonathan Krinsky on the multitude of crosscurrents and mixed signals currently in the market. For the full interview, go to:...
Read More »Marc Chandler on the Fed and Financial Instability
Subscribe to our podcast here: https://www.financialsense.com/subscribe Financial Sense Newshour speaks to Marc Chandler about the Fed's role in the business cycle. He says the last three economic downturns were not caused by the Fed but by financial instability. Listen to the full show to also hear from Jonathan Krinsky on the multitude of crosscurrents and mixed signals currently in the market. For the full interview, go to:...
Read More »FX Daily, April 29: The Busy Week Begins Slowly
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.15% at 1.1386 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 29(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: It promises to be an eventful week with the FOMC and BOE meeting, US jobs report and EMU April CPI and Q1 GDP on tap. However, the week is marked by the May Day holiday in the middle of the week. Japan’s markets are closed all week, while...
Read More »The experimental shop of the future
Are unstaffed shops the future of shopping? (SRF/swissinfo.ch) At Zurich main railway station a trial is being carried out with an unstaffed shop that can only be accessed using a mobile app and a QR code. Is this the future of shopping? (SRF/swissinfo.ch) --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit...
Read More »Displacing 9.000 metric tons of rock to create 1.500 square meters of artspace
Displacing 9.000 metric tons of rock to create 1.500 square meters of artspace --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos Subscribe:...
Read More »The experimental shop of the future
Are unstaffed shops the future of shopping? (SRF/swissinfo.ch) At Zurich main railway station a trial is being carried out with an unstaffed shop that can only be accessed using a mobile app and a QR code. Is this the future of shopping? (SRF/swissinfo.ch) --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit...
Read More »Switzerland slides one place in 2019 press freedom ranking
© Pavel Abramov | Dreamstime.com In 2019, Switzerland lost one place slipping from 5th to 6th place out of 180, according to the latest world ranking of press freedom by the organisation Reporters Without Borders. The change was largely driven by the stronger performance of Denmark, which moved up into 5th place. According to the report, the press in Switzerland continues to face economic pressure and to suffer from a...
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