SNB & CHF

© 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...

The economic sickness is predictably spreading. While unexpected in most of the world which still, somehow, depends on central banking forecasts, it really has been almost inevitable. From the very start, just the utterance of the word “decoupling” was the kiss of death. What that meant in the context of globally synchronized growth, 2017’s repeatedly dominant narrative, wasn’t the end of synchronized as many tried to...

© Toxawww | Dreamstime.com A referendum on revising gun laws scheduled for 19 May 2019 could cause major disruption at airports in Zurich and Geneva if it succeeds, according to various newspapers. If the vote passes it might eventually lead to the exclusion of Switzerland from the Schengen area. If this happened, Swiss airports would need to check the passports of all those entering from and departing to other Schengen...

Next month, in the durable goods series, the Census Bureau will release the results of its annual benchmark changes. In May 2019, the agency will revise the seasonal adjustments going back to January 2002. Unadjusted data will not be, well, further adjusted. None of this, apparently, will include any information gleaned from the comprehensive 2017 Economic Census. I haven’t closely followed the progress of the latter,...

© Viorel Dudau | Dreamstime.com A recent study by Geneva’s department of economic development (DDE) looks at the shopping habits of its residents and the residents of neighbouring Vaud and neighbouring France – an area including Nyon and parts of the French Ain and Haute Savoie regions. Every year, the residents of this greater Geneva region spend around CHF 7.2 billion francs on consumable items in physical stores....

Royal Bank of India (RBI) may buy another 1.5 million oz this year according to OCBC Many other central banks including large creditor nations Russia and China are also adding to gold holdings via Bloomberg India’s central bank is likely to join counterparts in Russia and China scooping up gold this year, adding to its record holdings and lending support to worldwide gold bullion demand as top economies diversify their...

People love their big paychecks, but they also value their sanity. One of the most astonishing manifestations of disconnected-from-reality hubris is public authorities’ sublime confidence that employers and entrepreneurs will continue starting and operating enterprises no matter how difficult and costly it becomes to keep the doors open, much less net a profit. The average employee / state dependent reckons that the...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.14% at 1.1373 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 26(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The equities are finishing softly after the rally stalled in the middle of the week. The large markets in Asia fell, led by China, and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell for a third session, the longest losing streak in two months.  Europe’s...

Minister Cassis meets pupils at the Colegio Suizo Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis, currently visiting Chile, has hailed education ties as he visited the country’s Swiss school abroad, the Colegio Suizo. The school, the oldest Swiss school abroad in South America and the only official Swiss school abroad in Chile, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. The “solid institution”, which offers a...

Strengths The best performing metal this week was palladium, up 3.52 percent as CPM Group noted that the price could climb to $1,800 on supply constraints. Gold traders and analysts switched from bullish to mostly neutral or bearish on the yellow metal this week, according to the weekly Bloomberg survey. Turkey’s gold reserves reversed this week by rising $227 million from the previous week. The central bank’s holdings...