SNB & CHF

A Piece of Paper Alone Cannot Secure Liberty The idea of a constitution and/or written legislation to secure individual rights so beloved by conservatives and among many libertarians has proven to be a myth. The US Constitution and all those that have been written and ratified in its wake throughout the world have done little to protect individual liberties or keep a check on State largesse. Sound money vs. a piece of...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.16% at 1.145 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 12(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Equity markets are stabilizing today as Asian and European markets shrug off the failure to get traction in the US yesterday. As everything and nothing was behind the dramatic sell-off in recent days, the same could be said about today’s...

By 2017, 40.5% of those married in 1987 were divorced, compared to 33.2% of those married in 1977 and 24.7% of those married in 1967. ©-Bacho12345-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge Divorce in Switzerland starts early. 9.4% of those married in 1987 were divorced after five years, as were 8.1% of those married in 1977 and 4.8% of those who tied the knot in 1967. However, rates of divorce among the more recently...

The booming Swiss blockchain sector continues to grow: over 600 companies and institutions are now located in the ‘Crypto Nation’ and neighbouring Liechtenstein, according to recently-released data. The industry employs around 3,000 people in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as many more abroad, says investment group Crypto Valley Venture Capitalexternal link (CV VC). Taken together, the top 50 blockchain...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.24% at 1.1429 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 11(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: There is one story today, and that is the sell-off in global equities. Although the narratives put the US at the center, the fact of the matter is that US equities have been among the best performers this year, despite the rise of...

Book an apartment and live like the locals – authentic and cheap – that's Airbnb's business model. The booking platform was launched ten years ... Book an apartment and live like the locals – authentic and cheap – that's Airbnb's business model. The booking platform was launched ten years ago, and now it wants to compete with luxury hotels. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and...

What does it mean to 'sail under a flag', and which countries are happy to lend their flags to boats which don't come from their country? Nouvo brings you short videos about Switzerland, Swiss current affairs and the wider world. Keep up to date and watch the videos wherever you are, whenever you like. --- 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...

Here is a succinct four-bullet summary of key considerations behind five currencies:  USD Rising US rates in absolute terms and relative to other countries, coupled with the policy-mix and US tax reform are the main drivers. The market has nearly completely discounted three more Fed hikes by the end of next year, while the Fed has signaled that four hikes may be appropriate. Despite the fiscal stimulus and robust...

The growing threat of trade wars between the US and China is dampening mid-term economic growth prospects. The Swiss economy is tipped to grow by 3% by the end of this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In April, the organisation had forecast Switzerland’s gross domestic product (GDP) to rise by 2.3%. Global economic growth has been downgraded from a previous forecast of 3.9% to 3.7% for both 2018...

Federal Reserve Credit Contracts Further We last wrote in July about the beginning contraction in outstanding Fed credit, repatriation inflows, reverse repos, and commercial and industrial lending growth, and how the interplay between these drivers has affected the growth rate of the true broad US money supply TMS-2 (the details can be seen here: “The Liquidity Drain Becomes Serious” and “A Scramble for Capital”)....