SNB & CHF

Companies argue that the Swiss workforce alone cannot fill every highly skilled job vacancy. The Swiss authorities have responded to demands from companies and cantons for access to highly-skilled employees by granting 1,000 extra permits for workers that come from outside the European Union from next year. From 2019, firms will be able to recruit 8,500 foreign workers from countries such as the United States, China and...

Few conventional-media commentators are willing or able to discuss these factors in the labor shortage / declining participation trends. Is there a labor shortage in the U.S.? Employers are shouting “yes.” Economists keep looking for wage increases as evidence of a labor shortage, and since wage increases are still relatively modest, the argument that there are severe labor shortages in parts of the U.S. is...

ETH Zurich came in at 7th and 19th place in the QS and Shanghai rankings respectively this year. The Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) remains the best university in continental Europe, despite slipping one place to 11th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019. The listexternal link, which was released on Wednesday, scores 1,250 universities on five main criteria: teaching,...

What shape are the markets in right now? This month, Credit Suisse Global CIO Michael Strobaek discusses growth in the global and Swiss economies and explains the right investment strategies during the growth phase. Global economic growth. Switzerland is doing well too. It is encouraging that the global economy is in good shape despite the disparate growth rates in the various regions this year. The Swiss economy is...

Bill Bonner is an American author of books and articles on economic and financial subjects. He is the founder and president of Agora, Inc., as well as a co-founder of Bonner & Partners publishing. Bonner has written articles for the news and opinion blog LewRockwell.com, MoneyWeek magazine, and his daily financial column Bill Bonner's Diary.

Bill Bonner is an American author of books and articles on economic and financial subjects. He is the founder and president of Agora, Inc., as well as a co-founder of Bonner & Partners publishing. Bonner has written articles for the news and opinion blog LewRockwell.com, MoneyWeek magazine, and his daily financial column Bill Bonner's Diary.

“Most households can no longer afford to buy property in the top financial centres without a substantial inheritance”. Sound familiar to Zurich and Geneva dwellers? An index by Swiss bank UBS shows significant risks of real estate bubbles in booming cities such as Hong Kong, Munich and Toronto. The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva remain relatively stable. The 2018 Global Real Estate Bubble Indexexternal link,...

Despite the recent fall in French consumer confidence, spending should pick up in the second half of the year. The French economy disappointed in the first half of this year. While there was a widespread ‘soft patch’ in the euro area, the source and size of the slowdown in France stands out. The real GDP growth rate fell by 0.5 points, much more than the rest of the euro area. Moreover, while the slowdown in the other...

August looks back on positive economic and market developments. In retrospect, the first half of the year was soothed by many pleasant surprises, including much-discussed trouble spots that never flared. Read about four perceived market crises. Perceived market crisis 1: Explosion of credit spreads A regular hot-button issue for investors is the perceptibly explosive credit risks that our economy poses. It’s nice to...

The Federal Reserve did what it was widely to do. The fed funds target range was lifted 25 bp to 2.00-2.25%. Three-quarters of Fed officials anticipate a hike in December. The market had discounted around an 80% chance. The Fed sticks with the three rate hikes in 2019 and one in 2020. The year-end rate in 2021 is the same as in 2020. The Fed is signaling that it does not expect the fed funds target to move above...