SNB & CHF

Eurozone Last week the focus was on Europe. Prospects of a delay in Brexit helped extend sterling’s gains to 11-week highs. Disappointing flash PMI for the eurozone and a dovish Draghi pushed the euro below $1.13 for the first time since mid-December. Speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia would be forced to cut interest rates saw the Australian dollar punch through $0.7100. For its part, the yen was...

Switzerland with its Gotthard tunnel is a major transit country for goods vehicles travelling between northern and southern Europe. Swiss President and Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has signed two agreements with the UK as part of the government’s strategy to maintain smooth ties after Brexit. The agreements on road transport and non-life insurance were signed with UK Chancellor Philip Hammond at the World Economic Forum...

Rising income inequality may be a reflection of the changing nature of work. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story The Rich Boy included this famous line: “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” According to a recent paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER),Capitalists in the Twenty-First Century (abstract only), the “working rich” are different from you and me, and...

A worker assembles a coffee grinder at Schaetti, the holding company of Olympia Express, in Schwanden, Switzerland Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland are optimistic about export business at the start of 2019, a new survey has found, with over half expecting foreign sales to grow during the year. “The export climate will remain favourable for Swiss SMEs in 2019,” wrote the authors of a Switzerland...

A Return To Normalcy In the first two years after a newly elected President takes office he enacts a major tax cut that primarily benefits the wealthy and significantly raises tariffs on imports. His foreign policy is erratic but generally pulls the country back from foreign commitments. He also works to reduce immigration and roll back regulations enacted by his predecessor. This President is widely rumored to have...

The inspiration behind the school strike movement that’s bringing young people onto the streets all over Europe, has arrived in Switzerland. Greta Thunberg, who’s 16, got there the eco-friendly way and is planning to get her message across at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos. --- 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...

The Pound to Swiss Franc exchange rate has soared dramatically following a series of revelations in the currency markets and global economy. A big factor is of course Sterling strength, which has arisen on the back of increased feelings that the UK will avoid a no-deal Brexit. This could manifest next week in a Parliamentary vote on whether or not to rule out a no-deal Brexit. The Pound is much stronger on this news,...

© Pavalache Stelian | Dreamstime.com A recent survey suggests that half of Swiss residents are satisfied with their financial situation. 6% said they have trouble making ends meet. In addition, 28% expect their finances to improve in 2019. Fewer women (25%) are optimistic than men (33%). 18% expect their finances to worsen and 54% expect no change. Views varied significantly by age group. 40% of those under 36 expected...

No wonder the ruling elites love how easily we’re distracted and divided against ourselves: it’s so easy to dominate a distracted, divided, blinded-by-propaganda and negative emotions populace. Let’s say you’re one of the ruling elites operating the nation for the benefit of the oligarchy. What’s the best way to distract the populace from your self-serving dominance in a blatantly neofeudal system? 1. Provide modern-day...

The balance of risks to growth in the region is still tilted to the downside. The big question about the euro area economy is when the bottom of the slowdown will be reached. A rebound was already expected in Q4 2018, but at the start of this year there are still few signs of recovery. Flash composite PMI numbers for the region declined by 0.4 points to 50.7 in January, the weakest level since July 2013. New orders and...