SNB & CHF

Recently published international price comparison numbers show just how expensive life is in Switzerland. © Mike Clegg | Dreamstime The price of a standard basket of items, including food, clothing, accommodation, healthcare, transport, education and other regular expenses, was far higher in Switzerland than in the rest of Europe. In 2016, life in Switzerland was 68% more expensive than the EU average. The only other...

The farm had been placed under strict quarantine since the end of November and 6,000 chickens were euthanised to contain the spread of the virus. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge A poultry farm in southern Switzerland has been given a clean bill of health following a recent outbreak of the virulent Newcastle virus that resulted in thousands of chickens being put down. Veterinarians in canton Ticino confirmed...

New EU Rules For Cross-Border Cash, Gold Bullion Movements – War on cash continues and expands to affect non-criminals including gold owners– New definitions of “cash” to be drawn up by EU to include gold and precious metals – Claim cash and gold bullion “often used for criminal activities such as money laundering, or terrorist financing”– Legislation will allow authorities to seize assets from those ‘without a criminal...

The tax bill continues to make its way through Congress at a swift pace, and now looks increasingly likely to be enacted into law this week, after clearing the conference committee hurdle (a compromise between the House and Senate versions). A few hesitating Republican Senators have eventually said they will vote in favour of the bill, which is key as the Republican majority in the Senate is slim at 52-48. It will...

Bern, 20.12.2017 – On 20 December the Federal Council decided to unilaterally remove tariffs on imported industrial goods. Tariffs will also be reduced on selected agricultural goods not produced in Switzerland. Furthermore, the government wants to apply the Cassis de Dijon principle more widely by reducing the number of exceptions to it. These measures should lead to considerable savings of around CHF 900 million for...

– ‘Availability of gold strengthens public confidence in the central bank’s balance sheet’ say Bundesbank – Bundesbank has Audited Reserves amounting to almost 3,400 tonnes, around 68% of Bundesbank’s reserve assets – Bank taken series of steps to increase transparency around Germany’s gold holdings – Germany has second largest gold holdings in the world; U.S. believed to be largest – Transparency important and all...

The chairman of the Swiss insurance company Helvetia, Pierin Vincenz, has resigned. The Swiss financial regulator, FINMA, is currently investigating his activities during his time in charge of the Raiffeisen bank. In a statementexternal link released on Monday, Helvetia said Vincenz had stepped down with immediate effect. He had been a member of the Helvetia board since 2000 and chairman since October 2015. Vincenz...

Contradictory Signals Special antennae that help traders catch upcoming opportunities. Available from the same outfit that sells the soup-cooling spoon (Acme Inc). - Click to enlarge There is just one more positioning indicator we want to mention: after surging by around $126 billion since March of 2016, NYSE margin debt has reached a new all time high of more than $561 billion. The important point about this is...

Industrial Production rose 3.4% year-over-year in November 2017, the highest growth rate in exactly three years. The increase was boosted by the aftermath of Harvey and Irma, leaving more doubt than optimism for where US industry is in 2017. For one thing, of that 3.4% growth rate, more than two-thirds was attributable to just two months. Combining April 2017 with October, IP advanced by 2.2% leaving the other 10 to...

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