SNB & CHF

Illegal gold mining in Peru's Madre de Dios province has damaged the environment and had a negative impact on indigenous communities (Keystone) - Click to enlarge A report by the NGO Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has accused Swiss gold refiner Metalor of procuring gold from controversial suppliers in Peru. Metalor denies the charge. The reportexternal link, released on Thursday to time with the...

Misinformed stereotype or stark reality? Whichever way round it is, how to make friends with the Swiss is a topic for most expats at some point during their time here. This animated guide lays out some ground rules for forming friendships with the Swiss - all with a heavy dose of humour. (SRF, swissinfo.ch) --- 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....

In Switzerland, married couples file one combined tax return. Because tax rates rise in line with income it means that second incomes of married couples are taxed at a higher rate than those of single cohabitating ones. © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge Those campaigning to have this changed argue that it is unfair and acts as a disincentive for second income earners. In 1984, Switzerland’s Federal...

So perhaps the dominant wing of the Deep State is finally willing to cut a deal with Trump. To many observers, the appointment of John Bolton as national security advisor is the functional equivalent of appointing the Anti-Christ–or maybe worse. Indeed, these observers would, when comparing the two, find grudging favor with the Anti-Christ. Bolton is a founding member of the neoliberal, neoconservative, neo-colonial...

Son of the Imperial City What are the chances of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell being wrong?  The chances he’ll be wrong on the economy’s growth prospects, the direction of the federal funds rate, and inflation itself?  Our guess is his chances of being wrong are quite high. The new central planner-in-chief. - Click to enlarge Central banks are facing a special case of the socialist calculation problem...

Eurozone The investment meme of a synchronized global upturn has been undermined by the recent string of US and European economic data. The flash March eurozone composite reading fell to 55.3, the lowest reading since January 2017. Although Q4 17 US GDP may be revised higher (toward 2.8% from 2.5%) mostly due to greater inventory accumulation, the curse of weak Q1 GDP appears to be showing its hand again, with...

Jeffrey Snider, Erik Townsend and Patrick Ceresna welcome Jeffrey Snider to MacroVoices. Erik and Jeff discuss: -- What does the yield curve tell us? -- US Treasury Curve -- Changes from an. Erik Townsend welcomes Jonathan Tepper to MacroVoices. Erik and Jonathan discuss the excess liquidity generated by central bank policy and the impact to equities, emerging markets and commodity. Termika A.D. Zrenjanin je jedini proizvođač perlita na prostoru Republike Srbije. Bavi se proizvodnjom i...

Despite the rise in foreign imports, the most popular cheeses are traditional varieties, such as the famous Emmental cheese. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Switzerland may be living up to its cliché as a cheese loving nation, but a growing appetite for foreign brands has alarmed local farmers. On average the Swiss consumed 21 kilograms of cheese per person last year, compared to 18 kilograms across Europe,...

A 2016 taxi driver protest against Uber, in Bern. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge For the first time, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has clearly indicated that Uber taxi drivers should be classed as employees rather than self-employed. In an internal statement seen by the 10vor10 programme on Swiss public television, SECO gave the legal opinion that according to the conditions that...

– Market turmoil as trade war concerns deepen and Trump appoints war hawk Bolton – Oil, gold and silver jump as ‘Russia China Hawk’ Bolton appointed – Oil up 4%, gold up 2.2% and silver up 1.6% this week (see table) – Stocks down sharply – Nikkei down 4.5%, S&P 4.3% & Nasdaq 5.5% – Bolton scares jittery markets already shell-shocked by US’ tariffs against China – Currency wars and trade wars tend to proceed...