SNB & CHF

Precious metals advisor Claudio Grass believes Switzerland can serve as an example to rest of world Switzerland popular for gold storage due to understanding of the risks inherent in fiat money and gold’s value as a store of wealth. International investors opt to store gold in Swiss allocated accounts due to tradition of respecting private property. Country respects the importance of gold ownerships and 70% of...

Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson also had a long career as a manager after his playing days were done. He once said in that latter capacity that you have to have a short memory as a closer. Simple wisdom where it’s true, all that matters for that style of pitching is the very next out. You can forget about what just happened so as to give your full energy and concentration to the batter at the plate. They also say...

There’s a profound difference between assets that produce no income and those that produce net income. To those of us nutty enough to pore over dozens of pages of data on wealth and income in the U.S., the Federal Reserve’s quarterly Z.1 reports and annual Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) are treasure troves, as are I.R.S. tax and income reports. Allow me to share a few observations on family wealth and income drawn...

Over the past ten years, Wroclaw in Poland has become such an important economic hub that direct flights there are now offered from Zurich. (RTS/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. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch Channel:...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.11% to 1.164 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, November 02(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates We suggested the market was at crossroads. It is still not clear if the dollar’s breakout, supported by higher yields is real or simply the fraying of ranges. Asia has pushed the dollar  broadly lower. While the greenback finished the North...

[Part of a series on the Swiss economy and society.] The enigmatic independence of Switzerland is perhaps best demonstrated in the fact that its healthcare system manages to satisfy both free marketers and the statist-socialists in the country. It is a giant social safety net woven by individual responsibility and self-made wealth. Health insurance is almost entirely consumer-based, though there are strict cantonal...

– Italy’s Veneto banking meltdown destroyed 200,000 savers and 40,000 businesses – EU bail-in rules have wiped out billions for savers and and businesses, with more at risk  – Bail-ins are not unique to Italy, all Western savers are at risk of seeing savings disappear –  Counterparty-free, physical gold bullion is best defence against bail-ins - Click to enlarge One of Italy’s twenty regions is calling for more...

Many things that are scarce and thus valuable cannot be bought on the global marketplace. Now that almost every asset class is in a bubble, the question of where to invest one’s capital has become particularly vexing. The ashes of wealth consumed by the 2008-09 Global Financial Meltdown are still warm, at least to those who never recovered, and so buying assets at nosebleed valuations in the hopes of earning another 5%...

The Used Goods Question Retail sales in several countries like Germany, Japan and Switzerland continue to fall or they remain steady for years. In the United States they have strongly risen recently. We should remind readers, that used goods sold via Ebay or similar, are not contained in this statistics. Still they create economic value for the purchases. By mentality, Swiss, Germans or Japanese pay more attention so...

Bern, 02.11.2017 – Consumer sentiment in Switzerland remains above average. At -2 points, the overall index is virtually unchanged in October compared to the previous quarter (-3 points). Continued optimism regarding economic development and unemployment are supporting the positive outlook in particular, while expectations regarding the financial situation of households remain below average. This indicates that...