SNB & CHF

Economic growth is subject to gradation. There is almost no purpose in making such a declaration, for anyone with common sense knows intuitively that there is a difference between robust growth and just positive numbers. Yet, the biggest mistake economists and policymakers made in 2014 was to forget that differences exist between even statistics all residing on the plus side. It was misconception sometimes by design,...

USD/CHF EUR/CHF EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 31(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge USD/JPY [embedded content] USD/JPY with Technical Indicators, October 30(see more posts on USD/JPY, ) - Click to enlarge EUR/USD [embedded content] EUR/USD with Technical Indicators, October 30(see more posts on EUR/USD, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/USD [embedded content]...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.29% to 1.606  CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 30(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The markets are mixed, mostly responding to idiosyncratic developments, as the week’s large events loom ahead. These BOJ, BOE, and FOMC meetings, eurozone flash CPI and US jobs reports. In addition, US President Trump is expected to...

- Click to enlarge L’histoire de la Chine et de son obsession pour l’or a été ravivée cette année, comme nous le prouvent les chiffres des importations effectuées via de Hong Kong et négociées sur le Shanghai Gold Exchange. Mais au vu des articles que nous, commentateurs du marché de l’or, écrivons au sujet de l’amour de la Chine pour l’or, il est surprenant de constater qu’il y a moins de cent ans, le pays...

The majority of middle class wealth is locked up in unproductive assets or assets that only become available upon retirement or death. One of my points in Why Governments Will Not Ban Bitcoin was to highlight how few families had the financial wherewithal to invest in bitcoin or an alternative hedge such as precious metals. The limitation on middle class wealth isn’t just the total net worth of each family; it’s...

The KOF Economic Barometer rose by 3.0 points in October. This is the second upward movement in succession. The indicator reached 109.1 points in October (after revised 106.1 in September). Autumn is welcoming the Swiss economy with a tailwind. In October 2017, the KOF Economic Barometer rose to a new reading of 109.1 points, its highest level since September 2010. The upward tendency is mainly driven by the...

Stock Markets EM FX gained some limited traction Friday but still capped off another awful week.  So far this quarter, the worst EM performers are TRY (-6%), MXN (-5%), ZAR (-4%), COP, and BRL (both -2.5%). We expect these currencies to remain under pressure as political concerns are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. Stock Markets Emerging Markets, October 30 Source: economist.com - Click to enlarge South...

Summary Busiest week of Q4. Fed, BOJ, and BOE, only the last is expected to change policy. Flash EMU CPI and US jobs. Positive developments in Italy, less so in Spain. The week ahead will be among the busiest in Q4. In this note, we provide a brief sketch of the different events and data points that will shape the investment climate. Given the importance of initial conditions, we will begin with an overview of the...

The focus in Europe has been Catalonia’s push for independence and the attempt by Madrid to prevent it. Tomorrow’s ECB meeting, where more details about next year’s asset purchases, is also awaited. There are three developments that we suspect have been overshadowed but are still instructive. First, the ECB reported that its balance sheet shrank last week. With the ECB set to take another baby step toward the exit, many...

Ernesto Bertarelli is one of Switzerland's 35 billionaires (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The total wealth of the world’s 1,542 billionaires – including 35 in Switzerland – grew 17% to $6 trillion (CHF5.93 trillion) last year, led by a surge in Asia’s emerging billionaire class and growth in the materials, industrials, financial and technology sectors. The wealth of Switzerland’s billionaires grew by a mere...