SNB & CHF

Summary: US economic data, culminating with the employment report, should be consistent with a re-acceleration of the world’s largest economy after a typical slowdown in Q1. Eurozone price pressures likely eased considerably in May. For the UK economy, the bounce in April was a fluke, and gradual slowdown continues. Japanese investors have bought foreign bonds for three weeks in a row, which is the longest streak...

Swiss Franc vs USD and EUR The Federal Reserve is on track to hike rates in the middle of June. It will be the third hike since the November election. In addition to keeping the door open to another hike this year, the Federal Reserve has signaled its intention to begin, however slowly, the reduction of its balance sheet. In the meantime, regardless of potential changes in its risk assessment, the ECB is unlikely to...

Stock Markets EM FX closed last week on a mixed note, with markets struggling to find a compelling investment theme. The US jobs data this week could provide some more clarity on Fed policy.  We still think markets are still underestimating political risk in the big EM countries, including Brazil (Moody’s outlook moved to negative), Mexico (election in state of Mexico), South Africa (ANC debates Zuma’s fate), and...

© Irakite | Dreamstime.com Ahead of the automatic exchange of bank account information, which comes into effect at the beginning of next year, Swiss residents with undeclared foreign bank accounts are rushing to come clean to the tax authorities, according to Swiss broadcaster RTS. According to RTS, 380 have come forward in Fribourg, 173 in Valais, 254 in Jura, around 2,000 in Neuchâtel and 4,000 in Geneva. The canton...

Speed and coverage of mobile telecoms is well above average in Switzerland. - Click to enlarge Speed, availability, network responsiveness: on all counts, the mobile experience in Switzerland is “an excellent one”, according to a new report. But improvements could still be made to advance on the leader board. This is the verdict published Wednesday May 24 by OpenSignal, a London-based private held company that issues...

Central Banks Produce Dire Consequences for the Free Market Todd “Bubba” Horwitz has recently produced a podcast with our friend Claudio Grass of Global Gold, which we can be called up further below. Bubba has provided a summary of the topics discussed, an edited version of which you find below as well. Global Gold CEO Claudio Grass, tireless advocate for free markets, sound money and liberty. Photo via Global Gold...

Two more manufacturing surveys suggest sharp deceleration in momentum, or, more specifically, the momentum of sentiment (if there is such a thing). The Federal Reserve’s 5th District Survey of Manufacturing (Richmond branch) dropped to barely positive, calculated to be just 1.0 in May following 20.0 in April and 22.0 in March. It follows an all-too-familiar pattern, where sentiment spiked to start this year after being...

Erik Townsend welcomes back Jeffrey Snider to MacroVoices. Erik and Jeffrey look at Eurodollars and the Eurodollar shortage. They discuss the real drivers of the US Dollar bull market and the flaws in the reflation trade narrative. The discuss the connection between Eurodollars and gold and the impact of QE on Eurodollar system.

"V" welcomes back Charles for an in-depth discussion regarding Charles's blogs: TINA's Legacy: Free Money, Bread and Circuses and Collapse, How Higher Education Became an Obscenely Profitable Racket That Enriches the Few at the Expense of the Many (Student Debt-Serfs) and Want to Understand Rising Wealth Inequality? Look at Debt and Interest. Charles's website: http://www.oftwominds.com/ We are political scientists, editorial engineers, and radio show developers drawn together by a shared...

Summary Moody’s downgraded China’s rating from Aa3 to A1 with stable outlook. Reports suggest that the PBOC has informed local banks that it is changing the way it sets the daily fix. Moody’s downgraded Hong Kong’s rating to Aa2 from Aa1 with stable outlook. Philippine President Duterte declared martial law on Mindanao island. Egypt’s central bank unexpectedly hiked rates by 200 bp. S&P moved the outlook on...