SNB & CHF

There is no change to the risk budget this month. For the moderate risk investor, the allocation between risk assets and bonds is unchanged at 50/50.  The performance of markets in the first quarter of the year was a bit schizophrenic. Stocks performed well which one might interpret as a reflection of improving economic growth prospects. Certainly President Trump and his proxies were quick to take credit but...

  Everything Gets Worse  (Part XII) –  Pakistan vs. India After 70 years of so-called independence, one has to be a professional victim not to look within oneself for the reasons for starvation, unnatural deaths, utter backwardness, drudgery, disease, and misery in India. Intellectual capital accumulated in the West over the last 2,500 years — available for free in real-time via the internet — can be downloaded by a...

Bern, 20.04.2017 – Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer as Head of the Swiss delegation, Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann and Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, will take part in the joint Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., from 21 to 23 April 2017. Prior to these meetings, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, April 20(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) Source: Investing.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates With the exception of the yen, the US dollar is lower against all the major currencies. US Treasury yields are firm, extending yesterday’s rise a little. This may help keep the dollar straddling JPY109, but unwinding long yen cross positions is helping underpin the other major...

– Silver production sees “huge decline” in Peru – Production -12% in one month in 2nd largest producer – Silver decline is due to ‘exhaustion of reserves’ in Peru – GFMS recognise that ‘Peak Silver’ was reached in 2015 – Global silver market had large net supply deficit in 2016 – Silver rallied 13.5% in Q1 in 2017 – Base metal production accounts for 56% of silver mining – Base metal demand under threat from global...

Summary: May calls snap election for June 8. Tories running 20 percent point lead over Labour. Next election would be in 2022, after the Brexit negotiations conclude. UK Prime Minister May surprised investors by calling for a snap election on June 8. The Tory Party is ahead of Labour by over 20 percentage points. It currently enjoys a 17-seat majority in the House of Commons. The early election would put the...

Summary: May calls snap election for June 8. Tories running 20 percent point lead over Labour. Next election would be in 2022, after the Brexit negotiations conclude. UK Prime Minister May surprised investors by calling for a snap election on June 8. The Tory Party is ahead of Labour by over 20 percentage points. It currently enjoys a 17-seat majority in the House of Commons. The early election would put the...

As we move further into 2017, economic statistics will be subject to their annual benchmark revisions. High frequency data such as any accounts published on or about a single month is estimated using incomplete data. It’s just the nature of the process. Over time, more comprehensive survey results as well as upgrades to statistical processes make it necessary for these kinds of revisions. There is, obviously, great...

Over the year ending 31 March 2017, apartment prices across Switzerland dropped by 6.8%, according to a property price report published by the Zurich-based research and consulting firm Fahrländer Partner FPRE. Close to half of the decline (-3.2%) occurred in the first quarter of 2017.Across the year, the price of mid-range apartments fell most (-9.4%), followed by high-end ones (-6.3%) and smaller lower cost...

  The “Nightmare Option” The French presidential election was temporarily relegated to the back-pages following the US strike on Syria, but a few days ago, the Economist Magazine returned to the topic, noting that a potential “nightmare option” has suddenly come into view. In recent months certainty had increased that once the election moved into its second round, it would be plain sailing for whichever establishment...