SNB & CHF

While much has been written about the massive retail decline in America, Charles sheds interesting light upon another core cause of the retail apocalypse. Namely, Millennials, due to staggering student loan debt, have lowered expectations and are staying close to urban downtowns. They have smaller homes, less need for expensive furnishings and have often shed the shackles of the automobile. When combined with ease of online shopping and their inclination to save more than their Boomer...

– Gold price breaks above key 200-day moving average– Gold hits 5-month high on back of investor nervousness– Safe haven has 10% gains in 2017 after 9% gains in 2016– Gold options signal more gains as ETF buying increases– Geopolitical uncertainty over North Korea & Middle East– Tensions high -World awaits US move & Russia response– Russia says chemical attack was terrorist “false flag”– Poor March jobs report...

– Gold price breaks above key 200-day moving average– Gold hits 5-month high on back of investor nervousness– Safe haven has 10% gains in 2017 after 9% gains in 2016– Gold options signal more gains as ETF buying increases– Geopolitical uncertainty over North Korea & Middle East– Tensions high -World awaits US move & Russia response– Russia says chemical attack was terrorist “false flag”– Poor March jobs report...

Summary: The euro has fallen for 11 consecutive sessions against the yen. Interest rates, US and German in particular, seem to be the main driver. Technicals are stretched, but have not signaled a reversal yet. Looking for a trend in the foreign exchange market? The euro is weaker against the yen for the 11th consecutive session today, which is the longest streak in the euro’s natural life. Since March 17, the...

Marc Chandler In Bloomberg I was on Bloomberg TV earlier today, chatting with David Gura about how to try to make sense of new Trump Administration.   I suggest that the decision-making style and practical concerns have created two wing to the Administration. There is a populist-nationalist wing that is home to America First ideas.  The other wing is much more rooted in American political tradition.  Many things, for...

Marc Chandler In Bloomberg I was on Bloomberg TV earlier today, chatting with David Gura about how to try to make sense of new Trump Administration.   I suggest that the decision-making style and practical concerns have created two wing to the Administration. There is a populist-nationalist wing that is home to America First ideas.  The other wing is much more rooted in American political tradition.  Many things, for...

In June 2012, Janet Yellen, then the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, addressed an audience in Boston with what for the time seemed like a radical departure. It was the latest in a string of them, for conditions throughout the “recovery” period never did quite seem to hit the recovery stride. Because of that, there was constant stream of trial balloons suggesting how the Federal Reserve might try to overcome this...

© Steeve Baillon – Dreamstime.com Tribune de Genève. The French tax authorities will not get Swiss help to investigate tax payers identified in data taken by Hervé Falciani from HSBC private bank in Geneva. HSBC, owner of the private bank in Geneva, which became part of HSBC in 1999 when it was acquired from Republic National Bank, a group run by Lebanese-born financier Edmond Safra, described the data taken from the...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, April 14(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) Source: Investing.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The holiday-induced calm in the capital markets conceals a high degree of anxiety. The investment climate has been challenged by heightened geopolitical risk and unusual complaints about the US dollar’s strength from the sitting US President. While sending an “armada” toward the Korean...

– Bank of England implicated in LIBOR scandal by BBC – “We’ve had some very serious pressure from the UK government and the Bank of England about pushing our Libors lower.” – “This goes much much higher than me” -UBS’ Tom Hayes – Libor distraction as all markets are manipulated today –  Central bank’s “rigging” bond markets and likely gold – Risks of bank ‘holidays’, capital controls and of course bail-ins remains Bank...