SNB & CHF

  Worst in Class BALTIMORE – People can believe whatever they want. But sooner or later, real life intervenes. We just like to see the looks on their faces when it does. By that measure, 2017 may be our best year ever. Rarely have so many people believed so many impossible things. Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said: “one can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said...

United States The dollar and US yields are recouping more of yesterday’s decline. A break of $1.0480-$1.05 would suggest the euro’s upside bounce is exhausted. A dollar move above JPY116.80-JPY117.25 would also hint that the greenback was going to make an other run toward JPY118.30-JPY118.60. Sterling support is seen in the $1.2285-$1.2310 area. The Canadian dollar is struggle to sustain it upward momentum. A US dollar...

Marc Chandler Source: cnbc.com - Click to enlarge Two central banks were particularly active today.  Chinese officials appear to be engineering short squeeze that has lifted the yuan 1.2% over the past two sessions. While this does not sound like much, it is a record two-day move, for the still closely managed currency. In addition to formal and informal capital controls, Chinese officials have reportedly used moral...

The train, which takes sightseers to the Jungfraujoch in the Bernese Alpes, carried 916,500 passengers in 2016, significantly fewer than the year before. In 2015, a record 1,007,000 made the journey. Despite the decline, 2016 was still the second best performance recorded. And, at the price of CHF 218.80 for a first class round trip, brought in a lot of money. The ski season saw a large drop in the number of passengers...

Here’s the problem with central banks seeking higher inflation: costs go up but wages don’t. It’s easy to quantify the annual cost of Social Security/Medicare, and not so easy to calculate the cost of Cartel Cronyism and Central Bank-created inflation.Cartel cronyism is a hidden tax on the entire economy, as is Central Bank-created inflation. That makes it easy for the financial-political Oligarchy to continue their...

– Gold gains in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY – Gold gains in CNY, INR & most emerging market currencies– Gold surges 31.5% in British pounds after Brexit shock– Gold acted as hedge and safe haven in 2016 … for those who need safe haven– Furthers signs of market having bottomed and bodes well for 2017 – What drivers will gold respond to in 2017? –  EU elections and contagion risk, Geo-politics, terrorism, war...

– Gold gains in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY – Gold gains in CNY, INR & most emerging market currencies– Gold surges 31.5% in British pounds after Brexit shock– Gold acted as hedge and safe haven in 2016 … for those who need safe haven– Furthers signs of market having bottomed and bodes well for 2017 – What drivers will gold respond to in 2017? –  EU elections and contagion risk, Geo-politics, terrorism, war...

  Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, January 06(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge I am reading a lot about the pound in 2017 which is likely to be as volatile as in 2016. But the Franc is a harder beast to predict. Loosely tracking the euro but subject to its own rules and trends GBP/CHF could be an interesting pair to watch in 2017. There are numerous global events which can shape the...

Summary ADP and Non-Manufacturing ISM lend credence to our fear of a disappointing national jobs report. Economists estimate only a small part of the manufacturing jobs loss can be traced to trade policy. 19 states increased min wage at the start of the year, but the impact on the nation’s average weekly earnings will likely be too small to detect. We have suggested the risk of disappointment with the US...

An economy that only serves the prosperity of the protected top 5% is an economy doomed to rising inequality, stagnation and widespread social discontent. If we seek a coherent context for the new year, we would do well to start with the foundations of widespread prosperity. While the economy is a vast, complex machine, the sources of widespread prosperity are not that complicated: abundant work and a low cost of...