SNB & CHF

Price discovery in commercial real estate, which had been frozen while sellers insisted on prices from the good ol’ ZIRP days, is starting to thaw. Real Estate giant Related Companies has unloaded the property at 321 W. 44th St., New York, New York for less than $50 million, reports Bloomberg. Not only is that a 67% discount from the nearly $153 million that Related Fund Management paid for it in 2018, but the lenders including Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce...

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which aimed to protect people affected by armed conflict. But how relevant are these, and international law in general, especially for younger generations? With war raging across the world, host Imogen Foulkes held a special edition of our Inside Geneva podcast at the Geneva Graduate Institute to understand whether international law is still alive. She spoke to Andrew Clapham, Professor of International Law at the...

Low-tax and wealthy Zug is invariably a net contributor to the Swiss financial equalistion system. Keystone / Urs Flueeler Redistribution payments between regions will rise by 4.8% to CHF6.2 billion ($6.91 billion) in 2025, the Federal Finance Administration (FFA) said on Tuesday. According to provisional calculations, annual compensation payments to cantons with low resource potential – the main component of the equalisation scheme – will climb by CHF331 million...

American Compass, a think tank promoting a conservatism lacking even a rhetorical commitment to free markets, recently called for Republicans to support tax increases. The organization claims a GOP embrace of higher taxes will enable the uniparty’s left (Democratic) and right (Republican) wings to create a deficit reduction plan balancing tax increase with spending cuts.American Compass is correct that both parties need to prioritize deficit reduction. The 35...

Gold rolls over after retesting key resistance as the outlook for US interest rates remains elevated.  This keeps the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding Gold high, making it less attractive to investors.  Gold (XAU/USD) trades a quarter of a percent lower on Tuesday after being rejected by key support-turned-resistance at $2,315 late Monday. Higher interest-rate expectations in the US are weighing on the precious metal. The release of better-than-expected US...

An oft cited reason given for the need for the state is that it is the only means through which the poor can access sufficient welfare to relieve them from the harsh realities that can accompany their circumstances. Yet despite the promises made over many decades and the huge sums spent on state welfare programs, it is hardly clear that the needs of the poor have been sufficiently met, especially given the constant outcry for more resources and better programs. If it...

Overview:  The US dollar is firm against all the G10 currencies, except for sterling, which is straddling unchanged levels after labor market report that showed an uptick earnings remain elevated, and the unemployment rate ticked up to a new high since September 2021. The dollar reached a new six-day high against the Japanese yen near JPY157.40. The Chinese yuan (onshore) fell to new lows since last November as the mainland markets re-opened from the holiday-long...

Send us a Text Message. (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/915097/open_sms) Geneva is the home of international law, the rules that are supposed to stop the worst violations in war. But does anyone respect it anymore?  Andrew Clapham, Professor of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute, says: “It’s quite blatant that when we like what the International Criminal Court is doing we will support it, but as soon as it steps out of line we will call...

When socialist schemes fail, as they inevitably do, our attention is immediately drawn away from the destruction they cause to the “good intentions” behind the schemes. They meant well. Their good intentions override their disastrous results. One reason why good intentions are important to both sides of the political divide is that good intentions play well to voters. A good example of this is the national debt crisis in the United States. The economist Samuel...

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