SNB & CHF

The very first word anyone ever saw on a circulating United States coin was the word “LIBERTY.” From half-cents to silver dollars, each featured the likeness of an unnamed woman. The images varied, thanks to different engravers, but together they became recognized as Lady Liberty. Many, maybe most, of young America’s citizens were illiterate. “Liberty” may have been the first word they ever learned to read. If not,...

Swiss Franc Click to enlarge. FX Rates The US dollar is sporting a firmer profile today, but it is not the driver.  Heightened speculation that Australia and New Zealand may cut interest rates next month is pushing those respective currencies more than 1% lower today.  The Canadian dollar is being dragged lower (~).5%0 in what looks to be primarily sympathy, but it had seemed vulnerable to us in any event....

Summary: Our bullish dollar outlook was based on divergence and we judge it to still be intact. The Dollar Index has been trading broadly sideways since March 2015, but never did more than a minimum retacement of its earlier rally. The Dollar index is at it highest level since March today. Our underlying constructive outlook for the US dollar remains intact.  It is broadly based on the divergence between the...

Summary: ECJ uphold principle of bailing in junior creditors before the use of public funds. Italian banks shares snap a three-day advance. The EBA/ECB stress test results at the end of next week are the next big event. The European Court of Justice upheld the principle of making creditors bear the burden for investment in banks that sour before government funds can be used. Italian banks are particularly...

Investec Switzerland. Givaudan SA, the world’s largest flavors and fragrance company, reported first-half profit that beat analyst estimates on increased demand for perfumes. © Ragsac19 | Dreamstime.com Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 13 percent to 638 million francs ($649 million), the Vernier, Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Monday. Analysts...

Investec Switzerland. Novartis AG said profit may fall this year as the Swiss drugmaker increases spending on the heart medicine Entresto and faces declining sales of its best-selling cancer treatment Gleevec. © Lucaderoma | Dreamstime.com Core operating income will either be about the same as 2015 or decline by a percentage in the low single digits at constant exchange rates, Novartis said Tuesday...

Via The Mises Institute, [An interview with Hans-Herman Hoppe in the Polish weekly Najwy?szy Czas!] What is your assessment of contemporary Western Europe, and in particular the EU? All major political parties in Western Europe, regardless of their different names and party programs, are nowadays committed to the same fundamental idea of democratic socialism. They use democratic elections to legitimize the taxing...

In parts of India, trained mourners are called in at funerals to create an atmosphere of grief and bereavement. One such mourner was invited to Switzerland as part of an artistic performance. (Anand Chandrasekhar & Michele Andina, swissinfo.ch) --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or...

Swiss Franc Continuing risk appetite is positive for the euro (and certainly sterling).At this levels we do not see much SNB intervention. Click to enlarge. FX Rates The US dollar and the yen are trading heavy, while risk assets, including emerging markets, and the Turkish lira, have jumped.  Sterling is the strongest of the majors.  It is up about 0.5% (~$1.6365), helped by the opportunity of GBP23.4 bln foreign...

Asset Price Levitation One of the more preposterous deeds of modern central banking involves creating digital monetary credits from nothing and then using the faux money to purchase stocks.  If you’re unfamiliar with this erudite form of monetary policy this may sound rather fantastical.  But, in certain economies, this is now standard operating procedure. For example, in Japan this explicit intervention into the...