SNB & CHF

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The gathering of central planners at Jackson Hole was widely expected to bring some clarity regarding the Fed’s policy intentions. This is of course a ridiculous assumption, since these people have not the foggiest idea what they are doing or what they are going to do next. Like all central planners, they are forever groping in the dark.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]One of my reading projects over the past year is to learn more about empires:how they are established, why they endure and why they crumble. To this end, I've recently read seven books on a wide variety of empires. The literature on empires is vast, so this is only a tiny slice of the available books. Nonetheless I think these 7 titles offer a fairly comprehensive spectrum:

In 1957, Yehudi Menuhin founded the Menuhin Music Festival in Gstaad. The famous violinist performed concerts in the Saanen church right up until his death. Now his son, Jeremy Menuhin, is continuing the tradition. (SRF/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 subscribe...

One of Geneva’s most famous attractions wasn’t originally built for tourists. The history of the Jet d’eau is connected to the Swiss watchmaking industry.(SRF/RTS/swissinfo.ch) Every second, five hundred litres of water are pumped out of Lake Geneva into the air by two turbines. The stream of water reaches an altitude of 140 metres, leaving the nozzle at a speed of 200 kilometres per hour. The landmark fountain begins sprouting every morning at 9 o’clock and attracts many visitors to the...

Researchers and collectors have discovered hundreds of meteorite fragments on a field in canton Bern. It’s the largest meteorite find in Switzerland so far and an important one for science. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) More than 30 years ago, a Swiss farmer came across a single piece of a meteorite that fell to earth around 160,000 years earlier. Now, a Bern researcher and a small army of meteorite hunters have found hundreds more pieces. The Twannberg meteorite broke into hundreds of pieces when it...

To boost low-season turnover, hoteliers and restaurateurs in Leysin in canton Vaud have targeted tourists from India. The results have been positive, 8,000 overnight stays in three months. The programme offered includes snowcat excursions, selfies in a picture postcard setting, and gala evenings on mountain peaks. (RTS, 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...

  Quarterly meeting of the Incrementum Fund The quarterly meeting of the Incrementum Fund’s advisory board was held on July 19. A pdf transcript of the discussion can be downloaded via the link below. We were once again joined by special guest Brent Johnson, the CEO of Santiago Capital. When Will the Helicopter Take Off? This time the debate revolved around the threat of “helicopter money”, which has become a lot...

  The War on Moles OUZILLY, France – The farther you get from the big city, or the international press… the closer you get to reality. The myth and claptrap disappears as distance shortens. Imagination gives way to fact. Gone is global warming, for instance. Instead, you find – as we did when we drove to Nova Scotia for a summer holiday in the 1990s – that it will be “75 degrees in Halifax again today… No relief in...

It’s tough to pay for an Olympics when 95% of your supposed “wealth” has vanished. In the modern era (1896-present), the Olympics have only been cancelled in wartime: 1916 (World War I), 1940 and 1944 (World War II). But world war is not the only circumstance that could derail the Olympics; a global crisis in energy, finance or geopolitics could send the risks and costs of the Olympics beyond the reach of most...

  Mining Stocks, Gold Prices and Commodity Price Trends Gold has gone up >400% over the last 16 years. Ironically, it is hard to find a gold mining equity exhibiting similar performance. In retrospect, if one invested in gold, one not only made much better returns, one also took a relatively insignificant risk in comparison to owning equities—equities can go to zero while it is hard for a commodity to fall much...