SNB & CHF

Bern, 01.06.2016 – Switzerland’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1% in the 1st quarter of 2016.* GDP was underpinned by consumption expenditure from private households and investments in construction and equipment but curbed slightly by government consumption. On the production side, the picture was mixed: whilst financial services and the hotel and catering industry saw a decline, value added in manufacturing, construction and the healthcare sector increased. In comparison...

Felix Zulauf Photo credit: Sigi Tischler / Keystone Government Intervention is Making Things Worse Claudio Grass, the CEO of Global Gold, has recently interviewed legendary Swiss fund manager Felix Zulauf. A wide range of topics was discussed, including monetary policy, the market outlook, investment decisions and precious metals. About Felix Zulauf: Felix Zulauf started out as a trader for Swiss Bank. He joined Union Bank of Switzerland in 1977, ultimately becoming the head of the...

OPEC ministers meet in Vienna tomorrow. Expectations could hardly be lower.  Attempts to agree on an output freeze were stymied by the Saudi’s insistence that is rival Iran participates as well.  Iran cannot agree to limit its production yet, or it would have sacrificed (or postponed) it nuclear program for nought.   Many observers have announced the death of OPEC. The Saudi’s refusal in 2014 to continue to act as the swing producer, coupled with the rise of non-OPEC production,...

Some of the most interesting statistics related on the Gotthard Base tunnel. (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 to our YouTube channel: Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos Subscribe:...

The US dollar is trading with a heavier bias to start the month of June.  Weaker stocks and firmer bonds has seen the yen rise the most, while sterling’s losses have been extended after an ICM telephone survey showed a small lead for those favoring Brexit.   The Swiss Franc was one of the strongest performers. Click to enlarge. The Nikkei fell 1.6%, the largest loss since May 2 and snaps a five-day advance.    The delay in the sales tax was confirmed.  This second delay now puts...

The US dollar is broadly mixed.  The main narrative of increased prospects for a Fed hike in June or July has been pushed off center stage as the market reacts to local developments as investors await from US economic data.  Ostensibly the data will determine whether the Fed raises rates in June or July.  The Swiss Franc lost both against the dollar and versus the euro. Click to enlarge. On the other hand, despite the Fed’s data dependency, we argue that the determining factor is...

The new Utopian socialists believe that the latest capitalist gizmos will help them realize their dream of a society under the full control of socialist philosopher kings. Image via grundeinkommen.ch Robotic Utopia In spite of the fact that Marx expressed nothing but disdain for his Utopian socialist predecessors such as Henri Saint-Simon and Auguste Comte, variants of Utopian socialism evidently live on. The latest iteration of the socialist dream is firmly focused on the capabilities...

  An Alert for the Global Posse of Liquidity Junkies In the summer of 2015 and again in December-February this year, global stock markets were rattled by weakness in the yuan’s exchange rate vs. the US dollar. Yuan weakness is widely held to exacerbate pressures on other (already weak) emerging market currencies, but more importantly, it is seen as a symptom of accelerating capital flight from China. USD-CNY, daily; onshore yuan rate USD-CNY, daily (a rising price denotes yuan weakness)...

Cartoon by Bob Rich No Surprises BALTIMORE – We were not surprised by the big news last week. We saw it coming. Figures from the Conference Board research group revealed productivity sinking for the first time in three decades. We promised to explain why it was such a big deal. Rate hike fantasies have been a recurring theme since 2009. Given that the market for federal funds is dead as a doornail (banks continue to hold huge excess reserves with the Fed and therefore have no need to...

Written by Jeff Nielson (CLICK FOR ORIGINAL) Much of what is known as “economic theory” is gibberish. It is propaganda, implanted into the minds of academics for one reason: to preserve the status quo of always favoring the (very) wealthy over all other members of the population. The facets of economic doctrine which are valid, are valid because they do little more than express principles of simple arithmetic and common sense.   “Supply and demand” is just simple arithmetic and common...