SNB & CHF

08.04.2016 09:15  – FSO, Prices (0353-1603-50) Swiss Consumer Price Index in March 2016 Consumer prices increase by 0.3% Neuchâtel, 08.04.2016 (FSO) – The Swiss Consumer Price Index increased by 0.3% in March 2016 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.1 points (December 2015=100). Inflation was -0.9% in comparison with the same month in the previous year. These are the findings of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Download this press release (pdf, 129 KB) Bericht CD Bund...

Bill Bonner is a business professor at the University of Regina. He has done extensive research on P3 projects. Video created by Laura Beamish.

Bill Bonner is a business professor at the University of Regina. He has done extensive research on P3 projects. Video created by Laura Beamish.

We show the history of Japanese FX interventions. The Japanese only intervened when the USD/JPY was under 80. Therefore the 2016 FX intervention threads at 108 are ridiculous.As opposed to the Swiss National Bank, the Japanese only talk, they do not fight. 2016 Japanese interventions thread Once the Fed finally reduced rate expections, the USD/JPY depreciated from 120 to 108 in a single quarter. (via Reuters and investing.com) Gains for stock markets and a warning of the chances of...

This Great Graphic shows the results of the last three Wall Street Journal survey of business and academic economists on the outlook for Fed policy. The key take away is that despite all the talk and ink spilled on the shifting Fed stance and the split within the FOMC, economists views did not change much over the past month. In March, 76% of the economists expected the next hike in June.  In the April survey that was completed earlier this week found 75% expect a June hike.  Only one...

The yen's surge in recent days has captured the attention of investors and policymakers alike.    It is indeed unsettling and seems to run counter to the economic logic negative interest rates, which the BOJ surprised the market with at the end of January. Yet, if one thinks the market has gotten ahead of itself, perhaps picking  a top in the yen may not be prudent.  Entry levels are important but so is the stop.  It is not clear where one should put a stop if trying to pick a bottom to...

  BALTIMORE – On Tuesday, the Dow sold off – down 133 points. Oil traded in the $36 range. And Donald J. Trump lost the Wisconsin primary to Ted Cruz. Overall, world stocks have held up well, despite cascading evidence of impending doom. With higher rates, Yellen risks corporate profits and bond defaults U.S. corporate profits have been in decline since the second quarter of 2015. Globally, 36 corporate bond issues have defaulted so far this year – up from 25 during the same period of 2015....

  No Return to Normal BALTIMORE – On Tuesday, the Dow sold off – down 133 points. Oil traded in the $36 range. And Donald J. Trump lost the Wisconsin primary to Ted Cruz. Overall, world stocks have held up well, despite cascading evidence of impending doom. U.S. corporate profits have been in decline since the second quarter of 2015. Globally, 36 corporate bond issues have defaulted so far this year – up from 25 during the same period of 2015. Economists at JPMorgan Chase put the U.S....

From agricultural law to baking bread, a school for female farmers high on a mountain in canton Uri teaches all the skills needed to run a farm. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) It’s not the first school of its kind in the canton of Uri. Between 1946 and 1996 there was a training programme in the Reuss valley in the village of Gurtnellen. It was part of a Christian boarding school for girls, managed by the Ingenbohl nuns. The young women were trained to run a household and to support the work of men on...

Authored by Steve H. Hanke of the Johns Hopkins University. Follow him on Twitter @Steve_Hanke. Reportage in The Wall Street Journal on April 4th states that “A fund owned by China’s foreign-exchange regulator has been taking stakes in some of the country’s biggest banks, raising speculation that it may be a new member of the so-called ‘national team’ of investors the Chinese government unleashes to support its stock market.” Statists and interventionists around the world (read: `those who...