SNB & CHF

By the end of this decade, the Swiss army expects to have trouble recruiting enough personnel. So the defence department is studying the option of drafting women alongside men for military service or an alternative civilian service. We recently asked readers to send in their views on gender-neutral conscription. -- 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...

The BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange wants to reincorporate from its present location in the Seychelles. Keystone Troubled cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX is charting its revival in Switzerland after the platform and its three co-founders were prosecuted in the United States. When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch’s business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland – including the...

The company has faced a string of scandals and mounting legal costs. It is currently undergoing what it calls a transition phase with a new CEO. © Keystone / Melanie Duchene Embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse is planning to cut around 10% of its workforce as part of a major cost cutting drive, according to several media reports. Reuters reported on Thursday that someone with direct knowledge of the matter indicated that 5,000 positions are expected to be slashed,...

© Bartolomiej Pietrzyk | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.2% in 2021, according to recently released data by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The increase follows a decrease of -2.4% in 2020, a year marking the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to this upswing, GDP in 2021 was above the level of 2019, although some areas of the Swiss economy, such as hospitality, continued to suffer from the pandemic. Gross...

If we insist on doing the transition the hard, slow, costly way rather than the easy, fast, cheap way, it’s going to be a needlessly arduous, soul-crushing slog. Let’s cover a few common-sense points and ask a few questions about the Global Energy Crunch.Let’s start with the high-tech, super-costly solutions that many promote as the surefire source of abundant, affordable energy: thorium reactors, mini/modular-reactors, clean coal plants and fusion. Every one of...

The introduction of commodities into the market has interesting implications concerning Carl Menger’s value imputation. The subjectiveness behind this approach illustrates that marginal utility analysis may be used in the explanation of the price phenomena of a commodity, or more specifically, the price phenomena of a new item into the market. In the imaginary construction of Robinson Crusoe’s island, in which there is a community that does trade among a few...

Hello, my name is Bill Bonner. I’ve recorded this video message from my cottage near the town of Youghal, about 150 miles southwest of Dublin. After a 50-year career spent building one of the largest financial research firms of its kind… After launching offices in Poland, Spain, London, China, Russia, India, and more than a half dozen other countries… After watching my companies reach a market valuation of more than $3 billion… After earning more money than my...

A Financial Times opinion column avers not only is a "post-dollar world coming" but that it is "near" and that the "decline could last... longer". We review the argument, disagree, and note no discussion of the global monetary order. Also, a prediction where the dollar is headed next. ****SPONSOR**** Purchase shares in great masterpieces from artists like Pablo Picasso, Banksy, Andy Warhol, and more. Skip the waitlist and invest in blue-chip art for the very...

Since our last silver article, the price of silver has dropped. With due respect to Frederic Bastiat, the price is the seen. The basis mostly goes unseen. We will take a look at the market data, revised for a few more days of trading. Warren Buffett, 2008, and the Cobasis But first, let’s look at a chart we have discussed a few times over the years. It shows two ratios: gold basis to silver basis, and gold cobasis to silver cobasis. It shows a measure of gold’s...

01.09.2022 – Turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 4.6% in nominal terms in July 2022 compared with the previous year, with just under half of this upturn due to price increases. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover fell by 0.3% compared with the previous month. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 2.6% in July...