SNB & CHF

Most people would be horrified by a 40% decline in their “investments.” When bubbles pop, speculative assets don’t drop 40%, they drop 90% or even 98%. The irony of the sudden panic about real-world inflation generated by rising wages is two-fold: 1. The status quo never mentions the rampant inflation in assets, because the already-wealthy got wealthier, so asset inflation is wonderful and deserves to be permanent Look at the chart below (courtesy of Mac10) of the...

Viele im Westen wurden durch die Sonderoperation der Russen in der Ukraine auf dem falschen Fuss erwischt. Der seit 2014 schwellende innerstaatliche Konflikt war und ist vielen nicht bewusst. Die grundlegenden Probleme mit ihrem geschichtlichen Hintergrund, welche die Operation verständlicher erscheinen liessen, sind selbst heute den Entscheidungsträgern unbekannt. Man hat das Gefühl, dass alles, was vor dem Einmarsch passiert ist, inexistent ist. Die Einschätzungen...

14.04.2022 – The Producer and Import Price Index increased in March 2022 by 0.8% compared with the previous month, reaching 107.0 points (December 2020 = 100). Higher prices were seen for petroleum products in particular. Basic metals and semi-finished metal products also became more expensive. Compared with March 2021, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products rose by 6.1%. These are the results from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO)....

Overview: What appears to be a powerful short-covering rally in the US debt market has helped steady equities and weighed on the dollar.  Singapore and South Korea joined New Zealand and Canada in tightening monetary policy.  Attention turns to the ECB now on the eve of a long-holiday weekend for many members.  The tech-sector led the US equity recovery yesterday, snapping a three-day decline.  Most of the major markets in Asia Pacific advanced but Taiwan and India. ...

Zentrale Cryptobörsen werden immer mehr zum schwachen Glied in der Kette. In Indien und Weißrussland wurde diese Woche wieder deutlich, wie der Staat die Börsen benutzen kann, um den Cryptomarkt zu kontrollieren. Crypto News: Staat nutzt Crypto-Börsen zur Kontrolle des Marktes in Indien und WeißrusslandIn Indien wurden diese Woche Einzahlungen mit Rupien auf einigen Cryptobörsen unterbunden. Zwei der größeren Börsen des Landes, WazirX und CoinSwitch Kuber, haben über...

Binance, a global blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, announced the opening of its space in at the startup campus STATION F in Paris. This opening is part of the Objective Moon programme announced last November by Changpeng Zhao “CZ”, Founder and CEO of Binance. This programme poured in a €100 million investment in France to make the country the heart of the European crypto community. CZ said that Binance is committed to build and...

In any year when gasoline prices rise 18%, that’s not going to be good for anyone except maybe oil companies who extract its key ingredient from out of the ground (or don’t, as the case can be). Yet, annual rates of increase that size do happen. After August 2017 up to and including August 2018, the BLS’s CPI registered a seasonally-adjusted 20.5% year-over-year gain in its motor fuel component. Economic pain followed thereafter, though not entirely the fault of...

Western companies should end their business relations with Russia. It is their moral duty to contribute to peace-making by their actions, says a group of business ethicists in Switzerland and Austria. Some large corporations are currently breaking off economic relations with Russia, removing Russian products from their product ranges, and closing their production facilities or branches in the country. Among these are Ikea, Apple, all the major credit-card...

The Covid-19 pandemic has failed to rattle the Swiss property market. Prices for apartment buildings have hit a record high. But now the war in Ukraine and rising interest rates threaten to turn the tide. The Swiss real estate market recorded a bumper year in 2021. The total return, comprising rental income and value changes on properties, was higher for real estate investors than it had been in seven years. Prices have been heading in just one direction – up – for...

(Richmond, Virginia – April 12, 2022) – By signing sound money legislation last night, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has ended Virginia’s discriminatory practice of assessing sales taxes on smaller purchases of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion and coins. Virginia’s House Bill 936, originally introduced by Del. Amanda Batten, was considered by multiple House and Senate committees before passing overwhelmingly out of both chambers and reaching the...