SNB & CHF

It’s time to reprogram the conditions of the economy to serve the many rather than the few. Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru training exercise tests officer candidates’ response to a no-win scenario:any attempt to rescue the crippled ship’s crew results in the destruction of the candidate’s ship, while standing by and taking no action results in the loss of the Kobayashi Maru’s crew. Captain Kirk famously defeated this no-win scenario by reprogramming the simulation to...

When the Bourbon dynasty was restored to power in France in the early 1800s after Napoleon’s abdication, the French statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand famously said of that family: “They had learned nothing and forgotten nothing.” In modern economic parlance, one can say the same thing about progressives, who once again are demanding price controls to “fight inflation.” Not surprisingly, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is leading the way. She recently introduced a bill...

Switzerland, home to many big multinationals, has an average corporation tax rate of just under 15%, but some of its individual low-tax cantons such as Zug (in photo) have lower rates again. Keystone / Alessandro Della Bella Switzerland will implement from 2024 the minimum tax rate for large multinational firms under a global tax deal. The federal government will get a quarter and regional and local authorities three-quarters of revenue, it said on Thursday,...

The United States consumption figure seems robust. An 0.9 percent rise in personal spending in April looks good on paper, especially considering the challenges that the economy faces. This apparently strong figure is supporting an average consensus estimate for the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) of 3 percent, according to Blue Chip Financial Forecasts. However, the Atlanta Fed GDP nowcast for the second quarter stands at a very low 1.9 percent. If this...

Report for the attention of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank for its quarterly assessment of June 2022. The report describes economic and monetary developments in Switzerland and explains the inflation forecast. It shows how the SNB views the economic situation and the implications for monetary policy it draws from this assessment. The first section (‘Monetary policy decision of 16 June 2022’) is an excerpt from the press release published following...

On Friday, June 24 2022, the winners of the True Story Award 2020/21 will be announced at the Kornhausforum Bern. Tune in here at 7pm CET (UTC +2) to find out who has won. --- 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:...

Jeff Snider explains how the global currency and monetary systems actually work, the origins of the Eurodollar system, Triffin’s Paradox and the breakdown of the Bretton Woods System, the stampede towards prime collateral at all costs, the importance of sentiment and why the main role of central banks is theatrical, how vast swathes of the real economy have been deprived of credit since 2008, and a possible solution: creation and intermediation of money should be done by separate...

Overview: Equities are higher and bonds lower as the week's activity winds down. Asia Pacific markets rallied, paced by more than 2% gains in Hong Kong and South Korea. Japan's Nikkei rallied more than 1%, as did China's CSI 300. Most of the large markets but South Korea and Taiwan advanced this week, though only China and Hong Kong are up for the month. Europe's Stoxx 600 is up 1.3% through the European morning, its biggest advance of the week and what looks like...

The Lucerne School of Art and Design has taken in 29 Ukrainian students as exchange students rather than refugees. This means their time in Switzerland counts towards their degree. The 29 students come from the Lviv National Academy of Arts, a partner university. They came by bus via Warsaw, Poland, and then through Germany and on to Lucerne shortly after the war started in Ukraine. Monika Gold, head of the Bachelor’s Programme in Graphic Design, was the driving force behind the...

Together with the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) and Swiss commercial banks, the SNB has developed a solution to enable individuals with protection status S to exchange Ukrainian banknotes for Swiss francs up to a limited amount. As of 27 June 2022, adults with protection status S will be able to make a one-off exchange of up to UAH 10,000 at selected UBS and Credit Suisse branches. This currently corresponds to a value of approximately CHF 300. The exchange...