SNB & CHF

Overview: Last week's bond market rally has stalled.  Benchmark 10-year yields are up 1-3 bp in Europe, and the three bp increase in the US puts the yield slightly below 1.50%.  Equities were mixed in the Asia Pacific region.  Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Australia nursed losses after the regional benchmark (MSCI) rose 0.65% last week.  The Stoxx 600 had a seven-session rally in tow, but it is little changed in the European morning.  It rose 1.65% last week. ...

There is a great deal of joy and satisfaction in gardening; benefits include saving money, eating healthier, sharing the bounty with others and reducing the derealization / derangement of modern life. There are few reasons to expect food prices to drop and many reasons to expect even higher prices ahead. Headlines like this are now standard: Global Food Prices Hit Fresh Decade High In October, and there is little evidence that the drivers of higher food...

Bureaucratic management means, under democracy, management in strict accordance with the law and the budget. It is not for the personnel of the administration and for the judges to inquire what should be done for the public welfare and how the public funds should be spent. This is the task of the sovereign, the people, and their representatives. The courts, the various branches of the administration, the army, and the navy execute what the law and the budget order...

Part of the astronomical clock at the Cathédrale Saint-Jean de Besançon Philip Bird / Alamy Stock Photo Just a short hop from the Swiss border, the walled city of Besançon is a showcase of centuries of French watchmaking knowhow. Within its labyrinth of pristine streets are many secret courtyards, where, behind imposing doors, independent watchmakers carry forward its best-known traditions in what is considered France’s capital of watches. The city’s biggest...

The US dollar turned in a solid week's performance, rising against most currencies and recording a marginal new high for the year against the euro.  Sterling and the Australian dollar competed for the worst performer.  Both central banks pushed against market expectations for aggressive near-term tightening. The central banks trigger a short squeeze in the bond market, where 10-year benchmark yields from 10 bp in the US to 34 bp in Italy.  UK 10-year Gilts and...

If America’s total dependence on corporate profits and stock market/housing bubbles is just fine because the bubbles just keep inflating, there’s nothing left but rot. It’s becoming a routine story: a whistleblower emerges with copious documentation, revealing the ethical / managerial rot at the very top of Corporate America icons. Recently it was Facebook that was revealed as devoting far more resources to masking corporate guile than to actually improving...

The Federal Reserve concluded its November Meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday. According to the FOMC’s statement, the Fed now plans to taper beginning in mid-November by cutting back its asset purchases by 10 billion in Treasury securities and 5 billion in mortgage-backed securities. Right now, the Fed buys $80 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion in housing-backed securities each month. So, according to the FOMC statement: Beginning later...

For the first time since starting the Future of Finance Challenge in 2015, UBS has presented a Female Founder Award as part of its Future of Finance Challenge. Around one-third of the overall entries qualified for this award. Kimberley Abbott of Vested Impact won the Female Founder Award. This year’s «UBS Future of Finance Challenge» was a huge success with 475 high-quality submissions, from which the four winners of the overall competition were chosen. Fairly AI won...

When will precious metals markets finally make their move? It’s a question that has frustrated many investors in 2021. Gold and silver prices have remained stubbornly rangebound for the past several months. There is no way to know exactly when this consolidation period will end. Long-term investors would be wise to hold their core positions regardless of market conditions (and grow them when feasible). However, there are signs both technical and fundamental that...

As energy prices rocket, the meter is ticking on Switzerland’s future electricity security. © Keystone / Christian Beutler Households and businesses across Europe are facing a huge rise in electricity and heating costs this winter. Price hikes in Switzerland have so far been comparatively cushioned, but there are warnings of a potential energy crunch in the next few years. My specialty is telling stories, and decoding what happens in Switzerland and the world...