SNB & CHF

The vast majority of Mises Wire readers are already familiar with the Austrian business cycle theory. For those who are not, it is an Austrian perspective on what causes the sudden general cluster of business errors that results in a boom-bust cycle, with the busts being the recessions or depressions that we as a society so dread. Murray Rothbard explains this process in his America’s Great Depression: In sum, businessmen were misled by bank credit inflation to...

Swiss nurses are calling for better working conditions in an initiative being put to the vote on November 28. It was launched by the Alliance of Healthcare Professions, grouping more than 10 professional and trade union organisations. The Alliance wants the government and the cantons to beef up nurse training and guarantee certain working conditions and salary rates. The government says the initiative goes too far. --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting...

Overview:  While the Belarus-Poland border remains an intense standoff, there have been a couple other diplomatic developments that may be exciting risk appetites today.  First, Biden and Xi will talk by phone later today.  Second, reports suggest the UK has toned down its rhetoric making progress on talks on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.  Equities in the Asia Pacific region were mostly firmer, with China a notable exception among the large...

15.11.2021 – In 2020, 10 945 sentences and measures were executed in Switzerland (2019: 13 810). More than two thirds (67%) were for imprisonment in a penal institution. Community service accounted for less than a third (30%) of executions of sentences while electronic monitoring made up 3%. 86% concerned males and 42% Swiss citizens. The average population in penal institutions decreased by 6%. Data come from the Federal Statistical Office’s (FSO) execution of...

It makes perfect financial sense to crash the market and no sense to reward the retail options marks by pushing it higher. An extraordinary opportunity to scoop up mega-millions in profits has arisen, and grabbing all this free money makes perfect financial sense. Now the question is: will those who have the means to grab the dough have the guts to do so? Here’s the opportunity: retail punters have gone wild for call options, churning $2.6 trillion in mostly...

In einem Interview mit CNBC äußerte Michael Saylor seine Meinung zum aktuellen Bullenmarkt. Er glaubt, der BTC würde dauerhaft weitersteigen – einzig, wie schnell er wie hoch steigt, sei noch unklar. Sein Hauptargument für diese Meinung hängt jedoch weniger mit der aktuellen Inflationspolitik, sondern mit der technischen Natur des Bitcoin zusammen. Bitcoin News: Michael Saylor glaubt Bitcoin würde für immer weitersteigen Die Inflationspolitik der weltweiten...

© Eva Bocek | Dreamstime.com This week, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office published the latest cantonal GDP figures. Switzerland’s overall GDP growth in 2019 was 1.2%. However there were wide cantonal differences. The six fastest growing cantons in 2019 were Obwalden (+3.5%), Glarus (+3.2%), Zug (+2.7%), Basel-City (+2.6%), Luzern (+2.6%) and Valais (+2.5%). At the other end of the spectrum were the cantons ofBasel-Landschaft (-0.1%), Nidwalden (-0.3%) and...

Vaccine mandates are much easier to enforce thanks to the spread of government spending, government contracting, and monopolized government services. Original Article: “Employer Vaccine Mandates: When the Feds Pay the Piper, They Call the Tune​” Advocates for vaccine mandates—led by the Biden administration—are apparently unconcerned that the mandates are likely to drive down total employment and reduce access to government services. In many cases these are the...

The jump in US headline CPI above 6% crossed some Rubicon and injected dynamic into the process.  The dollar rallied, and new highs for the year were recorded against the euro and sterling.  The dovish tapering announcement by the Fed on November 3 was completely unwound as the December 2022 Fed funds futures returned to the high-yield mark of 66 bp ahead of the weekend.  The two-year yield rose from about 39 bp at the start of the last week to almost 55 bp.  The...