SNB & CHF

Yield curve control, remember that one? For a little while earlier this year, the modestly reflationary selloff in bonds around the world was prematurely oversold as some historically significant beginning to a massive, conclusive regime change. Inflation had finally been achieved across multiple geographies, it was widely repeated, and this would create problems, purportedly, as these various places would have to grapple with higher interest rates. The idea behind...

On 8 July 2021, the Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) published unemployment figures for June 2021. © Fizkes | Dreamstime.com By the end of June 2021, there were close to 132,000 people registered as unemployed across Switzerland, 11,000 fewer than at the end of May 2021, bringing Switzerland’s overall unemployment rate down from 3.1% to 2.8%. Youth employment dropped particularly sharply compared to a year earlier. Unemployment among this age group (15-24) was...

CO2 emissions from heating oil and gas only dropped slightly last year despite mild winter temperatures. © Keystone/Gaetan Bally Switzerland has again failed to meet its goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, prompting a rise in CO2 taxes. Last year emissions from fuel, including heating oil and gas, were 31% lower than 1990 levels, according to data released by the Federal OfficeExternal link for the Environment on Wednesday. This is unchanged from 2019 and...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.51% to 1.0852 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 08(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The dramatic move in the capital markets continues. The US dollar is soaring as yields and equities slide. The US 10-year yield has fallen below 1.30 to 1.26% European benchmark yields are 1-4 bp lower, while Australia and New Zealand have seen a 7-9 bp drop today. Signals that the...

THE GLOBAL financial crisis of 2007-09 was socially divisive as well as economically destructive. It inspired a resentful backlash, exemplified by America’s Tea Party. That crisis at least had the tact to spread financial pain across the rich as well as the poor, however. The share of global wealth held by the top “one percent” actually fell in 2008. The pandemic has been different. Amid all the misery and mortality, the number of millionaires rose last year by 5.2m...

Britain’s economy had been suffering chronic unemployment for a decade prior to 1936. Economic theory as it was then understood clearly showed that the cause of a market surplus was sellers asking a price in excess of what buyers are willing to pay. If buyers and sellers simply disagree, then so be it. But if the situation is aggravated by excessive regulation or other institutional problems, then economists would advise dissolving institutional barriers that prevent...

Money supply growth slowed again in May, falling for the third month in a row, and to a 15-month low. That is,  money supply growth in the US has come down from its unprecedented levels, and if the current trend continues will be returning to more “normal” levels. Yet, even with this slowdown, money-supply growth remains near some of the highest levels recorded in past cycles. During May 2021, year-over-year (YOY) growth in the money supply was at 15.3 percent....

In Switzerland, 20% of people over 80 have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 at a time when the fast spreading Delta variant is gaining ground, said Alain Berset, Switzerland’s health minister, in an interview with the NZZ reported RTS. © Arne9001 | Dreamstime.com Berset said he’s concerned that too many people do not want to get vaccinated. But in rest homes we have a worse problem, he said. A considerable portion of staff working in rest homes or offering home...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.03% to 1.0922 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 07(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The dollar has steadied after surging yesterday and has so far retained the lion’s share of its gains, though it remains lower against most major currencies today. The dollar-bloc and Norwegian krone are the best performers while the yen is underperforming. The freely accessible...

Tiny landlocked Switzerland is a big player in the commodity trading business. The country's involvement in this industry can be traced back to the 15th century, when its ideal central location had merchants from all over Europe meeting on its city square to exchange goods. Today, commodities are shipped around the world in huge container ships, and the trading mostly happens in climatised offices, far away from the mines and ports. Giants such as Glencore, Vitol and Trafigura have their...