SNB & CHF

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.01% to 1.0635 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 26(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: It may be that a new surge in virus cases will elicit more policy support from officials, but the immediate focus may be on the economic disruption. The number of US cases is reaching records, and at least a couple of states are stopping their re-opening efforts. Several other...

The Swiss National Bank has today published its report Banks in Switzerland 2019 and the corresponding data for its annual banking statistics.1 The most important figures are summarised below. 1The figures in Banks in Switzerland are based on data in banks’ (parent companies’) individual financial statements, as required by law. The reporting entity ‘parent company’ includes bank offices in Switzerland and legally dependent branches abroad. Banks’ consolidated...

The hospitality sector including restaurants were one of the biggest recipients of financial support during the crisis. Keystone / Pablo Gianinazzi An interim report on government pay-outs to businesses during the Covid-19 crisis has revealed that there is suspected abuse in less than 1% of cases. Тhe Federal Audit Office investigated some 94,000 coronavirus loans amounting to CHF11.4 billion ($12 billion). It found indications of abuse in about 400 cases, which...

A hotel in Zurich: there are a lot less jobs going in this sector right now. Keystone / Gaetan Bally New job offers have dropped by over a quarter in Switzerland due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with hotel, restaurant, and personal services sectors worst hit. Between April and June, job postings went down by 27%, the human resources firm Adecco Switzerland reported on Tuesday. Anna von Ow, a University of Zurich researcher who worked on the report, said the collapse in...

Higher infection numbers in the US and other countries continue to fuel risk aversion across global markets; the IMF released more pessimistic global growth forecasts yesterday The US has rekindled trade provocations against China through Huawei; weekly jobless claims will be reported; regional Fed manufacturing surveys for June will continue to roll out Fitch cut Canada’s rating by a notch to AA+ with stable outlook; Mexico is expected to cut rates 50 bp to 5.0%;...

In the false religion of data, heresy is asking for data that is not being collected because it might reveal unpalatably unprofitable realities. Here’s how every modern con starts: let’s look at the data. Every modern con starts with an earnest appeal to look at the data because the con artist has assembled the data to grease the slides of the con. We have been indoctrinated into a new and false religion, the faith of data. We’ve been relentlessly indoctrinated with...

◆ World’s wealthy are being urged by their financial advisers to hold more gold as they question the strength of the stock market rally and are concerned about the long-term impact of global central banks’ cash splurge. ZURICH /LONDON (via Reuters) – As stock markets roar back from the coronavirus led rout, advisers to the world’s wealthy are urging them to hold more gold, questioning the strength of the rally and the long-term impact of global central banks’ cash...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.17% to 1.0644 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 25(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Given the huge run-up in risk assets this quarter, and the technical indicators warning of corrective forces, concerns over the new infections is pushing on an open door. The S&P 500 gapped lower yesterday and fell 2.6%, led by energy and airlines. The NASDAQ snapped an eight-day...

In spite of renewed fears of coronavirus clusters in Beijing, data last week suggested the more consumer-oriented sides of the Chinese economy were tracking improvements in industry, with a year-on-year increase in auto sales in May. UK retail sales were also encouraging, but the biggest surprise came from the US where May’s 18% rise in retail sales month on month was double analysts’ expectations. Popular metrics like pedestrian, air and auto traffic, credit card...

Roche’s HQ, overlooking the Rhine river in Basel. Keystone / Georgios Kefalas It was the start of one of the most unusual cross-cultural marriages when Roche bought a controlling stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical for $1.4bn back in 2002, promising arm’s length management. In the course of the 18 months of negotiations it took to reach a deal, Chugai, a Japanese pioneer in biotechnology, presented a single sheet of paper with a list of conditions it would not budge on,...