SNB & CHF

Let’s start with Frederic Bastiat’s 170-year old parable of the broken window. A shopkeeper has a broken window. The shopkeeper is, of course, upset at the loss of six francs (0.06oz gold, or about $75). Bastiat discusses a then-popular facile argument: the glass guy is making money (to which all we can say is, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”). Bastiat says it is true, and this is the seen. The glazier does...

The tit-for-tat strategies between Switzerland and the EU appear to take their course over access to each other’s stock exchanges and a framework agreement. The Swiss finance ministry has reaffirmed that it is ready to ban stock exchanges in the European Union from trading Swiss shares – in a worsening row with Brussels over the future of bilateral relations. “In the event of stock market equivalence not being extended,...

One reason why Japanese bond yields are approaching records like their German counterparts is the global economy indicated in Japan’s economic accounts. As in Germany, Japan is an outward facing system. It relies on the concept of global growth for marginal changes. Therefore, if the global economy is coming up short, we’d see it in Japan first and maybe best. I wrote in April last year how Japanese Industrial...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.12% at 1.1099 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 24(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The Trump-Xi meeting at the G20 this coming weekend and heightened tensions in the Gulf, with the US set to impose new sanctions on Iran’s crippled economy are keeping investors on edge. News the opposition won the re-do of the...

Hackathons are high-octane events that challenge teams to provide solutions using technology More than 200 hackers from 19 countries converged on Switzerland at the weekend to take part in the Swiss Blockchain Hackathon. Participants were challenged to come up with blockchain innovations in a variety of sectors as diverse as finance, logistics and agriculture. Switzerland has hosted numerous hackathons over the past few...

Current Account Key figures: Current Account: Up 2.35% against Q1/2018 to 17.2 bn. CHF of which Goods Trade Balance:  Minust 0.62% against Q1/2018 to 15.9 bn. of which the Services Balance: Plus 21.1% to 6.8 bn. of which Investment Income: Plus 5.8% to 3.5 bn. CHF.   Current Account Switzerland Q1 2019(see more posts on Switzerland Balance of Payments, Switzerland Capital Account, Switzerland Current Account,...

Central banks are prepared to take fresh measures to strengthen and extend the business cycle primarily because price pressures are below what their predecessors thought would be acceptable levels. Draghi, speaking for the ECB, the Federal Reserve, and the Bank of Japan ratcheted up their concerns, which, even without new initiatives, were sufficient to drive interest rates lower. Eurozone There is no real definition...

The Swiss online shopping trend is particularly benefiting foreign retailers. Online shopping accounts for an ever bigger slice of the Swiss retail market as shopping via smartphone also becomes more popular with consumers, says a new report. Last year, Swiss consumers placed online orders worth a total of almost CHF 10 billion ($10 billion), according to the “E-Commerce Report 2019” published on Thursday. This...

The asymmetries are piling up and we’re cracking under the weight. Judging by the record-high stock market and the record-low unemployment rate, the “recovery” has reached new heights of prosperity. Academics and think-tankers viewing the global economy from 40,000 feet are brimming with policies to bring the remaining laggards into the booming economy. You can imagine them rubbing their hands with glee as they quote...

© Marc Bruxelle _ Dreamstime.com In 2018, Switzerland and the EU struck a deal to extend Swiss stock market equivalence until 30 June 2019, a date fast approaching. Stock market equivalence makes a trade on the Swiss stock exchange equivalent to a trade on an exchange in an EU country. This allows trades to be pooled across countries, something that supports global trade and improves international market liquidity, a...