SNB & CHF

Italian asset markets continue to fare better than many expected. The political uncertainty following the March election has been followed by confidence that the Five Star Movement and the (Northern) League will be able to put together a government in the coming days. If so, Italy would have taken half the time Germany did to cobble a government together after inconclusive elections. Politics makes for...

Sometimes Swiss voters are presented with questions that only specialists are equipped to answer. The vote on 10 June 2018 to change their monetary system appears to be one of these. © Valeriya Potapova | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge On the surface it appears simple. Upon closer inspection it contains much complexity and uncertainty, compounded by a widespread misunderstanding of how the financial system works –...

Swiss plans to reduce freight road traffic are set to miss targets. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge An increasing number of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are being pulled over for motoring offences at border crossings. Customs officials have reported 83% more violations in the last eight years, rising from 17,997 on 2010 to 32,967 last year. A further 24,464 fines and cautions were issued against HGVs according...

There are several trends in the capital markets at a high-level. The euro and yen’s decline has coincided with sustained rallies in European and Japanese equity benchmarks.  Emerging market equities and currencies have been trending lower. There are two other trends that arguably are reinforcing if not causing the other trends. Both oil prices and U0S interest rates have been trending higher. It is unusual but not...

Summary Bank Indonesia started a tightening cycle with a 25 bp hike to 4.5%. Jailed Malaysia opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was released by new Prime Minister Mahathir. Malaysia scrapped the controversial 6% goods and services tax (GST). Violent protests shook Israel as the relocated US embassy opened in Jerusalem. Argentina committed to fiscal tightening as part of a comprehensive IMF program. Brazil central bank...

May.21 -- Marc Chandler, senior vice president at Brown Brothers Harriman, discusses currencies, Federal Reserve monetary policy and the outlook for markets. He speaks with Tom Keene and Francine Lacqua on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

US 10-Year Surges, Emerging Markets Implode…Where Next for Gold? US 10-Year Yields Top 3%, US Dollar Pushes Higher Brent Hits $80, Highest in 4 years Emerging Market Chaos, the Lira and Peso in Freefall Italy’s New Coalition Signal Their Plans, Yields Jump Japanese Economy Contracts, GDP Worst Since 2015 And Where Next for Gold? Gold and silver ended the week down (USD -2.2%, GBP -1.4%, and EUR -0.5%) as rising US...

May.21 -- Marc Chandler, senior vice president at Brown Brothers Harriman, discusses currencies, Federal Reserve monetary policy and the outlook for markets. He speaks with Tom Keene and Francine Lacqua on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

Click here for full transcript: http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2018/05/20/the-roundtable-insight-charles-hugh-smith-on-the-intensifying-pension-crisis

Swiss Rail has dropped plans to install Wi-Fi in its trains, according to the newspaper Le Matin. © Katie Nesling | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge After a survey revealed that customers would only use on-board Wi-Fi it was free, the company decided there was no justifiable way to cover the cost, according the the newspaper. Swiss Rail is not prepared to bear the costs the mobile operators would charge them for the...