SNB & CHF

The ECB meets Thursday, and it may be best conceived as a transition meeting. It will lay the rhetorical groundwork for two things: a likely downgrade to the staff’s growth forecasts and moving toward a new round of long-term loans (targeted long-term refinance operations). Draghi’s speech last week to the European Parliament anticipated the themes he can be expected to develop in his press conference on Thursday. The...

© Erix2005 | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s unemployment rate, now 2.6%, hasn’t been so low for 10 years, according to the latest figures from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). A weakening of the Swiss franc helped boost Switzerland’s economic growth, creating more jobs. The unemployment rate among young workers (15-24) dropped 0.7% to 2.4% as did unemployment among the 50+ (-0.3% to 2.5%). All...

“Something wicked this way comes” warns John Mauldin Shaky China: Chinese landing could be harder than expected Brexit and EU Breakage: “I have long thought the EU will eventually fall apart” Helpless Europe: If Germany sneezes, their banks & the rest of continent catches cold We may see “yellow vests” spread globally: Economics is about to get interesting … by John Mauldin via Thoughts from the Frontline For a...

Last week, we joked that we don’t challenge beliefs. Here’s one that we want to challenge today: the dollar doesn’t work as a currency, because it’s losing value. Even the dollar’s proponents, admit it loses value. The Fed itself states that its mandate is price stability—which it admits means relentless two percent annual debasement (Orwell would be proud). So there is no question that the dollar loses value. The only...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.02% at 1.1328 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The US dollar is firmer against most major and emerging market currencies. The yen is a notable exception, and it is firmer, but well within recent ranges. The dollar-bloc currencies and the Norwegian krona are the weakest of the...

The rise of service sector jobs will continue to boost part-time positions. Part-time work in Switzerland continues to increase, with the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office showing that over a third of employees work less than 90%. The figures, said the statistical office on Thursdayexternal link, show a marked increase in part-time work over the past 20 years: from 26.3% to 36.7%. This puts Switzerland...

The social media/search giants have mastered the dark arts of obfuscating how they’re reaping billions of dollars in profits from monetizing user data, and lobbying technologically naive politicos to leave their vast skimming operations untouched. I’ve been commenting on the cancerous disease that’s taken control of the Internet– what Shoshana Zuboff calls Surveillance Capitalism–for many years. Here is a selection of...

Crypto-friendly Swiss regulation and data security has enticed many people to keep their bitcoin in Swiss vaults. Bitcoin services provider Xapo is winding down activities at its Hong Kong base and transferring key operations to Switzerland. Xapo president Ted Rogers said the move has been driven by Switzerland’s friendlier regulatory environment. “It was once thought that Hong Kong was the holy grail of crypto...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.12% at 1.1332 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 21(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Mixed data from China and the anticipation of Prime Minister May’s “Plan B” are the main talking points, while US stock and bond markets are closed today. Asia Pacific equities were higher, while European markets have failed to follow...