SNB & CHF

The Swiss central bank confirmed a record CHF54 billion overall profit in 2017 (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The Swiss National Bank (SNB) was less active on the foreign exchange markets last year, acquiring CHF48.2 billion ($50.8 billion) in foreign currency to weaken the franc. On Thursday, the central bank nonetheless confirmed massive profits on currency holdings in 2017. In 2017, the SNB purchased...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.37% to 1.167 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, March 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar has not recovered from the judgment that yesterday’s that Fed was not as hawkish as many had anticipated. There was no indication that officials thought they were behind the curve or prepared to accelerate the pace of hikes....

Last week, work started on a project to construct 1,000 apartments in Geneva. The project known as the Quartier de l’Etang will unfold over an 11 hectare site in Vernier, not far from Geneva airport. The video above shows the commencement ceremony and a computer animation of the completed project. The man behind it, Claude Berda, is a French-Swiss billionaire who started out selling jeans in the corridors of Dauphine...

Collectively, the central bank sector claims to hold the world’s largest above ground gold bar stockpile, some 33,800 tonnes of gold bars. Individually within this group, some central banks claim to be the top holders of gold bullion in the world, with individual holdings in the thousands of tonnes range. This worldwide central bank group, also known as the official sector, spans central banks (such as the Deutsche...

Solutions are only possible outside these ossified, self-serving centralized hierarchies. Correspondent Dan F. asked me to reprint some posts on solutions to the systemic problems I’ve outlined for years, most recently in How Much Longer Can We Get Away With It? and Checking In on the Four Intersecting Cycles. I appreciate the request, because it’s all too easy to dwell on what’s broken rather than on the difficult task...

Divergences Continue to Send Warning Signals The chart formation built in the course of the early February sell-off and subsequent rebound continues to look ominous, so we are closely watching the proceedings. There are now numerous new divergences in place that clearly represent a major warning signal for the stock market. For example, here is a chart comparing the SPX to the NDX (Nasdaq 100 Index) and the broad-based...

„Schuldfrei“ – so soll unser Geld zukünftig in Umlauf kommen. Das Wort „schuldfrei“ ist positiv besetzt. Wer möchte nicht schuldfrei sein? Jedermann. „Schuldfrei“ ist das zentrale Wort im Initiativtext der kommenden Vollgeld-Initiative, über die das Schweizervolk am 10. Juni 2018 abstimmen wird. Die Initiative kommt daher wie der Wolf im Schafspelz. Absatz 3 des Initiativtextes besagt: „Sie (die SNB) bringt im Rahmen...

Switzerland has a system of compulsory health insurance. Residents must choose an insurer and pay. Those who don’t are automatically signed up and sent a bill. © Auremar | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge Other than shopping around, choosing a policy with an excess, a sum that must be covered out of your own pocket before the insurance kicks in, is one of the few ways to reduce your premium. Like much insurance in...

The Shell Eni corporate bribery trial is billed as the biggest in history. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has blocked various bank accounts in Switzerland regarding an alleged oil bribery scheme linked to Nigeria. Executives from oil giants Shell and Eni are due to stand trial in Milan, Italy, in May. At the request of the Milan public prosecutor, the...

– $8.8B Sprott Inc. sees higher gold on massive consumer debt, defaults & bankruptcies – Rising and record U.S. debt load may cause financial stress, weaken dollar and see gold go higher– Massive government and consumer debt eroding benefits of wage growth (see chart) by Bloomberg Rising U.S. interest rates, usually bad news for gold, are instead feeding signs of financial stress among debt-laden consumers and...