SNB & CHF

A plane lands at Zurich Airport, which handled more than two million passengers in November 2017 Swiss business hubs like Zurich are more globally accessible than they were a few years ago. According to the latest “accessibility index” from economic research institute BAK Economicsexternal link in Basel, Zurich has jumped in the rankings from 34 to 28. This is due to improved connections to business hubs in China, India...

Repeating Patterns and Positioning A noteworthy confluence of patterns in gold and gold stocks is in evidence this year. At the close of trading on December 26, the HUI Index has given a (tentative) buy signal by completing a unique chart pattern, which is why we decided to briefly discuss the situation. As usual, things are not as straightforward and simple as they would ideally be, but there is always an element of...

 Swiss balance of payments and international investment position: Q3 2017 Current Account  The Swiss current account surplus went down by 15% against the same quarter in 2016. In the third quarter of 2015. The current account surplus was still at 22 bn. CHF. It seems to be a change in the usual movement that sees higher Q3 surpluses compared to the other quarters. The surplus in Q2/2017 was similar to the one in...

The BoJ remains the last major central bank still firmly committed to large-scale monetary easing. After its Monetary Policy Meeting of December 21, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced its intention to keep its current monetary easing programme intact. The BOJ will continue with its “Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing with Yield Curve Control ”, aiming to achieve and overshoot the core inflation target of 2%....

Ski lifts in and around St Moritz in the Engadine Valley have started accepting Bitcoins as payment for passes. According to Swiss public television, SRF, and the newspaper Südostschweiz, Engadin St Moritz is the first Swiss lift company to recognise payments with cryptocurrencies. Company director Markus Meili told Südostschweiz he wasn’t worried about the Bitcoin bubble bursting – despite its value surging from...

Erik Townsend welcomes Jeffrey Snider, Mark Yusko and Luke Gromen to MacroVoices. In part 3 of the 5 part series, Mark Yusko and Luke Gromen present: -- U.S. Dollar Cyclical Pattern -- . Erik Townsend welcomes Jeffrey Snider, Mark Yusko and Luke Gromen to MacroVoices. In part 3 of the 5 part s, Mark Yusko and Luke Gromen present: -- U.S. Dollar Cyclical Pattern -- .

Seit der Aufhebung der Golddeckung durch Präsident Nixon im Jahre 1971 sind die meisten Währungen der westlichen Welt reines Fiatgeld. Was heisst das? Zur Beantwortung der Frage beziehe ich mich ganz bewusst – wie übrigens soweit möglich im ganzen Text – auf keine Lehrbücher oder anderes universitäres Material. In Wikipedia (Stand 3.9.2017) steht: „Fiatgeld (…) ist ein Objekt ohne inneren Wert, das als Tauschmittel...

The launch of futures on Bitcoins was rushed so quickly through the regulatory channels that the anticipation was short-lived. And as the recent price action amply demonstrates, the existence of a derivative market has not tamed the digital token’s volatility. It is still the early days, but Bitcoin futures do not look likely to change the world. On the other hand, any day now China is expected to launch a futures...

Having laid down our expectations for the World economy in 2018, in this note we describe a number of potential surprises to the outlook. The usual suspects, or ‘known unknowns’, include a larger-than-expected fiscal boost from US tax cuts, (geo-)political risks, economic policy mistakes, inflation surprises, a financial bubble burst, or a Minsky moment in China, to name a few. We chose to include some of the...

  A Difficult, but Also Exciting Year… Dear Readers, Another year is coming to a close, and the team at Acting Man wishes you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays and all the best for the new year. You have probably noticed that your main scribe was a lot less prolific this year than he normally tends to be; unfortunately, we were held back by health-related issues. We remain among the quick though...