SNB & CHF

Stock Markets EM FX ended the week on a mixed note. US jobs data may refocus market attention on Fed tightening. Most EM inflation readings this week are expected to show easing price pressures, supporting a dovish EM central bank outlook. The major exceptions are Mexico and Turkey, whose central banks may be forced to tighten policy in the coming weeks. Stock Markets Emerging Markets, November 29 Source:...

The new monthly cycle of high frequency economic data has begun. The manufacturing PMI shows the synchronized global recovery is continuing. The service sector and composite PMI will be reported in the week ahead. They are unlikely altering the general expectation for robust growth in Q4. Even the disappointing US auto sales (17.35 mln seasonally-adjusted annual pace vs. expectations for 17.5 mln and 18.0 mln in...

Swiss beer fans can enjoy an increasingly diverse selection (Keystone/Angelika Warmuth) - Click to enlarge The amount of beer consumed in Switzerland declined last year, as it did for wine. Yet the number of specialist craft microbreweries continues to rise. Between October 2016 and September 2017, the Swiss drank 461 million litres of beer (54.5 litres per person) – down 0.2% on the previous reporting...

After the Swiss mountain village of Albinen hatched a plan to pay parents (CHF 25,000 each) and children (CHF 10,000 each) to move there, it has been inundated with applicants. Articles about the offer have been published by Time, The Sunday Times, The Sun, El Pais, and many other publications. Rather than celebrating, the picturesque town’s administration is unhappy. It published a statement on its website accusing...

Update: Cryptocurrencies are widely bid tonight with Bitcoin over $10,150, Ether holding $475, and LiteCoin topping $100 for the first time… LiteCoin Price in USD, Mar - Nov 2017(see more posts on Litecoin, ) - Click to enlarge Bitcoin has now soared over 20% since Black Friday’s close, topping $10,000 for the first time in history (rising from $9,000 in just 2 days)… now up over 950% year-to-date. image courtesy...

– We own gold bullion to “support national security” – Russian Central Bank– Russia warns Washington: Confiscating fx reserves would be “declaration of financial war” – Russia has quadrupled its gold bullion reserves in decade – BRICs discussing ‘the possibility of establishing a single (system of) gold trade’ – Russia, China & maybe Saudi Arabia form alliances to unseat petrodollar – Putin warns state-owned and...

Check the context before uncritically accepting sensationalist conclusions. Let’s start with a primer on how to write a sensationalist story that can be passed off as “journalism:” 1. Locate credible-sounding data that can be de-contextualized, i.e. sensationalized. 2. Present the data as “fact” rather than data that requires verification by disinterested researchers. 3. Exaggerate the data as much as possible and set...

Click here for the full transcript with slides: http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2017/12/02/the-roundtable-insight-charles-hugh-smith-insights-on-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies/

- Click to enlarge I stopped by Bloomberg near midday to talk with Vonnie Quinn and Shery Ahn. We talked about many macro issues, but this clip that Bloomberg provided covers is the one topic that has overshadowed the big rally in US equities, tax reform and Matt Lauer: Bitcoins. In this two minute clip, I mention that despite Bitcoins capturing the headlines, most Americans are not and cannot be involved....

– Bitcoin tops $10,000, soaring more than 850% since beginning of 2017 – Irrational exuberance arguably main driver of price performance – Google Trends shows search for ‘Bitcoin Bubble’ hit highest level this morning – Buyers need to be aware of hacking and security risks – Other primary risks to widespread adoption is volatility and liquidity risk – World’s largest online trading platform IG Markets suspends BTC...