SNB & CHF

See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. Fundamental Developments Last week he price of gold was up nine bucks, and that of silver 6 cents. These small changes mask the relatively big drop on Tuesday—$13 in gold and $0.48 in silver — and recovery the rest of the week. The gains above previous week occurred on Thursday. Speculators have lately warmed up to...

We do not like Purchasing Power or Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) as measurement for currencies. For us, the trade balance decides if a currency is overvalued. Only the trade balance can express productivity gains, while the REER assumes constant productivity in comparison to trade partners. Who has read Michael Pettis, knows that a rising trade surplus may also be caused by a higher savings rate while the trade...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.11% to 1.1375 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar has recouped most of yesterday’s declines. However, as we have seen over the past couple of sessions, he North American market appears more dollar negative than Europe or Asia. The dollar’s rise through the European morning has...

Payerne Airport officials hope to increase the number of civilian flights from 400 a year to 8,400. (Keystone) After years of negotiations, Payerne’s regional civilian airport and future business aviation hub is starting to take shape. The first stone of an airport building in northwest Switzerland has been laid. “It’s a day of celebration and joy,” Fribourg businessman Damien Piller told reporters at a ceremony to mark...

- Click to enlarge Quelle est la raison profonde – intime –des crises financières ? Comment sont provoqués les kracks et pourquoi les bulles implosent-elles ? Toujours pour une simple et unique raison qui est que les paris irraisonnés et démesurés entrepris par le monde de la finance le sont avec de l’argent emprunté ! Le dernier épisode de crise grave – les subprimes – n’ayant à cet égard pas failli à cette...

Milestones in the Pursuit of Insolvency A new milestone on the American populaces’ collective pursuit of insolvency was reached this week. According to a report published on Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, total U.S. household debt jumped to a new record high of $12.84 trillion during the second quarter. This included an increase of $552 billion from a year ago. United States Consumer DebtUS consumer...

Industrial Production disappointed in the US last month, dragged down by auto production. Despite the return of an oil sector tailwind, IP was up just 2.2% year-over-year in July 2017 according to Federal Reserve statistics. It marks the fourth consecutive month stuck around 2% growth. The lack of further acceleration is unusual in the historical context, especially following an extended period of contraction. This...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.03% to 1.1352 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 21(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar is mostly firmer against most of the major and emerging market currencies. The main impetus appears to be some position adjustment emanating from equities. The equity markets turned south in the second half of last week and...

The Sage of Omaha’s adage is “it’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.” Berkshire Hathaway Welling Cash Pile, Q2 2013 - Q2 2017 - Click to enlarge But for Warren Buffett the current environment doesn’t appear to be offering up any wonderful companies at fair valuations. The situation is so bad that the cash stockpile of Berkshire Hathaway has more than...

The Swiss National Bank’s investment in US nuclear arms fabrication has soared since last year. (Keystone) A wide range of topics occupied Swiss newspapers this weekend, from Swiss investments in US arms companies and requirements for FIFA World Cup host countries, to what to do in the event of a terror attack. A critique of Geneva’s relationship with the Red Cross also made headlines. Swiss arms investments The NZZ am...