SNB & CHF

Erik Townsend welcomes back Jeffrey Snider to MacroVoices. Erik and Jeffrey discuss the Basel Accords, capital reserve ratios and risk weighting assets. The further discuss the leverage in bank capital, adoption of the JPM RiskMetrics and illustrations of the basic interbank functions.

© Erix2005 | Dreamstime - Click to enlarge On Wednesday, Switzerland’s Federal Council said it would stand behind the country’s winter Olympic bid to the tune of nearly one billion francs, according to newspaper 20 Minutes. The town of Sion, in Valais, is throwing its Olympic hat into the ring as the centerpiece for the 2026 winter games. Other cantons would also host certain events. In autumn 2019, a choice will be...

Last year Switzerland’s government announced plans to change the rules on charging VAT on imported goods. © Rido Dreamstime - Click to enlarge Currently, most things ordered abroad and sent through the post to Switzerland that attract VAT of less than CHF 5, are waived through customs free of charge. This means if you buy clothing worth less than CHF 62.50, or books worth less than CHF 200, there is no import charge –...

Last year Switzerland’s government announced plans to change the rules on charging VAT on imported goods. © Rido Dreamstime - Click to enlarge Currently, most things ordered abroad and sent through the post to Switzerland that attract VAT of less than CHF 5, are waived through customs free of charge. This means if you buy clothing worth less than CHF 62.50, or books worth less than CHF 200, there is no import charge –...

– 10 year anniversary of pre-Global Financial Crisis market peak in S&P 500 on October 9th– Gold up 74% since the last market peak a decade ago; 11% pa in USD, 9.4% pa in EUR and 12.4% pa in GBP– Precious metal has climbed $736/oz on Oct 9th 2007 to $1278.75 ten-years later– S&P 500’s 102% climb is thanks to asset-pumping policies by central banks, rather than value– Gold’s performance is slowly forcing...

– 10 year anniversary of pre-Global Financial Crisis market peak in S&P 500 on October 9th– Gold up 74% since the last market peak a decade ago; 11% pa in USD, 9.4% pa in EUR and 12.4% pa in GBP– Precious metal has climbed $736/oz on Oct 9th 2007 to $1278.75 ten-years later– S&P 500’s 102% climb is thanks to asset-pumping policies by central banks, rather than value– Gold’s performance is slowly forcing...

Here’s a chart of our fabulous always-higher GDP, adjusted for another bogus metric, official inflation. The theme this week is The Rot Within. The rot eating away at our society and economy is typically papered over with bogus statistics that “prove” everything’s getting better every day in every way. The prime “proof” of rising prosperity is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which never fails to loft higher, with the...

The rot within manifested by the pharmaceutical industry almost defies description. The theme this week is The Rot Within. America’s Pharmaceutical industry takes pride of place in this week’s theme of The Rot Within, as the industry has raised fraud, exploitation and collusion to systemic perfection. What other industry can routinely kill hundreds of thousands of Americans and suffer no blowback? Only recently has the...

Summary: Abe’s political gamble appears likely to pay off. The third arrow of structural reforms continues. The FSA is continuing to push for shareholder value. Foreign investors have gone on a three-week buying spree that appears to be the largest in years, and the Nikkei is leading G7 bourses higher this month. Japan’s Abe’s gamble to call snap elections shortly after the stunning defeat in the Tokyo...

On Wednesday, the Federal Council said it will cut Switzerland’s TV-Radio tax from CHF 451 to CHF 365 annually from 2019. © Tammy Mcallister Dreamstime - Click to enlarge According to Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, the cut is made possible by cost savings from simplifying the system and an increase in the numbers who will pay it – everyone will soon pay, not just those with a receiving device. At CHF 365, it will...