SNB & CHF

« La vie humaine est devenue plus sacrifiable » : pourquoi l’esclavage n’a-t-il jamais rapporté autant d’argent. Une nouvelle étude montre que l’esclavage moderne est plus lucratif que jamais, les trafiquants du sexe engrangeant des bénéfices records. Aujourd’hui, les marchands d’esclaves enregistrent un retour sur investissement 25 à 30 fois plus important que leurs semblables aux 18e et 19e siècles. Siddharth Kara, un...

Stock Markets EM FX ended last week on a strong note, buoyed by perceived dovishness from Yellen at the Jackson Hole symposium. However, US jobs data this Friday could test the market’s convictions. Within EM, data are likely to support our view that EM central banks can retain their largely dovish posture into 2018. Stock Markets Emerging Markets, August 23 Source: economist.com - Click to enlarge Mexico...

Summary: EMU preliminary August CPI headline rise may not translate into core. US jobs growth is fine; earnings growth is key. Trump’s coalition is fraying, and the weekend pardon will not help mend fences. The US dollar’s consolidation ended with an exclamation point last week.  The downtrend since the beginning of the year is resuming, and there is a reasonable risk that the pace accelerates. In addition to...

Swiss Franc Speculators were net short CHF in January 2015, shortly before the end of the peg, with 26.4K contracts. Then again in December 2015, when they expected a Fed rate hike, with 25.5K contracts. The biggest short CHF, however, happened in June 2007, when speculators were net short 80K contracts. Shortly after, the U.S. subprime crisis started. The carry trade against CHF collapsed. The...

Summary Home ownership varies throughout the EU but is overall near US levels. Germany has the lowest home ownership, and Spain has the most.  Italy has the least amount of mortgages. US include owner equivalent rents in CPI, the EU does not. This Great Graphic was in the Financial Times recently. It shows home ownership rates several EU countries.  The useful chart also shows those who own (red bar) and those...

The family of the murdered au pair hold up a picture of Lucie (picture from 2009) (Keystone) The parents of a 16-year-old au pair who was murdered in canton Aargau eight years ago have received compensation from the canton in an out-of-court settlement. The authorities have admitted that they made mistakes. It marks the end of a long legal battle by the parents of Lucie, who was murdered by a former convict who had been...

A number of people have forwarded this Bloomberg article – Wall Street Banks Warn Downturn Is Coming –  to me over the last couple of days. That fact alone is probably a good argument to ignore it but I can’t help but read articles like this if for no other reason than to know what the crowd is thinking.  The gist of the article is that a bunch of sell side analysts think we are nearing the end of the current business...

The Census Bureau reported today updated estimates for Durable Goods in July 2017. Quite frankly, nothing has changed so minimal commentary is all that is required. The aircraft anomaly from last month faded, leaving total new orders of $229.2 billion (seasonally-adjusted). That is less than in May before the Boeing surge, and less even than estimated order volume in March 2017. US Durable Goods Orders, Jul 1993 -...

USD/CHF The dollar had some gains versus the franc during the last month, but it lost all during the last days. EUR/CHF The euro is still around 1.14, this is up 2.5% against one month ago. The rising momentum for EUR/CHF, however, seems to be fading. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 26(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge Swiss Franc Currency Index (3...

Daniel Neuenschwander oversees the launching of rockets taking satellites into space. The 42-year-old is the first Swiss director at the European Space Agency, ESA. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) Since the foundation of the European Space Agency, ESA over 40 years ago, Switzerland has collaborated on developing rockets and research programmes, and contributes to ESA's budget.  Since September 2016, ESA has also had a Swiss Director of Space Transportation. Daniel Neuenschwander is one of ten directors...