SNB & CHF

Unless we change the fundamental structure of the economy so that actually producing goods and services and hiring people is more profitable than playing financial games with phantom assets, the end-game of financialization is financial collapse. I presented this chart of rising wealth inequality a number of times over the past year. Do you notice something peculiar about the inflection points in the 1980s? US...

  Wrong Focus If one searches for news on LIBOR (=London Interbank Offered Rate, i.e., the rate at which banks lend dollars to each other in the euro-dollar market), they are currently dominated by Deutsche Bank getting slapped with a total fine of $775 million for the part it played in manipulating the benchmark rate in collusion with other banks (fine for one count of wire fraud: US$150 m.; additional shakedown by US...

(draft of monthly column for Caixin) The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States surprised many people, even seasoned political observers and astute investors. He failed to win the popular vote but did carry the electoral college, which is how the US elects its chief executive. His victory is a bit of a Rorshcach test, where people project the issues that allowed Trump to succeed, with...

In March 2017, the KOF Economic Barometer rose by 0.7 points to a new reading of 107.6. It thus reinforces its previous month’s climb to a level clearly above its long-term average. This indicates that the Swiss economy should grow at above average rates in the near future. In March 2017, the KOF Economic Barometer climbed from 106.9 in February (revised down from 107.2) by 0.7 points to a level of 107.6....

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, March 31(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar fell against all the major currencies in the first three months of 2017. The weakness initially seemed to be a correction to the rally, which began before the US election last year.  The dollar recovered in February, in anticipation of a hawkish Fed in March. The Fed did hike rates, but the...

Summary Former Korean President Park was arrested. Hungary’s central bank was more dovish than expected. South African President Zuma finally fired Finance Minister Gordhan. Brazil’s meat industry may have seen the worst of the scandal. Banco de Mexico slowed the pace of tightening. Stock Markets In the EM equity space as measured by MSCI, Colombia (+2.0%), Brazil (+2.0%), and Singapore (+1.2%) have outperformed this...

EUR/CHF The SNB is intervening for 3 bn. CHF per week, this is far too much at these elevated Euro and Dollar levels. With two times positive economic data (here and here) about good news on internal demand, she might be finally be ready to let the euro fall. EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, March 30(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF The Pound to Swiss Franc exchange rate has opened up flat...

As the UK triggered its formal departure from the European Union yesterday, gold demand from UK investors remained ongoing and robust with increased numbers of British investors diversifying into physical gold in order to hedge the considerable uncertainty and volatility that the coming months and years will bring. The U.K. government yesterday triggered Article 50–the legal mechanism which will start negotiations on...

The Market Has its Head Buried Deep In The Sand Several “black swans” are looming which could inflict a financial nuclear accident on the U.S. markets and financial system. I say “black swans” in quotes because a limited audience is aware of these issues – potentially catastrophic problems that are curiously ignored by the mainstream financial media and financial markets. The most immediate problem is the Treasury...

Last weekend, European leaders gathered in Rome for the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. They discussed, not for the first time, how to get the EU back on track. And they told each other they are still committed to the Union and believe in its future. (We’ve heard that one before, too.) But let’s just suppose that, when the European leaders sat down for lunch at the Quirinal Palace, some of them had a little too...