SNB & CHF

This is what our mode of production optimizes: ugliness, debt-serfdom, and servitude to politically dominant corporations. An insightful correspondent recently remarked on the striking transition of American neighborhoods from commercial districts dominated by locally owned businesses to streets lined with look-alike outlets of Corporate America. This transition is so obvious that few even comment on it, much less ask...

Another problem is the rise of social discord, for reasons that extend beyond the reach of tax reductions and increased infrastructure spending. Have you noticed that the breathless anticipation of the next central bank “save” has diminished? Remember when the financial media was in a tizzy of excitement, speculating on what new central bank expansion would send the global markets higher in paroxysms of risk-on joy?...

Will EUR/CHF fall to 1.00 The reader might have seen the latest Swiss Consumer Sentiment and the UBS consumption indicator. They suggest that the Swiss boom phase should finally come. I anticipated the boom already in my slides for the CFA Society. The Swiss boom was postponed when the SNB decided to remove the euro peg in early 2015. What is the definition of a “boom”? It is economic activity mostly driven by...

Gold prices rising & up 6.6% YTD Signal “impending market volatility” World has never been more uncertain (see chart) Fear in Wall Street versus Fear in Washington Price of ‘plunge protection’ rising even as VIX remains low Smart money diversifying into gold Important to watch rising gold and rising bond yields  Gold may prove the “tell” Uncertainty Is At Record Highs 1990 - 2016 - Click to enlarge Bloomberg...

The CFTC on Monday fined Forex Capital Markets, parent FXCM Holdings LLC and founding partners Dror Niv and William Ahdout to pay $7 million to settle charges it defrauded retail foreign exchange customers and engaging in false and misleading solicitations. As part of the settlement, FXCM agreed to withdraw its registration and never seek to register with the CFTC again, effectively banning it from operating in the...

Sterling is having an interesting day. It fell in the face of the US dollar’s bounce but has recovered fully. It has not yet traded above yesterday’s high (~$1.2510) but it may. It does appear to be tracing out a hammer in Japanese candle stick terms. Demand emerged (support) near the 50% retracement objective of advance off the January 16 dip below $1.20. That retracement was $1.2346 and today’s low was one hundredth...

By EconMatters We discuss the manner in which Central Banks have destroyed financial markets, and have the stage for what I label as the Red Swan Event in this video. When the Swiss National Bank holds risky Tech stocks in its portfolio, we are in unchartered territory! We had the Financial Crisis of 2008, and instead of learning from the mistakes of incentivizing excessive risk taking, the Central Banks were allowed to...

Bern, 07.02.2017 – Consumer sentiment in Switzerland has significantly improved according to the latest survey*. The index has climbed to -3 points, rising above its long-term average. Consumers are clearly more optimistic about where they feel the economy is going as well as being less gloomy about the future development of unemployment and their own financial situation. This is thus the first time that consumers have...

See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. Gold and Silver Divergence – Precious Metals Supply and Demand Last week, the prices of the metals went up, with the gold price rising every day and the silver price stalling out after rising 42 cents on Tuesday. The gold-silver ratio went up a bit this week, an unusual occurrence when prices are rising. Everyone knows...

In 1850, French economist Frédéric Bastiat published an essay that is misunderstood, or more often, unread, titled, “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen.” Bastiat brilliantly introduced the idea of opportunity cost and, through the parable of the broken window, illustrated the destructive effects of unintended consequences. Unfortunately, because of misplaced belief in government benevolence, even the most...