SNB & CHF

In 2016, withdrawals of gold from the Shanghai Gold Exchange totalled 1970 tonnes, the 4th highest annual total on record. This was 24% less than SGE gold withdrawals recorded in 2015, which reached a cumulative 2596 tonnes (See Koos Jansen’s  6 January 2017 blog at BullionStar “How The West Has Been Selling Gold Into A Black Hole” for more details of the 2016 withdrawals). SGE gold withdrawals are an important metric...

Second, and ultimately, Maron’s success will depend on his ability to revive the French economy. The French economy has been a lagged for several years.  The unemployment rate is near 10%, more than twice the UK and US rate.  The German unemployment rate is below 6%, and the lowest since unification.  Macron will likely emphasize labor market reforms and tax cuts. France Unemployment Rate, Q1 2017(see more posts on...

Retail sales estimates are not adjusted for inflation, but even so whenever they get down toward the 3% growth level you can be sure there is serious economic trouble. The 6-month average for overall retail sales dropped below 3% in March 2001, the month that marked the start of the official dot-com recession (though that is not the official name for the cyclical peak, it probably should be). They would remain near or...

Judging from investors’ reactions, the only thing worse that than the low volatility environment is when volatility spikes higher, as it did yesterday. Higher volatility is associated with weakening equity markets, falling interest rates, pressure on emerging markets, a strengthening yen and, sometimes, as was the case yesterday, heavier gold prices. A fragile stability has enveloped the markets after US equities...

Neuchâtel, 15.05.2017 (FSO) – In 2015 approximately 570 000 people were affected by income poverty in Switzerland. Just under 145,000 of these were employed. The groups most affected were persons living alone or in single parent households with minor children, persons with no post-compulsory education and those living in households where no-one works. The poverty rate has hardly changed when compared with the previous...

Neuchâtel, 15.05.2017 (FSO) – In 2015 approximately 570 000 people were affected by income poverty in Switzerland. Just under 145,000 of these were employed. The groups most affected were persons living alone or in single parent households with minor children, persons with no post-compulsory education and those living in households where no-one works. The poverty rate has hardly changed when compared with the previous...

The numbers of farms in Switzerland has halved since 1980 - Click to enlarge The trend for fewer but larger farms continued in Switzerland last year, with the total number dropping by 990 to 52,263. While small and conventionally farmed businesses were throwing in the towel, organic agriculture flourished.  The number of jobs in farming dropped 1.3% to 153,400, of which two-thirds were full-time, the Federal...

Cyber Attacks Show Vulnerability of Digital Systems and Digital Currencies - Click to enlarge – Cyberattacks expected to spread today in “second phase”– UK intelligence says scale of threat significant – Microsoft slams NSA for letting hacking tools cause global malware epidemic– Ransomware attack already crippled more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries– 1.3 million computer systems believed to be at risk–...

The Syngenta deal is one of a trio of megamergers (Keystone) Syngenta, the Swiss agribusiness group which is being acquired by ChemChina in the biggest foreign takeover by a Chinese company, will help Beijing modernise China’s farm sector while simultaneously remaining firmly a “western company”, its chairman has said. Michel Demaré told The Financial Times that, under its new owners, Syngenta would become “a partner of...

The stock market has its earnings season, the regular quarterly reports of all the companies that have publicly traded stocks. In economic accounts, there is something similar though it only happens once a year. It is benchmark revision season, and it has been brought to a few important accounts already. Given that this is a backward looking exercise, that this season is likely to produce more downward revisions...