SNB & CHF

In many places, wild boar are a plague for farmers. The damage they cause throughout Switzerland each year amounts to CHF4 million. Farmers are engaging hunters to weed out the boar. But these highly sensitive animals are very difficult to kill. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos...

Swiss direct investment abroad Companies domiciled in Switzerland invested CHF 100 billion abroad, compared with disinvestment of CHF 1 billion the year before. Thus, Swiss direct investment abroad was significantly above the average for the past ten years. At CHF 54 billion, over half of the investment was made by finance and holding companies (2014: CHF 3 billion). Substantial fluctuations in direct investment by...

If the “experts” were assessed on results, they’d all be fired. The mainstream media continually hypes the authority of “experts,” i.e. people with a stack of credentials from top institutions. But does the mainstream media ever check on whether the “experts” got anything right? Let’s compare the “experts” (conventional PhD economists) diagnoses and fixes with the results of their policies. Let’s stick to the big...

 See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. Rate Hike Heeded by Gold, Ignored by Stocks The price action was not what most of those in the gold community hoped for (or predicted). The price of gold dropped another $24 and that of silver nearly a whole dollar. The big news of course is that the Fed hiked rates another 25 basis points. So far, stock market...

Swiss Franc Once again a line in sand for the Swiss National Bank is broken. The EUR/CHF falls under 1.07. But trading algorithms are like this: When the EUR/USD is falling, then the EUR/CHF must follow. The SNB decided not to intervene any more at 1.07. Two potential reasons: We doubted that Swiss inflation might overtake European inflation in 2019 or 2020. Interventions at higher levels are risky, given that stock...

A new world order is coming of age and the transition is painful to accept for a Western middle class with a deep-seated sense of entitlement. We showed how the West feels threatened globally in Toward a New World Order and followed up explaining how this translate into domestic politics in Toward a New World Order Part II. We will now continue this series by showing how gross economic mismanagement have created the...

Speculators appeared mostly interested in reducing exposure in the run-up to the US jobs data and the Italian referendum. They liquidated gross longs in the currency futures market and covered shorts. Of the eight currencies we track there were two exceptions, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. Swiss Franc Speculators were net short CHF in January 2015, shortly before the end of the peg, with 26.4K...

Summary: The Nikkei, the dollar-yen and 10 yr US yield have risen nine of the past 11 weeks. The Dollar Index and 2 yr US yields have risen while gold has sold off in eight of past 11 weeks. Issue in next two weeks, profit-taking or trend extension? Spoiler alert: I expect some profit-taking. The capital markets have been buffeted by political developments and central bank policies.  The direct influence of high...

Regardless of your ethnicity, class or religion, if you perceive the institutions that govern American life as corrupted, riddled with favoritism and spin or as broken, you’re a Deplorable. Are you a Deplorable? The answer might surprise you. Take this short quiz to find out. 1. If you agree with this characterization of American Elites: “The self-satisfied cosmopolitan culture that sprang up among the affluent 20% or...

Juiced Stimulus, in a general sense, is something that causes an action or response.  A ringing alarm clock may prompt someone to exit their slumber.  Or a fist to the gut may force someone to gasp for breath. Stimulus can come in many forms and varieties.  It can come in the form of a stick; do this and you won’t get whacked over the head.  So, too, it can come in the form of a carrot; do that and you’ll get a...