SNB & CHF

The US created 211k net new jobs in April, a sharp bounce back from the downwardly revised 79k gain in March.  It is the third month this year that the US created more than 200k new jobs. United States Nonfarm payrolls Government payrolls increased by 17k.  As we noted with the Administration’s federal hiring freeze, the real growth in government employment is on the state and local level.  In April the federal...

The Swiss National Bank held its annual general meeting of shareholders (web TV). In response to one of the questions posed by shareholders Thomas Jordan suggested (2:58–2:59) that possibly a digital Swiss Franc might be introduced sometime in the future. Tags: Digital currency,Electronic money,Featured,M0 base...

Risks to the Swiss property market remained elevated in the three months through September, according to UBS Group AG’s quarterly index. “While the buy-to-rent price ratio reached an all-time high, moderate mortgage growth and the slightly-improved economy prevented imbalances in the owner-occupied housing market from widening,” it said in a report. Major Findings The UBS Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index remained in the...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, May 05(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge  FX Rates The US dollar is narrowing mixed as the employment data, and Fed speeches are awaited. Six Fed officials speak today, including Yellen and Fischer. Regional Presidents Williams, Rosengren Evans and Bullard also speak. It will be the first flurry of speeches since the FOMC meeting. Lastly, we note some chunky...

  Fixation on the Consumer Price Index For most economists the key factor that sets the foundation for healthy economic fundamentals is a stable price level as depicted by the consumer price index. According to this way of thinking, a stable price level doesn’t obscure the visibility of the relative changes in the prices of goods and services, and enables businesses to see clearly market signals that are conveyed by...

Insect meatballs – Source: Coop Last year, Switzerland’s federal government announced plans to authorise the commercialisation of insects and worms as domestic food products, and the new law came into effect this week on 1 May 2017. According to 24 Heures, supermarket Coop will launch a new range of insect-based products this month. High in protein, insects come with a low carbon footprint and resource requirement. Coop...

 Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, May 04(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge  FX Rates The US dollar is struggling to maintain even modest upticks against the euro and sterling despite the recognition of the increased likelihood of a June Fed hike.    Bloomberg sees current pricing in the Fed funds as making a hike in June a near certainty (97.5%), while the CME and our own calculation...

An article in February on BullionStar’s website titled “A Chink of Light into London’s Gold Vaults?” discussed an upcoming development in the London Gold Market, namely that both the Bank of England (BoE) and the commercial gold vault providers in London planned to begin publishing regular data on the quantity of physical gold actually stored in their gold vaults. Critically, this physical gold stored at both the Bank...

Summary: Policy is on hold. There is several areas which the BOJ can adjust its forecast or forward guidance. BOJ is more likely to err on the side of caution. The Bank of Japan is unlikely to change policy. Its current policy of targeting 10-year bond yields and expanding the balance sheet by JPY80 trillion is aimed at boosting core inflation to 2%. However, the risk is that BOJ Governor Kuroda surprises the...

The number of people from Guinea seeking refuge in Switzerland rose significantly during the first three months of 2017. The reason for the increase is unclear. (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 visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website:...