SNB & CHF

On April 28, the catalyst the sent the stock price of AAPL to its post-August 25 frash crash lows, and launched a tremor not only within the Nasdaq but the broader market, was news that after several years of being AAPL’s biggest cheerleader, even coming up with price targets north of $200, Carl Icahn had suddenly cooled on the China-focused growth company, and had liquidated his entire stake. But as Icahn was selling, or just before as we don’t know precisely when Icahn, who has since...

  They Will Never Get It… Gold wants to know what it has done now… Photo credit: Ajay Verma / Reuters We and many others have made a valiant effort over the years to explain what actually moves the gold market (as examples see e.g. our  article “Misconceptions About Gold”, or Robert Blumen’s excellent essay “Misunderstanding Gold Demand”).  Sometimes it is a bit frustrating when we realize it has probably all been for naught. This was brought home to us again in a recent missive posted...

  Deluded Central Planners BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda Photo credit: Toru Hanai / Reuters Zerohedge recently reported on an interview given by Lithuanian ECB council member Vitas Vasiliauskas, which demonstrates how utterly deluded the central planners in the so-called “capitalist” economies of the West have become. His statements are nothing short of bizarre (“we are magic guys!”) – although he is of course correct when he states that a central bank can never “run out of ammunition”....

  Hazards and Benefits Hazard of the dispassionate observer: the rictus of disbelief will get etched in one’s face. Rubbernecking at the economic train wreck of central planners is not without hazard.  A strained collar and dry eyes, for instance, are common perils.  So, too, is the lasting grimace of disbelief that comes with the roll-out of each zany scheme to save us from ourselves. Etched forehead lines and nighttime bruxism are several of the secondary effects.  Not owning shares...

Trump Is Right PARIS – On Wednesday, brick-and-mortar retailers – such as Macy’s – led U.S. stocks lower. The Dow lost about as much as it had gained the day before. Nothing much to talk about there… Macy’s Inc. NYSE + BATS Macy’s on the way to Zool. Macy’s Inc. NYSE + BATS – click to enlarge. When we left off yesterday, we posed two questions: Shouldn’t your editor (under torture, of course) confess his sins, renounce his apostasy, and register to vote before it is too late? And…...

The Euthanasia of Widows and Orphans Sound money also looks better than the government’s scrip! In my testimony in support of the gold legal tender bill this year, I discussed failing pension funds. Retirees who count on their pension checks are being told that their monthly check will be reduced by up to 60%. This is devastating to them, obviously. What isn’t obvious is the cause. In the news coverage of this, the angry pensioners are blaming the union, the fund manager, and Wall...

The Great Financial Crisis has exposed a deep chasm in economics and economic policy.  No single institution is this crystallized more than at the Bank of Japan. The former Governor, Shirakawa brought policy rates to nearly zero to combat deflation. His successor, Kuroda, took the central bank in the completely other direction. He has introduced three elements of unconventional policy in an institution that was wedded to orthodoxy. These include an aggressive expansion of the central...

Former slum-dweller Sohan Lal used to drive a three-wheeled rickshaw on the chaotic streets of New Delhi. Love brought him to Switzerland, and he now ferries tourists around the Swiss capital Bern in an e-rickshaw. (Anand Chandrasekhar, swissinfo.ch) Most of his clients are Swiss but he gets his fair share of Indian tourists, especially couples on their honeymoon. His rickshaw has an electric motor that provides a third of the power needed to propel it. Besides collecting fares from...

12.05.2016 09:15  – FSO, Demography and Migration (0353-1605-00) Population projections for the cantons in Switzerland 2015-2045 Large increase expected in number of retired people Neuchâtel, 12.05.2016 (FSO) – Almost all cantons will record positive population growth over the next thirty years. This growth will be accompanied by a marked increase in the number of people of retirement age in all the cantons according to the new population trend scenarios for Switzerland’s cantons...

In my testimony in support of the gold legal tender bill this year, I discussed failing pension funds. Retirees who count on their pension checks are being told that their monthly check will be reduced by up to 60%. This is devastating to them, obviously. What isn’t obvious is the cause. In the news coverage of this, the angry pensioners are blaming the union, the fund manager, and Wall Street in general. None of them point the finger where it needs to be pointed. The Fed has centrally...