SNB & CHF

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Banks in Switzerland reduced their domestic workforce by 4.1 percent in the first half as companies combined and made cost cuts to stem declining profitability, a survey by the nation’s main bank association showed.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Low Rates Forever, Nothing much is happening in the money world. The press reports that traders are hanging loose, wondering what dumb thing the Fed will do next. Rumor has it that it may decide to raise rates in September, or maybe November… or maybe not at all.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]On Tuesday, I noted the end of summer and the entrance into one of the weakest months of the year statistically speaking. “We can confirm BofAML’s point by looking at the analysis of each month of September going back to 1960 as shown in the chart below."

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The US dollar is little changed ahead of the job report. Our near-term bias is for a lower dollar. Sterling is flat and is holding on to about a 1% gain this week. The Japanese yen is about a 0.3% lower and is off 1.7% this week. The euro was coming into today for the week.

ABSTRACT: http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2016/09/01/charles-hugh-smith-the-fly-in-the-ointment-stagnant-wages-hidden-inflation/

Questions are being raised about canton Zug’s practice of granting a special residency permit to a wealthy Russian, who has rarely been seen at his Swiss property. Swiss cantons define their own rules for granting these kinds of permits to wealthy foreigners. Attracting the rich is one way cantonal authorities have of improving their balance sheet. They decide the minimum taxable income and wealth an individual must have in order to qualify, and also require the person in question to make...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]This press release presents the results for a Swiss National Bank (SNB) survey on turnover in foreign exchange and derivatives markets. The request for data was sent to 30 banks that operate in Switzerland and have a sizeable share in the foreign exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets. These banks reported the turnover of their domestic offices.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The new month has begun with a couple of surprises. The biggest surprise has been the record jump in the UK manufacturing PMI to 53.3 from 48.3. A much smaller rebound was expected in August after the Brexit shock drop in July.

ABSTRACT: http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2016/09/01/charles-hugh-smith-the-fly-in-the-ointment-stagnant-wages-hidden-inflation/

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Turnover in the retail sector fell by 2.6% in nominal terms in July 2016 compared with the previous year. This decrease has been ongoing since January 2015. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover rose by 0.4% compared with the previous month. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).