SNB & CHF

The main feature in the foreign exchange market continues to be the surge of the Japanese yen.  A convincing explanation of the yen's strength seems elusive.  Until last week, which means through the fiscal year-end last month, Japanese fund managers have been buying foreign bonds at a near-record pace.  Foreign investors, for their part, have been dumping Japanese shares.  The main buyers of the yen appeared to be speculators, wherein the futures markets, they have amassed a near-record...

Last year, someone made the mistake of demolishing a 450-year-old farmhouse near Zurich. Now a court has ordered that it be restored to its original state. (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: http://www.swissinfo.ch...

07.04.2016 09:15  – FSO, Tourism (0353-1603-40) Statistics on tourist accommodation in February 2016 Overnight stays in February fall despite rise in domestic demand Neuchâtel, 07.04.2016 (FSO) – The Swiss hotel industry registered 3.1 million overnight stays in February 2016, which corresponds to a decrease of 1.3% (-41,000 overnight stays) compared with February 2015. Foreign visitors generated 1.5 million overnight stays, representing a decline of 5.3% (-84,000 overnight stays)....

  It Wasn’t Supposed to Do That… When you’re a central banker in a pure fiat money system and even your ability to print your own currency into oblivion is questioned by the markets, you really have a problem. This is actually funny on quite a number of levels if one thinks about it a bit… Haruhiko Kuroda (a.k.a. Kamikaze) is such a central banker. His valiant attempts to make Japan richer by making its citizens poorer is beginning to be rejected by Mr. Market: Kuroda-san’s latest monetary...

  Bankers Hate It When You Hold Cash In an extraordinary turn of events, last week we were contacted by our local bankers. Since we were turned down for a mortgage in 1982 (our business finances were thought to be “too shaky”), we have had little truck with them. We pay cash. They mind their own business. Too many Benjamins! Photo credit: Andrew Magill / Flickr But for the first time we can recall, not just one but three suits came to visit. Personable and intelligent, they were worried...

The old head and shoulders pattern in the dollar against the yen is back in vogue.  We first pointed it out in the first week of January here. Recall the details.  The neckline is drawn around JPY116.30 and measuring objective is near JPY107.00.   That target also corresponds to a 38.2% retracement of the big Abe-inspired dollar rally (~JPY106.80).   This Great Graphic from Bloomberg shows the pattern.   We note the conflicting flows presently.  Portfolio managers continue to be large...

In what is possibly one of the under-appreciated political events of the year, the Netherlands holds a plebiscite today on an associational agreement with Ukraine that has already been approved by the Dutch parliament, the European Parliament and all other 27 EU members.   When stated so baldly, it is difficult to see what is at stake. Yet the consequences of a no vote, which seems likely,  will send reverberations throughout Dutch politics, the EU, and the geopolitical balance in...

The US dollar is better bid today but remains largely in the ranges seen in recent days.  There a few developments to note, which together are lifting European equities after Asian equities softened.   First, the API oil inventory estimate showed an unexpected fall of 4.3 mln barrels.  An increase of half the magnitude was expected.  The DOE estimate, which is considered more reliable, will be one of the North American highlights today.  Second, and also supporting the oil complex today...

Bank Bail-Ins are coming and people need to prepare by owning bullion outside the banking system. They will be counterproductive and could lead to financial collapse. "Unfortunately, we don't learn the lessons of history to our own downfall!". For more information http://www.GoldCore.com

  Poison Money BALTIMORE – We live in a world of sin and sorrow, infected by a fraudulent democracy, Facebook, and a corrupt money system. Wheezing, weak, and weary from the exertion of trying to appear “normal,” the economy staggers on. Staggering on…. Image credit: David Sidmond Last week, we gained some insight into the ailment. Something in the diagnosis has puzzled us for years: How is it possible for the most advanced economy in the history of the world to make such a mess of its...