SNB & CHF

Every year the Swiss army sells off around 20 properties it no longer requires. Swiss television, RTS, went along to a viewing of a Second World War bunker. (RTS/swissinfo.ch) A bunker in Bellegarde in canton Fribourg is for sale for a guide price of CHF10,000 ($9,800). It was built in 1941 under Switzerland’s Second World War strategy of creating a heavily fortified region which would provide a final resistance when facing invasion. After the tour of the bunker, potential buyers were...

Data storage facilities are growing faster in Switzerland than in any other European country. Apart from having mountain bunkers in which to squirrel away servers, the country’s strict data protection law is also proving a draw for global business. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) During the Second World War, Switzerland bored a vast network of bunkers and tunnels into its mountains as part of the country’s defensive strategy. These underground fortresses are now making a 21st century, digital age,...

Please bear with a brief quote from a favorite author of mine. I promise it relates to gold. Having fought in World War I, and seen senseless loss of life, J.R.R. Tolkien had an extraordinary insight into the nature of evil. His iconic character, Gandalf the wizard, said this to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: ‘Ever since Bilbo left I have been deeply concerned about you…. It would be a grievous blow to the world, if the Dark Power overcame the Shire; if all your kind [hobbits] … became...

Please bear with a brief quote from a favorite author of mine. I promise it relates to gold. Having fought in World War I, and seen senseless loss of life, J.R.R. Tolkien had an extraordinary insight into the nature of evil. His iconic character, Gandalf the wizard, said this to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: ‘Ever since Bilbo left I have been deeply concerned about you…. It would be a grievous blow to the world, if the Dark Power overcame the Shire; if all your kind [hobbits] … became...

As we predicted over a year ago, in a world in which QE has failed, and in which the ice-cold grip of NIRP has to be global in order to achieve its intended purpose of forcing savers around the world to spend the taxed product of their labor, one thing has to be abolished: cash. This explains the recent flurry of articles in outlets such as BBG and the FT, and op-eds by such "established" economists as Larry Summers, all advocating the death of cash, a process which would begin by...

As we predicted over a year ago, in a world in which QE has failed, and in which the ice-cold grip of NIRP has to be global in order to achieve its intended purpose of forcing savers around the world to spend the taxed product of their labor, one thing has to be abolished: cash. This explains the recent flurry of articles in outlets such as BBG and the FT, and op-eds by such "established" economists as Larry Summers, all advocating the death of cash, a process which would begin by...

It was already a torrid day for commodity currencies, among which the MXN, or Mexican Peso, which were surging on today's latest crude short squeeze and then as if pulling a PBOC with just one intention - to crush the shorts - the Mexican Central Bank or Banxico, dealt a crushing blow on anyone short the MXN when it announced an unexpected 50 bps rate hike in the overnight rate to 3.75%. From the central bank: "The target for the overnight interbank funding rate is increased by 50 basis...

It was already a torrid day for commodity currencies, among which the MXN, or Mexican Peso, which were surging on today's latest crude short squeeze and then as if pulling a PBOC with just one intention - to crush the shorts - the Mexican Central Bank or Banxico, dealt a crushing blow on anyone short the MXN when it announced an unexpected 50 bps rate hike in the overnight rate to 3.75%. From the central bank: "The target for the overnight interbank funding rate is increased by 50 basis...

Mark O'Byrne, co-founder of GoldCore spoke with Josh Sigurdson and John Sneisen about his thoughts on currency vs. money, the insane IOU note printing and debt accumulation by central banks throughout the world. Mark went over the importance and security of owning silver and gold which holds an infinite preserved value while paper money always reverts to zero eventually. Along with the dollar crash on the horizon, Mark spoke about the insane practice of implementing bail-in regimes which...

Dear Investors! Because the stock market is currently strongly correlated to the energy sector, Friday’s rally responded in kind on the news of a surge of 12.3% in the NYMEX WTI sweet crude market after a report had suggested that OPEC may finally agree to cut its production to reduce the world glut. The news instantly oiled the S&P 500’s rise of 1.95%. However despite the strong daily gain, oil prices still ended the week down in spite of being the best one-day gain since February...