SNB & CHF

Hurricane Ida swept up the Gulf of Mexico and slammed into the Louisiana coastline on August 29. The storm would continue to wreak havoc even as it weakened the further inland it traversed. By September 1 and 2, the system was still causing damage and disruption into the Northeast of the United States. While absolutely tragic for those who suffered its blow, in economic terms this means that any weakness exhibited by whichever economic account during both August and...

© Sergey Chuyko | Dreamstime.com Over the weekend, several thousand people took to Swiss streets to protest against Switzerland’s measures to reduce the impact of Covid-19, reported RTS. In Lausanne, between 800 and 1,000 people marched in protest against Covid certificates and restrictions on individual liberty. No violence or property damage was reported. In Lugano, calls from an association named friends of the constitution drew around 400 protestors to the...

Die Credit Suisse hat im Zusammenhang mit Kreditgeschäften aus dem Jahr 2013 mit Staatsunternehmen aus Mosambik schwer gegen das Organisationserfordernis und die geldwäschereirechtliche Meldepflicht verstossen. Die Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht FINMA schliesst in diesem Zusammenhang ein Enforcementverfahren ab und belegt das Kreditneugeschäft mit finanzschwachen Staaten der Credit Suisse mit Auflagen. Die FINMA schliesst eine Aufsichtsuntersuchung und ein...

The documentary "That Girl" by Swiss director Cornelia Gantner shows how laborious development aid can be, even for locals. Gladys Shonga-Furrer grew up in rural Zambia. She dropped out of school because her parents ran out of money. Gladys refused to be married off and instead went to a town to work and finance her own education. Later, she and her Swiss husband Thomas provided development aid in a remote Zambian village. But even as a local, Gladys faced  considerable...

Overview:  While equities and bonds are firmer, it is the dollar's sell-off that stands out today.  The greenback has retreated broadly.    The euro is trading above the previous week's high for the first time in over a month, and the dollar was pushed back below JPY114.00 in early European turnover. The Chinese yuan is at four-month highs. The Antipodean and Scandi currencies are leading the move against the dollar among the major currencies. The JP Morgan Emerging...

Durch die bloße Kraft seiner intellektuellen Arbeit etablierte sich Ludwig von Mises als einer der bedeutendsten Intellektuellen des 20. Jahrhunderts. Seine Abhandlung Human Action ist bis heute ein grundlegendes Werk für die Österreichische Schule der Nationalökonomie. Seine Kritik, die die Undurchführbarkeit des Sozialismus aufzeigte, wurde durch den Zusammenbruch der Sowjet Union illustriert und wurde bis heute nicht ernsthaft intellektuell angegriffen. Ebenso...

An electricity agreement between Switzerland and the European Union has been on hold since 2018. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Swiss government has shared its vision for coping with major power outages in a brochure shared with thousands of companies, the weekly NZZ am Sonntag reported on Sunday. In the absence of an electricity agreement with the European Union, such a scenario is likely if large power plants fail in Switzerland or abroad. Swiss companies could be...

After September’s negative performance, last week proved one of the strongest in a while for equity markets. This rebound followed news that the Biden administration will start to tackle the supply-chain and logistics issues that have been preventing deliveries. The ports of Los Angeles, the busiest in the US, will begin operating around the clock seven days per week to ease cargo bottlenecks that have led to shortages and higher costs for consumers. Showing some...

As for all those automated systems we have to navigate–do any of them work so well that those profiting from them actually use them? Of course not. In Marc Andreessen’s memorable phrase, “software is eating the world.” Unfortunately, it now has indigestion. Software is running into limits that (non-engineer) promoters either deny or downplay. Meanwhile, back in the real world, software has a limited role in filling structural scarcities of physical goods and many...

The United Kingdom and the European Union are grappling with truck diver shortages that complicate economic recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic. Keystone / Joe Giddens Unlike other Western European nations, Switzerland is not at risk of a supply chain crisis due to a lack of truck drivers, according to the president of a major logistics and transport company. “The situation in Switzerland is significantly better than in the rest of Europe,” Rolf Galliker,...