SNB & CHF

The fast spreading strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus discovered in the UK has now been detected in seven Swiss cantons, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), reported RTS. So far 28 people in Switzerland have tested positive for the new UK strain, said Virginie Masserey of the FOPH. The strain has been detected in Vaud, Geneva, Valais, Bern, Zurich, St-Gallen and another canton. Some of those infected had travelled from the UK or been in contact with...

In mid-December 2019, before the world had heard of COVID, China’s Central Economic Work Conference had released a rather startling statement for the world to consume. In the West, everything was said to be on the up. Central banks had responded, forcefully, many claimed, more than enough to deal with that year’s “unexpected” globally synchronized downturn. This view had been punctuated by Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, among many others, who in early January...

Here’s looking at you, Federal Reserve–thanks for perfecting ‘legalized looting’ and neofeudalism in America. The problem with pushing a pendulum to its maximum extreme on one end is that it will swing back to the other extreme minus a tiny bit of friction. America has pushed wealth/income inequality, unfairness and legalized looting to the maximum extreme. Now it will experience the swing back to the other extreme. This will manifest in a number of ways, one of...

In the third quarter of 2020, the current account surplus amounted to CHF 9 billion, CHF 3 billion less than in the same quarter of 2019. This decline was particularly due to the lower receipts surplus in trade in goods and services. In the case of the goods trade, the decline was attributable to gold trading. This decrease was curbed by the expenses surplus for primary and secondary income, which decreased compared to Q3 2019. In the financial account, reported...

Die Initiative gegen die Personenfreizügigkeit verlangt, dass die Schweiz ihre Zuwanderung selbst regelt. Was genau bringen ausländische Arbeitskräfte einem Land? Und welche Risiken sind mit der Zuwanderung verbunden? Die Zuwanderung schadet heute der Schweiz mehr, als dass sie ihr nützt, ist Reiner Eichenberger, Professor für Wirtschaftspolitik an der Universität Freiburg, überzeugt. Die Schweizer Bevölkerung wachse jedes Jahr um etwa ein Prozent. Das bringe noch...

Swiss president Guy Parmelin According to RTS, Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s president since 1 January 2021, told the newspaper SonntagsBlick, that between July and September the government underestimated the pandemic. “We thought we could contain the virus but in reality we were far from doing so”, he said. Not only politicians but also many specialists were surprised by the sudden and rapid rise of Covid-19 cases. In addition, the president said that coordination...

Wow, it has been a heckuva year! One thought leads to another on this sunny-but-cool January 1. Having watched a few seasons of Forged in Fire, I’ve gained an appreciation of how difficult it is to pound and grind a lump of steel into a blade, even with power tools. There are many ways for it to go wrong. And “wrong” generally means catastrophic failure—a crack in the metal that will cause it to break into pieces when hit. That led to thoughts regarding an...

Over the 4 days to 4 January 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported  9,665 new cases and 189 deaths bringing Switzerland’s Covid-19 death toll to 7,831 (confirmed 7,271). On 4 January 2021, Switzerland’s 14-day infection rate was 540 per 100,000. Over the last 4 days, 63,665 tests were conducted with test positivity of 15%. The number of tests conducted over the last 4 days is less than half the number conducted over the prior 4 days....

Former Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand, who has been nominated to lead the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), says the Paris-based organisation can play a key role in the area of green investment. In his first wide-ranging interview since the former central bank chairman was nominated as a candidate for the OECD, Hildebrand told SonntagsZeitung that he saw three key priorities for the Paris-based organisation: fighting...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.06% to 1.0821 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 4(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The first day of the New Year, but it feels a lot like last year. The dollar is under pressure, and equities are higher. Outside of Japan and Malaysia, The MSCI Asia Pacific Index extended last week’s 3.6% gain. It has not rallied for seven consecutive sessions. Led by mining and...