SNB & CHF

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.16% to 1.0538 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 14(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Risk appetites have returned today after taking yesterday off. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced every day last week, slipped yesterday, and jumped back today. Most of the national benchmark advanced at least 1.5%, and the Nikkei led the way with a 3% rally to reach its best level...

The recent recovery in industrial activity seems to have stalled, probably because of the collapse in external demand and high levels of vigilance inside China. Since the large-scale coronavirus infection was contained, the Chinese government has been trying hard to get the economy back on track. The end of the lockdown in Wuhan after two in a half months is an important milestone in that respect. But in the past couple of weeks, economic recovery has come up...

The spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF will be held virtually this week amid a profound economic crisis spurred by a novel coronavirus. Unlike previous such viruses, this went global in such a destructive way that many countries have responded the same way. Encouraging social distancing, closing non-essential businesses, and enforcing lockdowns. The economic contraction that has begun is beyond what has been seen since the Great Depression. Even before the...

Schoolwork at home: some do more, some do less (Keystone / Laurent Gillieron) There is a big difference in the amount of time pupils are spending at their studies during the corona school closures, a Swiss-led study has found. Some children are doing five or more hours a day, others just one or two. This is one of the main findings of the School Barometerexternal link, led by the Institute of the Management and Economics of Education (IBB)external link of the...

[From Chapter 8 of Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State.] We shall concentrate on the capitalist-entrepreneurs, economically the more important type of entrepreneur. These are the men who invest in “capital” (land and/or capital goods) used in the productive process…. The capitalist-entrepreneur buys factors or factor services in the present; his product must be sold in the future. He is always on the alert, then, for discrepancies, for areas where he can earn more...

“All of the projection models were wrong. All of them,” admitted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in an interview last week with MSNBC. Governor Cuomo had been issuing frantic demands for tens of thousands of ventilators… that turned out not to be needed as the rate of new hospitalizations for COVID-19 infections in New York plunged with surprising speed. Governor Cuomo had warned America that New York City was the canary in the coal mine, that other cities would soon...

What I see is a global collapse of intangible capital that is invisible to most people. It’s only natural that the conventional expectation is a return to the pre-pandemic world is just a matter of time. Whether it’s three months or six months or 18 months, “the good old days” will return just as if we turned back the clock. I think the situation is much more akin to being injured. Since I worked for decades in construction, I’ve had numerous potentially serious...

As the markets were re-opening in Asia earlier today, I joined Martin Soong and Sir Jegarajah on CNBC Asia. I had returned from a business trip and visited our summer house on the Jersey shore for what I thought was going to be a weekend more than a month ago. Oil prices had initially reacted positively to the OPEC+ agreement. Still, I was skeptical as the cuts seemed inadequate to meet the dramatic compression in demand, let along the notorious non-compliance by...

USD/CHF extends gradual declines from the monthly top marked the last-Monday. A descending trend line support, 61.8% Fibonacci retracement may offer intermediate rests during the downside. 0.9745/50 can act as a buffer resistance beyond 100-HMA. USD/CHF remains under pressure while taking rounds to 0.9655, down 0.05% on a daily, amid the early trading session on Monday. The pair currently tests 50% Fibonacci retracement of its upside from March 27 to April 06....

The GBP to CHF interbank exchange rate today has been ranging between 1.2017 and 1.2092. The pound looks supportive today on the back that Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is on the road to recovery from Covid-19. Swiss Economy Expected to Shrink Possible 10% Switzerland has had over 23,000 cases of the Coronavirus that has had a negative impact on their economy with current expectations that their economy could shrink as much at 10%. Many industries in Switzerland...