SNB & CHF

© Neydtstock | Dreamstime.com In December 2017, the European Union (EU) set up a blacklist and a grey list of tax havens, countries it deemed were being used to help companies and wealthy individuals reduce their tax bills. Switzerland ended up on the grey list. Nations on these lists faced reputational damage and stricter controls on financial transactions with the EU. On 10 October 2019, the European Commission reviewed the lists and removed Switzerland from the...

There will be more opportunities ahead to talk about the not-QE, non-LSAP which as of today still doesn’t have a catchy title. In other words, don’t call it a QE because a QE is an LSAP not an SSAP. The former is a large scale asset purchase plan intended on stimulating the financial system therefore economy. That’s what it intends to do, leaving the issue of what it actually does an open question. The SSAP is what’s coming next. A small scale asset purchase plan...

The liquidity problem affects the UN’s main hubs like the Geneva headquarters, which employs 5,000 permanent staff. (UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré) The United Nations is facing a serious cashflow crisis, as 63 states – including its largest contributor, the United States – have not paid their annual dues. In Geneva, officials at the UN’s European headquarters (UNOG) are considering ways to cut costs, while the host nation looks on anxiously. The statement by UN...

After constantly running through what the FOMC gets (very) wrong, let’s give them some credit for what they got right. Though this will end up as a backhanded compliment, still. After having spent all of 2018 forecasting accelerating inflation indices, from around New Year’s Day forward policymakers notably changed their tune. Inflation pressures that were in December 2018 building underneath leading officials to fear a harmful breakout, by January 2019 they were...

Markets have seized on the possibility of a partial trade deal as well as some hopes that a hard Brexit will be avoided The main event for the day will be President Trump’s meeting with Vice Premier Liu He These market movements (if sustained) will take pressure off of the Fed to cut rates this month The notion of a “pathway” to a Brexit deal continues to capture investors’ imagination The EU will discuss sanctions on Turkey at next week’s summit; oil is up on news...

When I first got in this business oh so many years ago, my mentor told me that I shouldn’t waste my time worrying about the things everyone else was worrying about. As I’ve related in these missives before, he called those things “well worried”. His point was that once everyone was aware of something it was priced into the market and not worth your time. That has proven to be valuable advice over the years and I think still relevant today. We continue to hear, on an...

The new train, as seen in a photo taken at Zurich main station from 2018 (© Keystone / Ennio Leanza) All the Swiss Federal Railways’ new Bombardier double-decker trains will have to go in for repairs for certain parts to be replaced, it has emerged. The news of the latest technical problems was broken by Swiss public television SRFexternal link, citing internal documents. At present, 12 out of the 59 Bombardierexternal link trains are in operation on a line between...

Lac des Toules sits at 1,810 metres above sea level in canton Valais. (Keystone / Valentin Flauraud) A solar panel project which could power over 6,000 households has been launched in a mountain lake in southwestern Switzerland. The Romande Energie companyexternal link unveiled the first part of its floating solar project in Bourg-Saint-Pierre on Wednesday after six years of exploratory work. The installation consists of 2,240 square metres of solar panels sitting on...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.56% to 1.1031 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 11(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: As the edge of the abyss is approached in three distinct areas, there is hope that victory can be snatched from the jaws of defeat. US-China trade talks continue today, and there is hope of a small deal that could lead to the US not hiking tariffs next week. A shift in the UK toward a...

USD/CHF has met a confluence of support as the US Dollar extends higher. Latest positioning data shows that CHF net shorts had been climbing for a third week.  FOMC minutes at the top of the hour is next major risk.  USD/CHF has met a confluence of support as the US Dollar extends higher on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s Minutes today and US consumer Price Index tomorrow. Currently, USD/CHF is trading at 0.9952 having travelled between 0.9915...