SNB & CHF

Looks amazingly similar to a real nugget: 18-​carat gold with latex as the base material. ( ETH Zurich / Peter Rüegg) Five years ago researchers at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich developed the lightest gold in the world, which could float on a cappuccino. But there wasn’t much they could do with it. Now they have created 18-carat light gold which can be used for watches, jewellery and electronics. It is based on a plastic matrix that replaces metallic...

Last week I discussed a new argument against paternalism in the important book of Mario Rizzo and Glen Whitman, Escaping Paternalism. Today I’d like to give the other side a chance. Robert H. Frank is an economist at Cornell University, well-regarded for his work on the emotions and usually anxious to stress the flaws of the free market. In his just-published Under the Influence, he offers, among many other things, a defense of high taxes on cigarettes, and this is...

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Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.08% to 1.080 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 13(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: There are two big stories today. The first is the large scale protests in Iran after the government admits to accidentally shooting down the commercial airliner amid the fog of war. The market impact seems minimal but fueling speculation that this, coupled with the economic hardship...

Asset Allocation Our asset allocation is dominated by a wish to stay diversified in a fragile environment. Continued ‘noise’ around trade is likely to leave markets alternating between disappointment and hope. With this in mind, we have a neutral stance on government bonds and developed-market equities alike, although we still see select opportunities in equities and appreciate the protective function of safe-haven bonds. Geopolitical events such as the tensions...

USD/CHF stays below the five-week-old falling trend line, 23.6% Fibonacci retracement. Bearish MACD increases the odds of the pair’s declines. Channel’s resistance, 50% Fibonacci retracement will question buyers during the recovery. USD/CHF registers modest changes while taking rounds to 0.9730 ahead of the European session on Monday. The pair recently reversed from a descending trend line since December 06 while also slipping beneath 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of...

Andréa Maechler fordert von den Banken eine baldige Einführung des Referenzzinssatzes Saron. Bild: ZVG Nationalbank-Direktorin Andréa Maechler schimpfte letzten Monat ein bisschen mit den Banken: Die Finanzinstitute sollten bei der Vergabe ihrer Geldmarkthypotheken zügig damit anfangen, vom Referenzzinssatz Libor abzukehren. Denn der Libor – voll ausgeschrieben “London Interbank Offered Rate” – wird definitiv nur noch bis Ende 2021 erstellt. Der Libor gibt wieder, zu...

The US-China trade conflict and then US-Iran confrontation distracted investors from the macroeconomic drivers of the capital markets.   It is not that there is really much closure with the exogenous issues, but they are in a less challenging place, at least on the surface. A Chinese delegation, led by the Vice-Premier Liu He, who spearheaded the negotiations, will participate in the signing ceremony on January 15.. While China has agreed to buy $200 bln more of US...

16.12.2019 – Overall, the pension funds survived the weak stock markets in 2018. By dissolving 40% of the existing fluctuation reserves, the negative net result from investments was largely offset. The shortage increased by 20%. This emerges from the definitive results of the Pension Fund Statistics 2018 of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The correction on the financial markets, especially towards the end of 2018, left its mark on the investment side of the...

Le 9 janvier 2012, le banquier central suisse démissionnait suite à une accusation de présomption de délit d’initié dans une affaire d’opérations de change sur sa fortune privée (Wikipédia), il devint dans la foulée vice-président du groupe Blackrock. Une réelle promotion dans le cadre d’un monde globalisé. Lorsqu’en septembre 2011, il arrima le franc suisse à l’euro de manière parfaitement anticonstitutionnelle, ce qui ne l’empêcha pas d’être récompensé quelques...