Tag Archives: 2) Swiss and European Macro

Euro area industrial production (excluding construction) was weak in February (-0.8% m-o-m) and follows the recent release of other disappointing pieces of hard data such as retail sales, German factory orders and trade. Based on available ‘hard’ data, real GDP growth rate in the euro area is projected to be 0.1-0.2% q-o-q in Q1 2018 (see chart below), a sharp slowdown from 0.6% q-o-q in Q4 2017. However, ‘soft’ data,...

- Click to enlarge Neuchâtel, 4 April 2018 (FSO) – Facts provide the foundation for political and social dialogue. But what happens when instead of facts, purposely spread untruths begin to dominate that dialogue? And what can be done about it, or better still, what can be done to stop it? Possible answers can be found at the conference entitled “Truth in numbers – the role of data in a world of fact, fiction and...

Unemployment Rate (not seasonally adjusted) Unemployment registered in March 2018 – According to surveys by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), at the end of March 2018 130’413 unemployed people were registered at the regional employment agencies (RAV), 13’517 less than in the previous month. The unemployment rate fell from 3.2% in February 2018 to 2.9% in the month under review. Compared to the same...

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in March 2018 compared with the previous month, reaching 101.5 points (December 2015=100). In comparison with the same month of the previous year, inflation stood at 0.8%. These figures were compiled by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Switzerland Consumer Price Index (CPI) YoY, May 2013 - Apr 2018(see more posts on Switzerland Consumer Price Index, ) Source:...

- Click to enlarge Zurich, 3 April 2018 – The Board of Directors of UBS Group AG is proposing Jeremy Anderson and Fred Hu for election as new members of the Board of Directors for a one-year term. Jeremy Anderson (born 1958) was Chairman of Global Financial Services at KPMG International from 2010 until November 2017. He previously held various senior positions at KPMG and was appointed to lead KPMG’s UK Financial...

The Used Goods Question Retail sales in several countries like Germany, Japan and Switzerland continue to fall or they remain steady for years. In the United States they have strongly risen recently. We should remind readers, that used goods sold via Ebay or similar, are not contained in this statistics. Still they create economic value for the purchases. By mentality, Swiss, Germans or Japanese pay more attention so...

France’s public deficit fell to 2.6% of GDP in 2017 according to INSEE’s preliminary assessment, down from 3.4% in 2016 and below the 3% threshold for the first time since 2007. The outcome was better than the government’s estimate of a 2.9% deficit. If confirmed, France will exit the Excessive Deficit Procedure that the European Commission opened in 2009. France’s budget balance ended up about EUR10bn above the level...

In March 2018, the KOF Economic Barometer fell by 2.4 points to a new reading of 106.0. Notwithstanding this decline, the present position is still on a level clearly above its long-term average. This indicates that in the near future the Swiss economy should continue to grow at rates above average. In March 2018, the KOF Economic Barometer fell from 108.4 in the previous month (revised up from 108.0) by 2.4 points...