Tag Archives: Featured

  Introductory Remarks: The “Anti-Politician” Godfrey Bloom, by PT Most of our readers will probably remember former UKIP chief whip and European Parliament representative Godfrey Bloom. As far as we know, he is the only politician who ever raised the issue of the workings of the fractionally reserved central bank-directed monetary system in the EU parliament. This system is of course central to the phenomenon of the...

Small watchmakers had complained about restrictions to the supply of spare parts by major watch firms (Keystone) The Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) has decided not to open a formal investigation into watchmakers including Swatch, LVMH and Richemont over the supply of spare parts for independent watch repair shops. Citing a separate European Commission decision about the same firms, COMCO said in a statement on...

In the second quarter of 2018, the number of jobs in Switzerland rose to 5.048 million, a 2.1% increase on the second quarter of 2017. ©-Catalin205-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge Regions rising the most were Lake Geneva (+3.0%), north west Switzerland (+3.0%), central Switzerland (+2.4%) and Zurich (+2.1%). Rises in job numbers in eastern Switzerland (+1.6%), Mittelland (+1.3%) and Ticino (0%) were lower. Sectors...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.47% at 1.1361. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 29(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar has steadied after pulling back in recent days, but the downside correction does not appear complete, and month-end flows are still a risk to picking a dollar-bottom. The Australian dollar is the weakest of the majors. The main...

Combine financialization, neoliberalism and moral bankruptcy, and you end up with predatory, parasitic elites. How did our financial and political elites become predatory parasites? Some will answer that elites have always been predatory parasites; as tempting as it may be to offer a blanket denunciation of elites, this overlooks the eras in which elites rose to meet existential crises.Following in Ancient Rome’s...

Effective federal funds (EFF) was 1.92% again yesterday. That’s now eight in a row just 3 bps underneath the “technically adjusted” IOER. If indeed the FOMC has to make another one to this tortured tool we know already who will be blamed for it. The Treasury Department announced yesterday that it will be auctioning off $65 billion in 4-week bills this week (today). The results showed that dealers submitted $152 billion...

Neuchâtel, 28 August 2018 (FSO) – In the 2nd quarter 2018, total employment (number of jobs) rose by 2.1% in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier (+0.4% with previous quarter). In full-time equivalents, employment in the same period rose by 2.0%. The Swiss economy counted 14 000 more vacancies than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (+22.6%) and the employment outlook indicator is also...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.07% at 1.143. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 28(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Corrective forces continue to weigh on the US dollar. Sometimes the narratives drive the price action and sometimes the price action drives the narratives. Currently the latter appears to hold sway. The dollar’s downside correction began around...

Increasing use of digital technology can unlock many opportunities but also present new threats to countries’ vital health and energy systems and infrastructure. (Keystone) In the wake of several major cyber security attacks, the government has released minimum standards for companies and organisations to help protect the country’s critical energy, food, and water infrastructure. Some critics question whether a minimum...

Here is the result of America’s neofeudalism: soaring wealth and income inequality. Let’s spin the time machine back to the late Middle Ages, at the height of feudalism, and imagine we’re trying to get a boatload of goods to the nearest city to sell. As we drift down the river, we’re constantly being stopped and charged a fee for transiting one small fiefdom after another. When we finally reach the city, there’s an...