Tag Archives: Featured

Claudio Grass in Conversation with Todd “Bubba” Horwitz Todd Horwitz is known as Bubba and is chief market strategist of  Bubba Trading.com. He is a regular contributor on Fox, CNBC, BNN, Kitco, and Bloomberg. He also hosts a daily podcast, ‘The Bubba Show.’ He is a 36-year member of the Chicago exchanges and was one of the original market makers in the SPX. Before you listen to the podcast, I would like to provide...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.15% to 1.1582 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 31(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The Japanese yen has been sold following the adjustments to policy and outlook by the BOJ that will allow the unconventional policies continue for an “extended period of time.” Cross rate pressure and month-end demand have lifted the...

The increasing volatility of SNB Earnings Annual results are not really definite. Given that the SNB accumulates foreign currencies with interventions, they have huge swings. But the SNB may lose 50 billion in one year and win 60 billion in the next year or vice verse. Good years of the Credit Cycle This trend was stopped in 2016, even without the need for a cap on the franc. But one should consider that we are in...

The famed Swiss watch and jewellery manufacturer Swatch Group has participated in Baselworld for years with nearly all of its 18 brands. (Keystone) With the departure of its largest exhibitor from 2019, it’s yet another setback for the world’s largest watch and jewellery trade show, which has seen participation dwindle in recent years. Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday that “today,...

For the first time since mid-June, the US dollar has traded below CAD1.30. The greenback is weaker against all the major currencies. However, for the most part, it is still in well-worn ranges, which makes the breakdown against the Canadian dollar even more notable. It is not clear that today’s break will be sustained. Indeed, we lean against it. However, a bounce back into the CAD1.3040-CAD1.3060 may offer a better...

Let’s return to our ongoing series on the destruction of capital, and how to identify the signs. Steve Saville posted a thoughtful article this week entitled The “Productivity of Debt” Myth. His article provides a good opportunity to add some additional thoughts. We have written quite a lot on this topic. Indeed, we have a landing page for marginal productivity of debt (MPoD) with four articles so far. Few economists...

The confidence and hubris of those directing the rest of us to race off the cliff while they watch from a safe distance is off the charts. The past decade of “recovery” and “growth” has actually been a decade of catastrophic losses for our society and nation. Here’s a short list of what we’ve lost: 1. Functioning markets. Free markets discover price and assess risk. What passes for markets now are little more than...

The KOF Economic Barometer only slightly moved in July. Compared to its June value, it decreased by 0.2 to 101.1 points. The current Barometer value still stands slightly above the long-term average of 100 points; it thus indicates a slightly above-average economic development in Switzerland in the coming months. In July, the KOF Economic Barometer fell slightly to 101.1 points from 101.3 in June (101.7 in the initial...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.03% to 1.159 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 30(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The week’s big events lie ahead. It is seen as the last important week before the dog days of summer when many participants will take holidays. The BOJ’s two-day meeting concludes tomorrow. Speculation that the BOJ is looking for ways to...

In this article I point to the pressures on the Fed to moderate monetary policy, but that will only affect the timing of the next cyclical credit crisis. That is going to happen anyway, triggered by the Fed or even a foreign central bank. In the very short term, a tendency to moderate monetary policy might allow the gold price to recover from its recent battering. Unlike the last credit crisis when the dollar rose...