Tag Archives: Featured

Italian fashion brand OVS has 140 stores across the country. (Keystone) The Sempione Retail company, owner of the OVS fashion stores in Switzerland, has begun bankruptcy proceedings. Some 140 outlets will close their doors, with 1,150 workers affected. The Italian clothes brand announced in a statement on Wednesday evening that it had reached a financial dead-end. It did not go into specific details, but said that it...

Welcome to debt-serfdom, the only possible output of the soaring cost of living. Long-time readers may recall the Burrito Index, my real-world measure of inflation. The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001 (August 1, 2016). The Burrito Index tracks the cost of a regular burrito since 2001. Since we keep detailed records of expenses (a necessity if you’re a self-employed free-lance writer), I can...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.30% to 1.1558 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 01(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The week is ending quite a bit different than it began. The main banking concern is not in Italy but in German, where shares in Deutsche Bank shares fell to a record low yesterday, and S&P Global cut its credit rating one step to BBB+...

Am 7. April 2017, dem Tag der Generalversammlung der Schweizerischen Nationalbank, war die Welt der Notenbank noch in Ordnung. Der Euro notierte bei 1.20 zum Franken, und SNB-Chef Thomas Jordan konnte einen Jahresgewinn für das vergangene Geschäftsjahr von 54 Milliarden Franken vorweisen. Ein Sieg auf der ganzen Linie, konnte man meinen. Die Lage an den Devisenmärkten kann so rasch drehen wie das Wetter in den Alpen....

Fragmented politics and the risk of a financial crisis continue to hang over the country. This weekend, the Five Star Movement and the League decided to pull the plug on their attempt to form a coalition government after the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella vetoed the appointment of anti-euro professor Paolo Savona as minister of finance. Mattarella has granted ex-International Monetary Fund official, Carlo...

The sanctions against Iran are affecting the banking industry there. (Keystone) A Swiss lender is suspending new transactions with Iran following US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Tehran. Banque de Commerce et de Placements (BCP)external link announced on Tuesday that it was wrapping up its activity in Iran in response to the US pulling out of the Iranian nuclear accord earlier this...

Summary: Euro has fallen 10.5 cents since mid-February. Net speculative longs in the futures market remain near record. Gross long euros have actually increased over the past month. When one trades futures, one declares whether one has an underlying business need, in which case one is considered a commercial. If no underlying business need exists, one is classified as a non-commercial, which in the vernacular of...

Stock Markets EM FX has started the week mixed. Some relief was seen as US rates stalled out last week, but this Friday’s jobs number could be key for the next leg of this dollar rally. On Wednesday, the Fed releases its Beige book for the upcoming June 13 FOMC meeting, where a 25 bp hike is widely expected. We believe EM FX remains vulnerable to further losses. Stock Markets Emerging Markets, May 23 Source:...

Are Gold And Silver Obsolete In The Crypto Age? What is the outlook for the global economy, financial markets, crypto currencies such as bitcoin and gold and silver bullion in the digital age? TOPICS IN THIS INTERVIEW 01:00 Diagnosis of the economy and rising inflation 06:00 Possible stock market correction? 09:30 What is triggering higher oil prices? 13:05 Impacts of rising oil prices on the mining sector 14:40 Gold...

In the autumn of 2017, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) conducted a survey on payment methods for the first time. The aim of the survey is to obtain representative information on payment behaviour and the use of cash by house holds in Switzerland, and to ascertain the underlying motives for this behaviour. As part of the survey, around 2,000 people resident in Switzerland were interviewed to obtain information on their...