Tag Archives: Featured

The Paradise Papers leaks have cast a spotlight on the commodities trading business (Keystone) Commodities trading company Vitol has taken legal action against “inaccurate and defamatory” allegations made by the Swiss NGO Public Eye in the wake of the Paradise Papers revelations. Public Eye issued a press release and report on November 10 accusing four Swiss-based commodities traders, including Vitol, of doing business...

Authored by John Mauldin via MauldinEconomics.com, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” – Ecclesiastes 1:2, King James Version (attributed to King Solomon in his old age) This week’s letter will take a look at the growing number of ridiculous, inane, and otherwise nonsensical absurdities that fill the daily economic headlines. I have gone from the occasional smile to scratching my...

Authored by John Mauldin via MauldinEconomics.com, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” – Ecclesiastes 1:2, King James Version (attributed to King Solomon in his old age) This week’s letter will take a look at the growing number of ridiculous, inane, and otherwise nonsensical absurdities that fill the daily economic headlines. I have gone from the occasional smile to scratching my...

We do not like Purchasing Power or Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) as measurement for currencies. For us, the trade balance decides if a currency is overvalued. Only the trade balance can express productivity gains, while the REER assumes constant productivity in comparison to trade partners. Who has read Michael Pettis, knows that a rising trade surplus may also be caused by a higher savings rate while the trade...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.03% to 1.1649 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, November 20(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge CHF/GBP The Swiss Franc has seen some weakness of late as risk appetite is changing which is creating less demand for the Swiss Franc. Investors for the moment are looking at the US for better returns after a run of positive economic data from the...

Good news from the Swiss watchmaking industry, plans to ban under-18s from solariums because of health risks and a warning that the Swiss railway system could face chaos in December. Nick Hayek, CEO of the Swatch Group, is upbeat about the immediate future of the Swiss watchmaking industry (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Watchmakers on the mend The Swiss watchmaking industry has made a turnaround following a...

Money and Markets Infographic Shows Silver Most Undervalued Asset – Silver remains severely under owned and under valued asset – Entire silver market worth tiny $100 billion shown in one tiny square – “All of the World’s Money and Markets in One Visualization”– Must see ‘Money and Markets’ infographic shows relative size of key markets: silver bullion, gold bullion, cryptocurrencies/ bitcoin, largest companies, 50...

Industrial Production benefited from a hurricane rebound in October 2017, rising 2.9% above October 2016. US Industrial Production, Jan 1995 - Nov 2017(see more posts on U.S. Industrial Production, ) - Click to enlarge That is the highest growth rate in nearly three years going back to January 2015. With IP lagging behind the rest of the manufacturing turnaround, this may be the best growth rate the sector will...

The contours of the investment climate are unlikely to change based on next week’s economic data from the US, Japan, or Europe. The state of the major economies continues to be well understood by investors. Growth in the US, EU, and Japan remains solid, and if anything above trend, as the year winds down. The incremental data will likely show that the eurozone economic momentum is intact with the November flash PMI....

Stock Markets EM FX ended the week firm, and capped off a good week overall.  Best performers last week for ZAR and KRW, while the worst were TRY and IDR.  Until we get higher US rates, the dollar may remain under modest pressure.  This would help EM maintain some traction, though we remain cautious.     Stock Markets Emerging Markets, November 15 Source: econnomist.com - Click to enlarge Chile Chile will hold...