Tag Archives: Featured

The Trump Administration last week announced tariffs of 25% on USD 60bn worth of imports from China (out of USD506bn of total Chinese merchandise imports). The list of products targeted, still has to be thrashed out. The official aim is to sanction China for alleged theft of US firms’ intellectual property; the US Trade Representative (USTR) estimates the damage amounts to USD 50bn. But President Trump also sees the...

Recent positive developments in the United Kingdom (UK), namely the transitional deal reached between the UK and the European Union (EU) on 20 March and the strong job market report on 21 March, call for a more positive short-term outlook for the sterling than previously thought. We therefore revise our projections upward for the sterling on the entire time horizon. Our new projection for the GBP/USD rate in the next 12...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.34% to 1.1779 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, March 28(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Today may be the last day of full liquidity until next Tuesday, after the Easter holidays. We identify three developments that are characterizing the end of the month, quarter, and for some countries and companies, the fiscal year. Equity...

There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear There’s a man with a gun over there Telling me I got to beware I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound Everybody look what’s going down There’s battle lines being drawn Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong Young people speaking their minds Getting so much resistance from behind It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound Everybody look what’s...

The Swiss company RUAG made the news last week when investigators were called in to look at information relating to the sale of ammunition. But what is this company? RUAG Ammotec stand at Berlin Airshow 2016 © Sergey Kohl _ Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge According to RTS, the investigation revealed contracts for the sale of ammunition to Russia that had not been properly declared, RUAG triggered the investigation...

A traquil view of the Loentsch power plant on Lake Kloentaler in canton Glarus. (Keystone/Roland Schuler) - Click to enlarge The electricity consumed in Switzerland is ever greener, according to government statistics: some 62% comes from renewable sources, while nuclear has fallen to 17%. The figures (in French/German)external link were released on Monday by the Federal Office of Energy, which gathers each...

– London house prices falling at fastest pace since 2009 – Values fell by 2.6% in year through January – London house prices likely to be weakest in UK over next five years  – Inflated prices make London property more exposed to economic and political shocks – Worries over house prices are having a knock-on effect in wider economy– Physical gold to act as much needed hedge against falling property prices A new study by...

Q4 2017 In the fourth quarter of 2017, the current account surplus amounted to CHF 20 billion, or CHF 2 billion less than the year -back quarter. Lower receipts from investment income resulted in a slight expenses surplus on primary income (labour and investment income), which had shown a receipts surplus in the corresponding quarter of 2016. Moreover, the expenses surplus on secondary income (current transfers) rose....

Following the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) publication of Switzerland’s balance of payments data for Q4 2017, in this note we look deeper into the Swiss current account to try to find out why Switzerland persistently runs a surplus and whether or not the current account balance can be used to assess the fair value of the Swiss franc. In 2017, the current account surplus stood at around 9.8% of GDP or CHF66bn. This was...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.07% to 1.1755 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, March 27(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates We argued that the talk of trade war was exaggerated. The confrontation, strong demands and a climb down is the Art of the Deal, and is part of the way the Trump Administration negotiates. We see striking parallels between the policymakers...