Tag Archives: Featured

If a currency can’t be converted on demand into the underlying commodity, it’s not “backed by oil,” it’s just another form of control fraud. The broke and broken country of Venezuela appears to be the first nation-state to issue a cryptocurrency token (the petro) as a means of escaping the financial black hole that’s consuming its economy: Maduro Launches Oil-Backed Crypto “For The Welfare Of Venezuela”. For context,...

Peculiar Behavior As I have shown in previous issues of Seasonal Insights, various financial instruments are demonstrating peculiar behavior in the course of the week: the S&P 500 Index is typically strong on Tuesdays, Gold on Fridays and Bitcoin on Tuesdays (similar to the S&P 500 Index). Several readers have inquired whether currencies exhibit such patterns as well. Are these extremely large markets also home...

The start of the year has seen the Japanese yen and Swiss franc appreciate strongly against the US dollar (they rose by 5.6% and 4.4% respectively between 1 January and 22 February) despite higher US yields. However, this rise in US yields came with heightened market volatility, favouring safe haven currencies such as the yen and franc. Indeed, both currencies are characterised by structurally large domestic current...

Pallets in the warehouse of the logistics center of one of Switzerland's main online shops (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Swiss consumers are increasingly turning to the internet for shopping. Online sales were up by 10% in 2017, with a 23% increase in online purchases from abroad. The total sales generated from online shopping in 2017 was CHF8.6 billion ($9.2 billion) last year, with CHF1.6 billion going to...

Running for 57 kilometres under the Swiss Alps, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in the world and took 17 years to build. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The 2018 European Railway Award has been awarded to two pioneers of the  Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in the world that runs under the Gotthard massif in the Swiss Alps. Peter Jedelhauser of Swiss Railways and Renzo...

– Russian central bank buys gold – large 600,000 ounces or 18.7 tons of gold in January– Russia increased its holdings to 1,857 tons, topping the People’s Bank of China’s ‘reported’ 1,843 tons – Russia surpasses China as 6th largest holder of gold reserves – after U.S., Germany, IMF, Italy and France– Turkish central bank added 205 tons “over 13 consecutive months” – Commerzbank– Meanwhile, Russian ally Venezuela is...

Summary China regulators have taken over Anbang Insurance. Group for at least one year RBI minutes from this month’s meeting were more hawkish than expected. The RBI is reportedly reviewing its process for allowing local companies to issue debt overseas. Effective June 1, IDR-denominated debt becomes eligible for the Barclays Global Aggregate Index. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is coming under increasing...

Economic Activity Seems Brisk, But… Contrary to the situation in 2014-2015, economic indicators are currently far from signaling an imminent recession. We frequently discussed growing weakness in the manufacturing sector in 2015 (which is the largest sector of the economy in terms of gross output) – but even then, we always stressed that no clear recession signal was in sight yet. US gross output (GO) growth...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.20% to 1.152 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, February 23(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates A light economic schedule in North America may help the markets close the week on a quiet note. Perhaps if there is one number that captures this sense, it may be the VIX. It is soft and barring a new disruption today, it is poised to...

The chocolate for Walmart is produced in Coop's new production centre near Basel, named "Schoggihüsli" (Swiss-German for "little chocolate house"). (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Swiss retailer Coop is producing bars for Walmart’s own-brand chocolate, the SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday. The chocolate is produced in a newly established production centre near Basel and has been available in Walmart stores since...