Tag Archives: Featured

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.14% to 1.1773 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 23(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar has come back better bid in late Asian activity. The session highlight was the BOJ meeting. BOJ maintained forecasts and policy. There was a small tweak to the inflation assessment, noting that prices were skewed to the...

Figures published in 2017 show that only 37% of Swiss healthcare costs were covered by basic compulsory health insurance premiums. © Ognjen Stevanovic | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge The remaining cost was covered by the government (20%), accident and social insurance (10%), private complementary health insurance (7%), charity (1%) and out-of-pocket spending by individuals (26%). Compulsory Swiss health insurance...

Although prices vary widely depending on the type and method of transaction, some banks may earn money by adding surcharges to currency exchanges. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge A study of over 40 Swiss finance institutions has revealed ‘striking’ differences in exchange rates for banknotes and currencies as well as the addition of hefty mark-ups and fees. Online banking and insurance comparison service...

Government Shutdown Ends – Markets Ignore Looming Debt and Bond Market Threat For Now – U.S. Senate pass a temporary spending plan through Feb. 8 to end shutdown– Markets shrug off both government shutdown and re-opening– Markets, government and media ignoring worsening US debt position – Gold responding positively to U.S. dysfunction, rising US Treasury yields & weaker dollar – U.S. government national debt is...

This is one reason why I anticipate “unexpected” disruptions in the global economy in 2018. The mere mention of “central banks” will likely turn off many readers who understandably have little interest in convoluted policies and arcane mumbo-jumbo, but bear with me for a few paragraphs while I make the case for something to happen in 2018 that will impact us all to some degree. That something is the decay of the...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.36% to 1.1768 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar closed last week on a firm note, but it has been unable to build on its gains to start the new week. News that Germany’s SPD agreed to enter formal negotiations with Merkel’s CDU/CSU alliance saw the euro open in Asia...

USD/CHF The USDCHF pair found solid support at 0.9564 barrier, which forced the price to rebound bullishly to approach testing the key resistance 0.9655, met by the EMA50 to add more strength to it, while stochastic shows clear overbought signals now. Therefore, these factors encourage us to continue suggesting the bearish trend in the upcoming sessions, as our next main target is located at 0.9420, noting that the...

Recently, Russian television network RT extensively quoted me in a series of articles about the US Government’s gold reserves. The RT articles, published on the RT.com website, were based on a series of questions RT put to me about various aspects of the official US gold reserves. These gold reserves are held by the US Treasury, mostly in the custody of the US Mint. The US Mint is a branch of the US Treasury. The first...

There’s nothing especially special about 2.62%. It’s a level pretty much like any other, given significance by only one phrase: the highest since 2014. It sounds impressive, which is the point. But that only lasts until you remember the same thing was said not all that long ago. Back last March, the 10-year yield had then, like now, broke above 2.60%. In doing so, it surpassed the previous recent high set in December...

The US dollar has been marked lower since the middle of last month. It flies in the face strong growth, rising inflation expectations, and greater conviction that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates this year. Moreover, an oft-cited knock on the dollar, the widening current account, may be offset this year by the impact from US corporations repatriating earnings that have been kept offshore. Another weight on...