Tag Archives: Featured

The value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, just like any other kind of money, comes fundamentally from what you can do with it. As a follow up to What Backs Bitcoin, I want to dig into that value. The idea, which comes from Austrian economist Carl Menger, is that just as a shovel’s value comes from its ability to dig, a currency’s value comes from its ability to help you do two things: transactions and savings. Think...

Style Over Substance There are many things that could be said about the GOP tax bill.  But one thing is certain.  It has been a great show. Obviously, the time for real solutions to the debt problem that’s ailing the United States came and went many decades ago.  Instead of addressing the Country’s mounting insolvency, lawmakers chose expediency without exception.  They kicked the can from yesterday to today....

USD/CHF The USDCHF pair tested the correctional bearish channel’s resistance that appears on the chart and kept its stability below it, accompanied by witnessing clear negative signals through stochastic, which supprots the chances of bouncing bearishly to resume the bearish bias in the upcoming sessions, waiting to test 0.9800 level. Therefore, we suggest witnessing negative trading on the intraday and short term...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.46% to 1.1652 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, December 04(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar opened higher in Asia and retained those gains through the European morning. The greenback has recouped most of the pre-weekend losses recorded in the wake of the indictment of a fourth former Trump Administration official...

Rajasthan has one of the highest maternal and newborn mortality rates in India (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The Zurich-based UBS Optimus Foundation has announced the launch of the first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in the field of healthcare. If successful, it could save over 10,000 lives in India. The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the Swiss bank UBS, will invest a total of $3.5 million...

Key topics in the video: – A bullion dealers view on ‘What will drive the markets in 2018?’– QE, inflation, Fed rates, debt bomb, China, populism, EU cohesion, Brexit, digital disruption, cashless society, demographics, Trump (war), Artificial intelligence (AI)– Solve global debt crisis with humongous amount of debt!?– Inflation – U.S. health insurance has increased 13% per annum since – How Artificial Intelligence...

The central banks claim omnipotent financial powers, and their comeuppance is overdue. I will be the first to admit that invoking the woo-woo of the Tao as the reason to expect a reversal of the stock market in 2018 smacks of Bearish desperation. With everything coming up roses in much of the global economy, there is precious little foundation for calling a tumultuous end to the global Bull Market other than variations...

Stock Markets EM FX ended the week on a mixed note. US jobs data may refocus market attention on Fed tightening. Most EM inflation readings this week are expected to show easing price pressures, supporting a dovish EM central bank outlook. The major exceptions are Mexico and Turkey, whose central banks may be forced to tighten policy in the coming weeks. Stock Markets Emerging Markets, November 29 Source:...

The new monthly cycle of high frequency economic data has begun. The manufacturing PMI shows the synchronized global recovery is continuing. The service sector and composite PMI will be reported in the week ahead. They are unlikely altering the general expectation for robust growth in Q4. Even the disappointing US auto sales (17.35 mln seasonally-adjusted annual pace vs. expectations for 17.5 mln and 18.0 mln in...

Swiss beer fans can enjoy an increasingly diverse selection (Keystone/Angelika Warmuth) - Click to enlarge The amount of beer consumed in Switzerland declined last year, as it did for wine. Yet the number of specialist craft microbreweries continues to rise. Between October 2016 and September 2017, the Swiss drank 461 million litres of beer (54.5 litres per person) – down 0.2% on the previous reporting...