Tag Archives: Featured

The flash composite Purchasing Managers’ index for the euro area increased to 58.6 in January from 58.1 in December, above consensus expectations (57.9).  The services sector index rose, offsetting the decline in the manufacturing index . Companies also expressed growing optimism about this year’s outlook, with business expectations up to an eight-month high. The only piece of less positive news was a modest drop in...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.62% to 1.1703 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 24(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF in Detail Sterling has made consistent gains against the Swiss Franc over the last week and now sits at a yearly high of 1.34. These gains can be attributed predominantly due to an extremely optimistic UK growth forecast from Lord Jim...

The Australian dollar bottomed in early December $0.7500 after having tested $0.8100 a couple of times in September. Since early December, however, the Australian dollar appreciated by nearly 6.5%.  As it tested the $0.8000 area, the momentum faded. Yesterday it managed to close above that threshold and new buying lifted it above yesterday’s highs briefly in Asia earlier today. However, there is a growing sense that...

Switzerland climbed the rankings, but overall globalisation is down, the report says. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Switzerland is the second-most globalised country in the world after the Netherlands, according to the latest edition of an index prepared by the University of Zurich. The Alpine nation has moved up from fifth place. The index prepared by the KOF Swiss Economic Instituteexternal link tracks...

The NZZ am Sonntag reported that many of the newly disclosed assets are being held in accounts in Liechtenstein. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge According to the results of a survey published Sunday in the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, CHF31.7 billion ($32.9 billion) in undeclared assets have been reported to tax authorities in Switzerland over the last eight years. The cantons of Zurich (CHF6.9 billion), Ticino...

– Cyber war is increasing threat – Investors are not prepared for– Third most likely global risk in 2018 is cyber war say WEF – “Scale and sophistication of attacks is going to grow”– EU, US, NATO lay down ground rules for offensive cyber war– Ireland is viable target for attackers but is ‘grossly unprepared for cyber war’– UK should expect attack that cripples infrastructure within 2 years – Trump administration may...

The Economist has just published its January 2018 Big Mac index, a light-hearted measure of whether currencies are under or overvalued. The underlying assumption is that a Big Mac is the same whether bought in Kiev or Chur, so any price difference must be due to the exchange rate. © Sergiomonti _ Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge In January 2018, Swiss Big Macs were still the world’s most expensive, making the Swiss...

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...