Tag Archives: Featured

While the gold price is slowly crawling upward in the shadow of the current cryptocurrency boom, China continues to import huge tonnages of yellow metal. As usual, Chinese investors bought on the price dips in the past quarters, steadfastly accumulating for a rainy day. The Chinese appear to be price sensitive regarding gold, as was mentioned in the most recent World Gold Council Demand Trends report, and can also be...

Beneath the surface of modern maps, numerous old fault lines still exist. A political earthquake or two might reveal the fractures for all to see. Correspondent Mark G. and I have long discussed the potential relevancy of old boundaries, alliances and structures in Europe’s future alignments.Examples include the Holy Roman Empire and the Hanseatic League, among others. In the long view, Europe has cycled between periods...

Federal Reserve revisions to the Consumer Credit series have created some discontinuities in the data. Changes were applied cumulatively to December 2015 alone, rather than revising downward the whole data series prior to that month. The Fed therefore estimates $3.531 trillion in outstanding consumer credit (seasonally-adjusted) in November 2015, and then just $3.417 trillion the following month. Of that $114.3 billion...

The Producer Price Index (PPI) or officially named “Producer and Import Price Index” describes the changes in prices for producers and importers. For us it is interesting because it is used in the formula for the Real Effective Exchange Rate. When producers and importers profit on lower price changes when compared to other countries, then the Swiss Franc reduces its overvaluation. The Swiss PPI values of -6% in 2015...

Fewer people are moving to Switzerland from elsewhere in Europe. Between January and September this year, immigration from European Union states was down by 26%, compared to the same period last year. (RTS/swissinfo.chexternal link) For example, according to Swiss Public Television, RTS, 7,891 Portuguese arrived in Switzerland while 7,912 left, citing various reasons for their departure. Some said it was too expensive...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.03% to 1.1607 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, November 13(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar has begun the new week on firm footing, without the help of either higher interest rates or increased confidence that Congress will agree on a tax plan. Indeed, over the weekend the Chair of the House Ways and Means...

Bolivian President Evo Morales will visit Switzerland in December to sign an agreement about a major South American rail project (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The following stories were reported in Switzerland’s Sunday press on November 12, 2017. A major South American rail deal The SonntagsBlick newspaper reports that Bolivian President Evo Morales will head to Switzerland on December 14 to sign a...

– Internet shutdowns (116 in two years) show physical gold is ultimate protection – Number of internet shutdowns increased in 2017 as 30 countries hit by shutdowns – Democratic India experienced 54 internet shutdowns in last two years; Brazil 2– EU country Estonia, a technologically advanced nation, experienced a shutdown – Gallup poll shows Americans more worried about cybercrime than violent crime – Governments use...

These are the poisoned fruits of a neofeudal system in which power, wealth and political influence are concentrated in the apex of the wealth-power pyramid. Stripped of pretense, ours is a culture of rape. Apologists for the system that spawned this culture of rape claim that this violence is the work of a few scattered sociopaths. The apologists are wrong: The system generates a culture of rape. The engine of our...

Stock Markets EM FX closed the week on a soft note.  For the week as a whole, best performers were MYR, PLN, and COP, while the worst were BRL, ZAR, and INR.  US inflation and retail sales data will likely set the tone for EM.  Also, the US fiscal debate is set to continue this week, so expect lots of choppy trading across many markets. Stock Markets Emerging Markets, November 13 Source: economist.com - Click to...