There is no change to the risk budget this month. For the moderate risk investor, the allocation between risk assets and bonds is unchanged at 50/50. There are other changes to the portfolio though so please read on. As I write this the stock market is in the process of taking a dive (well if 1.4% is a “dive”) and one can’t help but wonder if the long awaited and anticipated correction is finally at hand. Which means,...
Read More »FX Daily, August 18: Dollar and Equities Trade Heavily Ahead of the Weekend
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.06% to 1.1279 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 18(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The second largest drop in US equities this year has spilled over to drag global markets lower. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell nearly 0.5%, snapping a four-day advance and cutting this week’s gain in half. The Dow Jones Stoxx did not...
Read More »L’impact de la délocalisation de la production sur la balance commerciale US.
Dans la série sur la balance des paiements et les zooms sur les balances commerciales, voici l’évolution de la balance commerciale américaine. Nous voyons clairement qu’elle était neutralisée à 0 durant l’ère où les devises du monde devaient être arrimées, selon les Accords de Bretton Woods, au dollar qui lui-même était partiellement couvert par l’or. La valeur du dollar devait se référer à un prix fixe de l’or de 35...
Read More »Buy Gold Urges Dalio on Linkedin – “Militaristic Leaders Playing Chicken Risks Hellacious War”
Don’t let “traditional biases” stop you from diversifying into gold – Dalio on Linkedin “Risks are now rising and do not appear appropriately priced in” warns founder of world’s largest hedge fund Geo-political risk from North Korea & “risk of hellacious war” Risk that U.S. debt ceiling not raised; technical US default Safe haven gold likely to benefit by more than dollar, treasuries Investors should allocate at...
Read More »Government compromises on medical tariffs
The Swiss cabinet has approved an amended billing system for medical treatments aimed at creating more transparency and limiting a further increase in healthcare costs. The decision is expected to lead to annual savings of CHF470 million ($483 million) and a drop of about 1.5 percentage points in insurance fees for patients, according to Interior Minister Alain Berset. However, it falls short of initial proposals for...
Read More »Is Historically Low Volatility About to Expand?
Suspicion Asleep You have probably noticed it already: stock market volatility has recently all but disappeared. This raises an important question for every investor: Has the market established a permanent plateau of low volatility, or is the current period of low volatility just the calm before the storm? When such questions regarding future market trends arise, it is often worthwhile to examine market history. For...
Read More »Data Dependent: Interest Rates Have Nowhere To Go
In October 2015, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Bill Dudley admitted that the US economy might be slowing. In the typically understated fashion befitting the usual clownshow, he merely was acknowledging what was by then pretty obvious to anyone outside the economics profession. Dudley was at that moment, however, undaunted. His eye was cast toward the unemployment rate and that was nothing but encouraging no matter the...
Read More »L’impact de la délocalisation de la production sur la balance commerciale US. Liliane Held-Khawam
Dans la série sur la balance des paiements et les zooms sur les balances commerciales, voici l’évolution de la balance commerciale américaine. Nous voyons clairement qu’elle était neutralisée à 0 durant l’ère où les devises du monde devaient être arrimées, selon les Accords de Bretton Woods, au dollar qui lui-même était partiellement couvert par l’or. La valeur du dollar devait se référer à un prix fixe de l’or de 35...
Read More »Swiss Labour Force Survey in 2nd quarter 2017: Labour Supply: Number of Persons in Employment Rises
Neuchâtel, 17.08.2017 (FSO) – The number of employed persons in Switzerland rose by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter 2017 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. The unemployment rate as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) fell during the same period in Switzerland from 4.6% to 4.4%. The EU’s unemployment rate decreased from 8.6% to 7.6%. These are some of the results from the Swiss Labour Force...
Read More »FX Daily, August 17: Euro Softens on Crosses, Treasuries Stabilize
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.47% to 1.1306 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 17(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ). FX Rates The US dollar had steadied after softening in the North American afternoon yesterday when the dissolution of President Trump’s business councils as a series of executives stepped down. The FOMC minutes added more fuel to the move. The market responded to the minutes by selling the...
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