Tag Archives: Featured

if you create and distribute money only in the apex of the wealth/power pyramid, it can only benefit the few rather than the many. There are numerous debates about money: what it is, how we measure it, and so on. In recognition of these debates, I’m referring to “money” in quotes to designate that I’m using the Federal Reserve’s measure of money stock (MZM). Nowadays, “money” is often credit. We buy stuff not with...

If you haven’t had a chance to go Christmas shopping don’t despair, gifts destroy value. For example, someone on a diet is unlikely to place much value on a box of chocolates. The difference between what was paid for the chocolates and what the recipient would have paid represents destroyed value. They could have been left on the shelf for someone who would have fully valued them. Economists call this deadweight loss. ©...

Kosten eines Vollgeld-Systems sind hoch Eine Umsetzung der Vollgeld-Initiative würde grossen Schaden anrichten und dürfte im Ergebnis selbst die Initianten enttäuschen. Verbesserungen verspricht dagegen eine «sanfte» Reform: die Einführung von elektronischem SNB-Geld für alle. Der Präsident des Vereins Monetäre Modernisierung Hansruedi Weber (Mitte) und zwei verkleidete Aktivisten reichen im Dezember 2015 bei der...

Kosten eines Vollgeld-Systems sind hoch Eine Umsetzung der Vollgeld-Initiative würde grossen Schaden anrichten und dürfte im Ergebnis selbst die Initianten enttäuschen. Verbesserungen verspricht dagegen eine «sanfte» Reform: die Einführung von elektronischem SNB-Geld für alle. Der Präsident des Vereins Monetäre Modernisierung Hansruedi Weber (Mitte) und zwei verkleidete Aktivisten reichen im Dezember 2015 bei der...

Overview In the third quarter of 2016, the current account surplus amounted to CHF 21 billion. This was CHF 2 billion less than in the year -back quarter. As a result of lower receipts from direct investment, the receipts surplus in primary income (labour and investment income) declined by CHF 4 billion to CHF 1 billion. The surplus of receipts from trade in goods increased by CHF 2 billion to CHF 17 billion, while the...

In this article from Bloomberg, the authors assume that a country must continue producing the goods that it used to produce. But with time watches get assembled in China or other Asian countries. And the Swiss focus now on more sophisticated goods: The Swiss trade balance have seen in recent years a massive shift towards chemicals and pharamceuticals. The number of watches Switzerland exports is on track to reach the...

Swiss Franc EURCHF - Euro Swiss Franc December 21(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) Source: Investing.com - Click to enlarge The pound has tailed off from its recent high against the Swiss Franc over the last couple of weeks with rates for GBP CHF sitting at 1.27 for this pair. The pound seems to have climbed as far as it can against most of the major currencies with the current economic and political factors at...

Summary: Yen is up slightly this year on an effective trade weighted basis. The euro has gained about 1% this year on an effective trade weighted basis. Sterling’s decline has been significant on an effective basis. The yuan’s decline looks to have corrected overshoot and is still holding an 11-year uptrend on the BIS real effective basis. As investors and traders, we are familiar with the developments in the...

  Financialization Genius BALTIMORE – When we left you last time, we were in the middle of describing the crooked hind leg of crony capitalism. We used billionaire businessman Wilbur Ross – Donald Trump’s pick for the Department of Commerce – for illustration purposes. Not that there is anything wrong with Mr. Ross. He plays the game, just as everyone else does. He’s particularly good at it. But today, we’ll look at...

Around 80 people were gathered at the Islamic center on Monday evening (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Police say the man responsible for the shooting incident at the Zurich Islamic Centre on Monday evening was a 24-year-old Swiss with Ghanaian roots. They said there appears to be no link to radical groups. The man’s motive for the mosque shooting and a separate murder on Sunday remains unclear. Three worshippers at the...