Tag Archives: Featured

Something else ‘Murica is no longer #1 in… A recently released World Economic Forum report has found that the global economy is recovering well nearly a decade on from the start of the global financial crisis with GDP growth hitting 3.5 percent in 2017. The eurozone in particular is regaining traction with 1.9 percent growth expected this year. As Statista’s Niall McCarthy points out, the improvement in...

Too Big to Fail? Dear Mr. Butler, in your article of 2 October, entitled Thoughtful Disagreement, you say: “Someone will come up with the thoughtful disagreement that makes the body of my premise invalid or the price of silver will validate the premise by exploding.” Back in the late 90s this was actually a fairly well-timed case, as silver eventually rose from a low of around $4 in 2000/2001 to a high of almost $50...

These expedient fixes end up crippling the mechanisms that are needed to actually solve the systemic sources of the crisis. We can add a third certainty to the two standard ones (death and taxes): The rules will suddenly change when a financial crisis strikes. Why is this a certainty? The answer is complex, as it draws on human nature, politics and the structure of societies/economies ruled by centralized states...

Summary: Sterling has given up 50% of the gains score since late August’s lows. Rate hike expectations are running high. Speculative market positioning has adjusted, and for the first time in a couple of years, speculators in the futures market are net long. Sterling peaked on September 20 near $1.3660. It traded to nearly $1.3220 today.  It has fallen in nine of the past dozen sessions. The main culprits are...

Run On The Pound ? Jeremy Corbyn Says Should Plan For – Right to plan for ‘run on pound’ if Labour wins says Corbyn and Labour party – British pound already down 20% since Brexit, collapse already in play– Run on the pound likely due to Labour’s ‘command economy’ approach– Collapse in Sterling would undermine UK financial system– Portfolios holding sterling and related assets would be significantly affected– Pension...

Neuchâtel, 5.10.2017 (FSO) – The consumer price index (IPC) increased by 0.2% in September 2017 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.9 points (December 2015=100). Inflation was 0.7% compared with the same month of the previous year. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Switzerland Consumer Price Index (CPI) YoY, Sep 2017(see more posts on Switzerland Consumer Price Index, )...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.03% to 1.1461 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 05(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar is mostly little changed as the broad consolidation that has emerged this week continues. The two powerful forces that have emerged–expectation of a Fed hike at the end of the year and European political challenges–appear to...

There is a difference between reflation and recovery.  The terms are similar and relate to the same things, but in many ways the latter requires first the former.  To get to recovery, the economy must reflate if in contraction it was beaten down in money as well as cyclical forces. In the Great Crash of 1929 and after, reflation was required because of the wholesale devastation of the money supply.  By pumping up new...

USD/CHF EUR/CHF EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 05(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge USD/JPY [embedded content] USD/JPY with Technical Indicators, October 2 - Click to enlarge EUR/USD [embedded content] EUR/USD with Technical Indicators, October 2 - Click to enlarge GBP/USD [embedded content] GBP/USD with Technical Indicators, October 2 - Click to...

Neuchâtel, 5.10.2017 (FSO) – The consumer price index (IPC) increased by 0.2% in September 2017 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.9 points (December 2015=100). Inflation was 0.7% compared with the same month of the previous year. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Switzerland Consumer Price Index (CPI) YoY, Sep 2017(see more posts on Switzerland Consumer Price Index, )...