Tag Archives: Featured

Foreign minister Didier Burkhalter speaking about Swiss-EU relations in June. (Keystone) Switzerland and the European Union today wrapped up negotiations aimed at removing technical barriers to trade for a range of industrial goods. The deal may be a sign that relations are improving between Bern and Brussels. The agreement, announced by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), involves the mutual recognition...

See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. Precious Metals Supply and Demand Report That’s it. It’s the final straw. One of the alternative investing newsletters had a headline that screamed, “Bitcoin Is About to Soar, But You Must Act by August 1 to Get In”. It was missing only the call to action “call 1-800-BIT-COIN now! That number again is 800...

From the official news release Interim results of the Swiss National Bank as at 30 June 2017 The Swiss National Bank (SNB) reports a profit of CHF 1.2 billion for the first half of 2017. A valuation gain of CHF 0.3 billion was recorded on gold holdings. The profit on foreign currency positions amounted to CHF 0.1 billion and the profit on Swiss franc positions stood at CHF 0.9 billion. The SNB’s financial result...

Swiss Franc The euro is up by 0.15% to 1.1385 CHF EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 31(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar is enjoying a respite from the recent selling, but its gains have been shallow, and will likely prove brief. The upticks have been concentrated in the recently high-flying dollar-bloc currencies, and sterling. The tone appears to be...

Swiss Franc Speculators were net short CHF in January 2015, shortly before the end of the peg, with 26.4K contracts. Then again in December 2015, when they expected a Fed rate hike, with 25.5K contracts. The biggest short CHF, however, happened in June 2007, when speculators were net short 80K contracts. Shortly after, the U.S. subprime crisis started. The carry trade against CHF collapsed. The...

Neuchâtel, 27.07.2017 (FSO) – The total number of hours worked in Switzerland reached 7.892 billion in 2016, representing an increase of 1.4% compared with the previous year. According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), between 2011 and 2016, the actual weekly hours worked by full-time employees declined by 13 minutes and stood at 41 hours and 10 minutes, whereas the number of weeks of annual holiday continued its...

Summary: For the US jobs data to rally the dollar, it needs to increase the likelihood of a Fed hike in September, a high bar. The BOE will stand pat, a 6-2 vote would likely be accompanied by a hawkish inflation report. The RBA will also hold rates steady, and of course, it would prefer a weaker currency. The tide of sentiment has turned against the dollar. The enthusiasm seen in the second part of last year,...

Stock Markets EM FX was mixed last week, as markets await fresh drivers. Jobs report this Friday could provide greater clarity with regards to Fed policy. BOE and RBA meet but aren’t expected to change policy. Data is likely to reinforce the notion that inflation remains low in EM, allowing those central banks to remain dovish. Czech National Bank is the main exception, as it may start the tightening cycle this week....

Swiss Franc vs USD and EUR The Swiss franc was the only major foreign currency that fell against the dollar last week. The 2.6% decline was the largest in two years. Stops triggered in the euro-franc cross, reports of direct investment-related franc sales for yen, and conviction that the SNB will lag behind the other central banks is thought to be behind the move. The dollar high in June was near CHF0.9785, and the...

Holiday-weekend traffic has been causing long tailbacks at both ends of the Gotthard tunnel in central Switzerland. Reports of two-hour jams on Saturday may re-surface debates about traffic in the region. Southbound traffic waits to enter the Gotthard tunnel.(Keystone) As Swiss National Day approaches on 1 August, this weekend saw large movements of traffic...