Tag Archives: Featured

Expectations going into the OPEC monitoring meeting in St. Petersburg were low.  The OPEC agreement to reduce output appeared to be fraying.  June output appeared to have increased in several countries, and private sector estimates suggest output rose further in July.  Russia expressed reluctance to extend the agreement further.  Ecuador announced it would no longer participate in the output restraint.  Hopes that...

Last year more than 100,000 passengers passed through Zurich airport in a day, last Sunday a new record was set (Keystone) Switzerland’s main airport of Zurich is going from strength to strength, setting a new daily record. On Sunday about 107,000 passengers travelled through the airport in just one day, a spokeswoman said. The figure compares with the average daily figure of 30,000 passengers. Travellers flying to a...

Swiss Franc The euro is up by 0.56% to 1.1152 CHF EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 26(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates By definition, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting is the highlight of the day. Without a press conference, and following last month’s rate hike, there is practically no chance of a new policy initiative either on the balance sheet...

A Migros truck to be loaded at a distribution center in Dierikon (Keystone) Employee work hours, more storm damage in Switzerland and electricity companies’ fears of cyber attacks are among the main headlines in the Sunday papers. Not all younger employees in Switzerland prefer the freedom of more flexible work hours as companies try to adapt quickly to an increasingly digital world, reports the Swiss newspaper...

La léthargie estivale des marchés a tendance à insuffler un sentiment de fausse sécurité. Les actions et l’immobilier approchent de leurs plus hauts historiques, les taux d’intérêt sont à un plus bas de 72 ans, et la plupart des investisseurs se sentent plus riches que jamais. Les banques centrales envoient les signaux d’économies fortes en annonçant des hausses de taux et une réduction de leurs bilans. Source image:...

Part of “reflation” was always going to be banks making more money in money. These days that is called FICC – Fixed Income, Currency, Commodities. There’s a bunch of activities included in that mix, but it’s mostly derivative trading books forming the backbone of math-as-money money. The better the revenue conditions in FICC, the more likely banks are going to want to do more of it, perhaps to the point of reversing...

The Swiss consumption indicator by UBS shows improvements. The indicator is still distant from the highs in 2012. At the time stronger growth in Emerging Markets and the weaker franc helped the Swiss economy. UBS consumption indicator printed 1.38 in June, pointing to subdued growth in Swiss private consumption in recent months. Relatively weak growth in employment was much to blame for the lackluster number, however...

The Antidote Something needs to be said. We are against the existence of irredeemable paper currency, central banking and central planning, cronyism, socialized losses and privatized gains, counterfeit credit, wealth transfers and bailouts, and welfare both corporate and personal. When we write to debunk the conspiracy theories that say manipulation is keeping gold from hitting $5,000 (one speaker here at Freedom Fest...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 25(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The global capital markets are subdued today; a dearth of fresh news and tomorrow’s FOMC meeting are making for light activity and limited price movement. The US dollar is little changed against most of the major currencies. The net change on the day through most of the European...

An employee packages cigarettes in Switzerland (Keystone) In Switzerland, 21% of the adult population on average are daily smokers, according to a report from the World Health Organisation. That is firmly in line with average rates of current smoking among adults globally, which have declined to 21% in 2015 down from 24% in 2007. But among high-income countries like Switzerland, there’s a striking gender difference: the...