Tag Archives: Featured

  India’s Currency Ban, Part VII This article continues right where Part VI left off (for earlier updates on the demonetization saga see Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, and Part-V). There is still huge support for Modi even among the poor.  A big carrot is dangled before them, which makes many stay numb to their current suffering.  During his election campaign in 2014, Modi promised to deposit more than Rs 1.5...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, December 23(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge FX Rates Asian shares trade heavily. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index ex-Japan fell 0.4%.  It is the fourth lower close this week and brings the loss to 1.75% for the week.  It is fallen in seven of the past nine weeks.  The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is little changed on the session and is nursing a minor loss on the week and...

SMI Ahead of the Christmas break, trading volumes were thin this week amid a lack of new market catalysts. Swiss and European equities were generally unchanged through the week, tracking global stock markets. Overall, sentiment appears to be positive as investors close their books for the year. SMI Index, December 23 - Click to enlarge Economic Data The European banking sector was this week’s main story with...

As global markets bask in the glow of the Trumpflation recovery, the ECB continues to be busy providing the actual levitating power behind what DB recently dubbed global “helicopter money“, by buying copious amounts of bonds on a daily basis (at least until tomorrow when the ECB goes on brief monetization hiatus, and Italy will be on its own for the next two weeks). According to the latest weekly breakdown of what the...

Summary: High-wage economies of Canada, EU, Japan and Australia account for nearly half of US corporate employment abroad. And even in low-wage regions, the high-wage parts tend to draw more US employment. The new US administration may have second thoughts about pivot to Asia, but US companies may not. US Flag Around the Earth --- Image by © Images.com/Corbis - Click to enlarge The US economy created roughly...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, December 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF rates have dipped over the past week, as the markets start to slowdown ahead of the Christmas period. Market trends become harder to predict at this time of year, due to the fact there is less capital injected by investors. Less liquidity ultimately equals less stability and the Pound may be suffering due...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, December 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF rates have dipped over the past week, as the markets start to slowdown ahead of the Christmas period. Market trends become harder to predict at this time of year, due to the fact there is less capital injected by investors. Less liquidity ultimately equals less stability and the Pound may be suffering due...

It’s finally coming. Inflation. President-Elect Donald Trump’s promised a whole lot of infrastructure spending, raising the prospects for a great slug of price pressure the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. Analysts’ forecasts and financial markets show a dramatic shift in view on the outlook for inflation. These charts show some metrics worth watching. Investors have raised bets on a price pickup. Inflation’s...

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. ©...