Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, October 06 2016. - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar is advancing against the major and most emerging market currencies. Activity is subdued and ranges are narrow. We share four observations about the price action. First, the euro has been unable to sustain upticks even after Germany reported a jump in industrial orders three-times more than the median estimate (1.0%...
Read More »Swiss Consumer Price Index 0.1 percent MoM, -0.2 percent YoY
Swiss Consumer Price Index in September 2016 Consumer prices increase by 0.1% Neuchâtel, 06.10.2016 (FSO) – The Swiss Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.1% in September 2016 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.2 points (December 2015=100). Inflation was -0.2% in comparison with the same month in the previous year. These are the findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Switzerland...
Read More »Canadian Dollar: A Little Less About Oil, a Little More about Rates
Summary: The Canadian dollar’s link to oil has loosened. Its sensitivity to interest rates has increased. Lumber issue is coming to a head shortly. Of the majors, only sterling was weaker than the Canadian dollar in Q3. Sterling’s drop was a function of its decision to leave the EU and ease monetary policy. The Canadian dollar fell 1.6% compared with sterling’s 2.6% fall. The other dollar-bloc currencies...
Read More »Statistics on tourist accommodation in August 2016: Overnight stays decline in August 2016
06.10.2016 09:15 – FSO, Tourism (0353-1609-80) Statistics on tourist accommodation in August 2016 Overnight stays decline in August 2016 Neuchâtel, 06.10.2016 (FSO) – The Swiss hotel industry registered 4.1 million overnight stays in August 2016, which corresponds to a decrease of 1.0% (-43,000 overnight stays) compared with August 2015. Foreign visitors generated 2.4 million overnight stays, representing a...
Read More »FX Daily, October 05: Euro Remains Firm Despite Dubious Tapering Story
Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, October 05 2016. Federal Reserve While the markets can be an incredibly efficient discounting mechanism, it sometimes is also an echo chamber. What began off as a Bloomberg report indicated that there was an agreement at the ECB that when it decided to end its asset purchases, it would gradually taper back rather than come to a fast stop, by the end of the day, it had...
Read More »The Dying Middle Class
Largest Theft in History As expected, Ms. Yellen smiled last week, announcing no change to the Fed’s extraordinary policies. For the last eight years, she has been aiding and abetting the largest theft in history. Thanks to ZIRP (zero-interest-rate policy) and QE (quantitative easing), every year, about $300 billion is transferred from largely middle-class savers to largely better-off speculators, financial asset...
Read More »London Gold and Silver Fix lawsuits
By Allan Flynn, Guest Post at BullionStar.com Five months have lapsed without decision, since London gold and silver benchmark-rigging class action lawsuits received a cool response in a Manhattan court. Transcripts from April hearings show, in the absence of direct evidence, the claims dissected by a “very skeptical” judge, and criticized by defendants for lack of facts suggesting collusion, among other things. Judge...
Read More »Why Portugal Matters
Summary: DBRS reviews its investment grade rating of Portugal on Oct 21. A cut in its rating would have far reaching implications. A cut in the outlook is more likely than a cut the rating. Many observers continue to tout Italian risks as the greatest in the euro area into the year end. The constitutional referendum that would emasculate the Senate, and end the perfect bicameralism that has contributed to...
Read More »It’s Time We Crush the Putrid Roach Motels of Philanthro-Crony-Capitalism, Starting with the Clinton Foundation
Philanthro-crony-capitalist corruption in the U.S. has reached levels that put Lower Slobovia to shame. Granted, the fantasy of philanthrocapitalism is appealing: take a bunch of fabulously successful entrepreneurial billionaires, grant their foundations tax-free status, and then unleash them on the world as philanthropists who will solve problems by applying the incentives of capitalism. While this sounds great in a...
Read More »It’s Time We Crush the Putrid Roach Motels of Philanthro-Crony-Capitalism, Starting with the Clinton Foundation
Philanthro-crony-capitalist corruption in the U.S. has reached levels that put Lower Slobovia to shame. Granted, the fantasy of philanthrocapitalism is appealing: take a bunch of fabulously successful entrepreneurial billionaires, grant their foundations tax-free status, and then unleash them on the world as philanthropists who will solve problems by applying the incentives of capitalism. While this sounds great in a...
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