Tag Archives: Featured

Investec Switzerland SMI last Week The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week slightly higher as investors digest second quarter earnings reports and central bank policy announcements. Click to enlarge. Bonds Global financial markets showed resilience this week following the failed coup attempt in Turkey over the weekend.  Second quarter earnings proved to be the main drive of sentiment with...

Here’s a rough piece of calculation based on the last few years of news: When x happens, yields fall. An example of this post-GFC rule-of-thumb was Brexit and its fallout. The potential lesson from said rule is that yield hunting isn’t fun anymore, say Credit Suisse’s William Porter and team, with our emphasis: Negative (or very low) 10-year Bund yields have not been a boon for European credit markets, based on our...

Investec Switzerland. The U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union poses a threat to research and development in the pharmaceutical industry, Roche Holding AG Chief Executive Officer Severin Schwan said. © Lucaderoma | Dreamstime.com A departure would mean the country would have to set up its own system for approving drugs for sale, a job now done for bloc members by the European Medicines...

Swiss Franc The Swiss trade balance was published today, and once again, it remained close to record-high. For us, the trade balance is the most important indicator if a currency is fairly valued. Over the long-term the Swiss trade surplus must adjust towards zero, while the currency must appreciate. The consequence of the stronger currency is a higher purchasing power which leads to more spending and finally more...

Summary: Fed funds have been trading firmly. There are several reasons and one of them is the shift that is taking place in the US money markets. Still the risk of a Fed hike has increased, just as speculation increases of easing in other major centers. The weighted average of the Fed funds rate has edged higher.  Following the Fed hike in December 2015, the Fed funds average around 36 bp in January before...

Summary: Draghi does not show the kind of urgency many bank economists do over the shortage of bonds to buy. Draghi kept options open and suggested a review in September when new staff forecasts are available and more data will be seen. The euro firmed, mostly it seemed on sell the rumor buy the fact, and/or possibly some disappointment that no fresh action was taken. Draghi said nothing that surprised the...

The last time we wrote about the long-running saga of the scandalous collapse and constant corruption at the Malaysian state wealth fund, 1MDB, which also happened to be an unconfirmed slush fund for president Najib, was a month ago when we learned that the NY bank regulator was looking into fundraising by the fund’s favorite bank, Goldman Sachs. Then overnight, the story which already seemed like it has every possible...

Chopper Pilot Descends on Nippon Readers are probably aware of recent events in Japan, the global laboratory for interventionist experiments. The theories of assorted fiscal and monetary cranks have been implemented in spades for more than a quarter of a century in the country, to appropriately catastrophic effect. Amid stubbornly stagnating economic output, Japan has amassed a debt pile so vast since the bursting of...

  Hell With Air-Conditioning LAS VEGAS – It was 113 degrees outside when we rolled through Baker, California, a few days ago. We drove along in comfort, but our sympathies turned to the poor pilgrims who made their way to California in covered wagons. How they must have suffered! Our suffering didn’t begin until we checked into the Planet Hollywood Hotel in Las Vegas. What a horrible place. You stand in line for half...

Authored by John Mauldin via MauldinEconomics.com, While everyone was talking about Brexit last month, the Bank for International Settlements released its 86th annual report. Based in Basel, Switzerland, the BIS functions as a master hub for all the world’s central banks. It settles transactions among central banks and other international organizations. It doesn’t serve private individuals, businesses, or national...