Tag Archives: Featured

How are SNB profits and losses distributed and what issues are debated? Annual Result Funds two “Reserves” The annual result (Jahresergebnis) of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is split into two parts. The first part funds “provisions for currency reserves” (Zuweisungen an Rückstellungen für Währungsreserven) which are meant to provide a buffer against future losses on the SNB’s asset positions. The second part funds current and future profit distributions to the...

SWISS flights to Germany are affected by the one-day strike at Lufthansa on Wednesday. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Swiss national carrier is cancelling around a dozen flights to Germany on Wednesday, owing to a one-day strike by ground staff at its German parent company Lufthansa. Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has cancelled flights from Geneva to Frankfurt (three return flights) and Zurich to Düsseldorf (also three return flights), airline spokeswoman Karin...

How much gold will you trade for a few eggs? It depends on how hungry you are. Two ideas will help us understand the rest of this tumultuous decade: core-periphery and the revaluation of what’s truly important: systemic adaptability, transparency, accountability, risk, capital and resources. I recently discussed the core-periphery model in a blog post, Crash Is King: “Crashes reveal what’s core and what’s periphery because the core controls the destiny of the...

By popular thinking, the key driver of economic growth is the increase in total demand for goods and services. It is also held that overall output increases by a multiple of the increase in expenditure by government, consumers and businesses. It is not surprising, then, that most commentators believe that through fiscal and monetary stimulus, government can prevent the US economy falling into a recession. For instance, increasing government spending and central bank...

Overview: With the exception of Japan, Taiwan, and India, the large equity markets in the Asia Pacific region traded higher today. The Hang Seng led the move (1.65%) amid reports that Alibaba will seek its primary listing there. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is edging higher today. If it can hold on to the gains, it will be the fourth consecutive rise, the longest advance since May. US futures are slightly under water. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly lower, with the US off...

Die aktuelle Situation in der Ukraine hat die Regierung nun veranlasst, neue Regulierungen zu verabschieden. Doch diese Regulierungen richten sich nicht an den Cryptomarkt, sondern zunächst an den Fiat-Markt. Die Umsetzung dieser Regulierungen könnten den Cryptomarkt sogar stärken. Crypto News: Ukraine kündigt neue Fiat Regulierungen an, die Bitcoin helfen könntenDie Zentralbank der Ukraine hat die nationale Fiat-Währung Hryvnia um 25 Prozent gegenüber dem US-Dollar...

Overview: Aside from political economic risks, three other challenges are emerging. First, the new sub-variant of Covid is spreading rapidly. BA5 reportedly is accounting for around 80% of the new cases. It is better able to evade antibodies from vaccines and earlier infections. Hospitalization rates are also climbing. Dining, retail, and travel may be impacted. Second, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global emergency. The US may make a similar...

The dollar fell against all the major currencies last week but pared the losses ahead of the weekend. The sub-50 EMU flash composite PMI unwound the half-cent gain the euro recorded after the ECB delivered a 50 bp hike to kick off its first tightening since 2011.  Disappointing US economic data (housing, leading economic indicators, the Philadelphia Fed survey, and the flash composite PMI drop into contraction territory weighed on US 10-year yields. This helped...

© Keystone / Walter Bieri Swiss retail banks make the most profit per customer among wealthy nations, according to an international ranking. The Swiss banks are followed at a respectable distance by their Australian and Belgian competitors, according to a study by consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) published on Wednesday. According to the study, Swiss retail banks will have earned an average of CHF546 ($559) per customer by 2021, compared with CHF299 for...

When you choose to invest in gold it can be confusing to know the best way to add it to your portfolio. Should you buy gold bullion? Should you buy a gold ETF? Or maybe gold mining shares?It’s a minefield! Here at GoldCore, we see it very simply: if you want to get all of the benefits of holding gold then you should own physical gold. Because if you can’t hold it then you don’t own it. Never before has this philosophy been more pertinent than in the last few...