Im November 2021 hatte der Markt fast die Marke von drei Billionen erreicht. Seitdem ging es jedoch steil bergab. In den letzten Tagen ging es sogar unter eine Billionen US-Dollar, so dass der Markt in weniger als einem Jahr zwei Drittel seines Gesamtwertes verloren hat. Crypto News: Cryptomarkt verliert zwei Drittel seiner MarktkapitalisierungFür Bitcoin ging es im selben Zeitraum sogar etwas mehr als zwei Drittel nach unten. Dies zeigt wieder einmal, dass Bitcoin...
Read More »Wealthy echelons thrive amid economic volatility
The world’s richest people saw their wealth expand last year as stock markets and real estate gained in value, according to Swiss bank Credit Suisse. When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch’s business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland – including the frozen lake of St Moritz. More from this author | English DepartmentMatthew Allen Total global wealth increased by...
Read More »Does Capitalism Itself Create Economic Instability or Is Central Banking the Culprit?
Instability in financial markets has brought back the ideas of post-Keynesian school of economics (PK) economist Hyman Minsky. Minsky held that the capitalist economy inherently is unstable, culminating in severe economic crisis, accumulation of debt being the key mechanism pushing the economy toward a crisis. During “good” times, according to Minsky, businesses in profitable areas of the economy are well rewarded for raising their level of debt. The more one borrows...
Read More »Swiss National Bank meet this week – Goldman Sachs says “We are bullish on the CHF”
This via the folks at eFX. For bank trade ideas, check out eFX Plus. For a limited time, get a 7 day free trial, basic for $79 per month and premium at $109 per month. Get it here. Goldman Sachs maintains a bullish bias on CHF going into this week’s SNB policy meeting. “We are bullish on the Franc. We believe that the SNB is a stricter inflation targeter than its peers, and better equipped to meet the challenges facing policymakers across Europe at the moment. This...
Read More »Central Bankers Are Gaslighting Us about the “Strong Dollar”
On February 8, the Japanese yen fell to a 24-year low against the dollar, dropping to 143 yen per dollar. Not much has changed since then with the yen hovering between 142 and 144 per dollar. In September of 2021, one only needed 109 yen to buy a dollar. Overall, the yen has dropped 21 percent against the dollar over the past year, yet Japan’s central bank apparently has no plans to change course. Nor should we expect it to do so. Japan’s debt load has become so...
Read More »It will be Enough, even if Too Much
Business travel commitments keep me from updating the blog until the weekend, but I wanted to share a few thoughts post-Fed. First, the Fed was more hawkish, and the median dot sees 125 bp increase in the target rate in Q4. The hawkish thrust was also evident in projecting that the target rate will remain higher for longer. Even in 2025 sees the target rate above the longer-term (neutral) level. Second, the market still does not fully accept the Fed's message....
Read More »Putin and Powell Lift Dollar
Overview: Between Putin’s mobilization of 300k Russian troops and Fed Chair Powell expected to lead the central bank to its third consecutive 75 bp hike later today, the dollar rides high. It has recorded new two-year highs against the dollar bloc and Chinese yuan, while sterling was sent to new lows since 1985. Asia Pacific bourses were a sea of red for the sixth decline in the regional benchmark in the past seven sessions. Surprisingly, Europe’s Stoxx 600 is...
Read More »Why the Fed Usually Ignores its Mandate for “Stable Prices”
In recent years, Congress has attempted to add various new mandates to the Federal Reserve’s mission. In 2020, Democrats introduced the “Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act.” Then, in 2021, pundits and politicians were telling us that it’s the Fed’s job to “combat climate change.” These are just the latest efforts to use the enormously powerful central bank to achieve political ends to the liking of elected officials. This is a helpful reminder, of...
Read More »Marked slowdown on the horizon
Economic forecast: marked slowdown on the horizon The expert group on business cycles has significantly downgraded its expectations for Switzerland’s GDP growth to 2.0% for 2022 and 1.1% for 2023 (GDP adjusted for sporting events). After a positive first half of the year 2022, the Swiss economy now faces a deteriorating outlook. A tense energy situation and sharp price increases are weighing on economic prospects, especially in Europe.1 As expected, the Swiss...
Read More »Swiss National Bank monetary policy meeting preview
The SNB announcement is due on Thursday at 0730 GMT. This in brief via Standard Chartered: expect SNB to hike by 100bp Stan Chart were at +50bp but have ramped their expectation much higher. Add that this takes: the base rate to 0.75% from -0.25%, and out of negative territory for the first time since 2014 More: We believe positive currency rhetoric from the SNB and increasing hawkishness among major central banks support our larger-than-consensus rate hike forecast;...
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