Cutting down on fees for the grid connection could save consumers around CHF350 million ($365 million), according to Meierhans. © Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi By reducing grid connection fees and municipal duties, the federal government could help to keep electricity bills down, Stefan Meierhans told Le Matin Dimanche newspaper. Meierhans said it is possible for the government to change the framework conditions that would allow a lowering of fees for using the grid....
Read More »What Problem Does Gold Solve?
Realising that you need to protect your portfolio from financial systemic risks is a tricky thing. Because, not only have you identified that all is not well in the economy but you now need to make a decision about how best to protect your investments. In all likelihood, this is why you own or are thinking about owning gold bullion. Have you ever asked yourself? What problem does gold solve in today’s environment? Should I own gold ETFs or gold bullion? What is and...
Read More »Former UBS CEO sees no need for two big Swiss banks
Ermotti also called into question the need for 24 cantonal banks. Keystone / Elia Bianchi Having two big players like UBS and Credit Suisse provides no “compelling” economic benefit for Switzerland, Sergio Ermotti has told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper. “The strength of the country’s financial centre is its diversification, which is much more important than the number of big banks,” the former UBS CEO said in an interview published on Sunday. In the last ten years,...
Read More »Novartis to spend $300m on biotherapeutics drive
Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis is currently restructuring its business. © Keystone / Urs Flueeler Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is investing $300 million ($288 million) in biotherapeutics development, which includes a new $100 million biologics hub at its home base in Basel. A further $110 million will be spent on research and production at a Novartis site in Slovenia and $60 million in Austria, the company announced on Monday. Biotherapeutics is a...
Read More »Markets Remain on Edge
Overview: The firmer than expected US CPI set off a major reversal of the recent price action. It is a two-prong issue. The first is about inflation and the squeeze on the cost-of-living. The second, and more powerful in the capital markets is how the Fed is likely to respond. This drove US stocks and bonds lower and lifted the dollar broadly. Asia Pacific bourses were a sea of red. Most major markets were off 1-2%, while the Nikkei, the Hang Seng, and Australia’s...
Read More »Swiss Producer and Import Price Index in August 2022: +5.5 percent YoY, -0.1 percent MoM
13.09.2022 – The Producer and Import Price Index fell in August 2022 by 0.1% compared with the previous month, reaching 109.6 points (December 2020 = 100). Lower prices were seen in particular for petroleum products, basic metals and semi-finished metal products. In contrast, chemical products became more expensive. Compared with August 2021, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products rose by 5.5%. These are the results from the Federal...
Read More »Promoting Natural Rights Instead of Conservatism: Looking at Rothbard and Jaffa
This is the story of a man, an intellectual, born after World War I, who spent studying his university years in New York and became acquainted and studied under German Jewish émigré who fled the Nazi regime in Germany, later becoming mentor and protégé. That man belonged to the political Right, taught in two different universities during his lifetime, the first one in the Eastern United States, the second in the Western part of the country, was cast out of more...
Read More »Thomas Jordan: Carl Menger Award Ceremony 2022: Introductory remarks on Ricardo Reis
Ladies and Gentlemen I welcome you all to the ceremony of the Carl Menger Award, given by the Verein für Socialpolitik. I do so in the name of the sponsors of the award, namely the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and the Swiss National Bank, as well as on behalf of the selection committee. This important award is given in recognition of outstanding research work relating to monetary economics and monetary policy. The city selected as the venue...
Read More »Vorsicht bei Elon Musk Deepfake Cryptocoin-Betrug
Deepfakes werden immer detailverliebter. Inzwischen fällt es zusehends schwerer die Fakes von authentischen Aufnahmen zu unterscheiden. Dies hat leider auch die Tür geöffnet für Betrugsfälle, bei denen Prominente wie Elon Musk vermeintliche Crypto-Angebote bewerben. Crypto News: Vorsicht bei Elon Musk Deepfake Cryptocoin-BetrugIm Cryptomarkt ist der Name Elon Musk wohl der einflussreichste. Daher überrascht es nicht, dass vor allem Musk immer wieder in Deepfakes...
Read More »Will the Dollar Recover After CPI?
Overview: The US dollar remains offered ahead of today’s CPI report. Most European currencies are outperforming the dollar bloc, and the greenback is holding inside yesterday’s range against the yen. Most emerging market currencies are firmer, as well. China’s markets re-opened from the long-holiday weekend and the yuan is a touch softer. After the strong close to US equities yesterday, and some mild follow-through buying today in the futures, equities in the Asia...
Read More »