Tag Archives: Featured

Despite claims of immutability and decentralization, cryptocurrencies and public blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are not quite delivering on their promises and are seeing a concentration of power in the hands of a few players. A new report, commissioned by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and produced by software security research company Trail of Bits, examines the fundamental properties of blockchains and the cybersecurity risks...

Overview: The higher-than-expected US CPI and the strong expectation of a 100 bp hike by the Fed in two weeks is propelling the dollar higher. It jumped to almost JPY139.40 and the euro is off more than cent from yesterday's high (though holding above parity). Even where there has been favorable economic news, like the strong jobs report in Australia, is failed to dent the greenback. Most of the large bourses in the Asia Pacific regions advanced. Hong Kong is a...

14.07.2022 – The Producer and Import Price Index rose in June 2022 by 0.3% compared with the previous month, reaching 109.8 points (December 2020 = 100). Petroleum products in particular were more expensive. Compared with June 2021, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products rose by 6.9%. These are the results from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). In particular, higher prices for builders’ and interiors’ joinery as well as petroleum...

How unintended can these consequences be? My guess: not very. A great many people got the U.S. dollar trade wrong. The conventional view held that “printing money”, i.e. expanding the supply of money, would automatically devalue the currency. It isn’t quite so simple, it seems. It depends on where the newly issued money ends up, whether the economy is expanding along with the money supply, the relative perception of the currency’s stability / safety, the returns...

Nearly a year ago, former New York Times Journalist Alex Berenson was permanently banned from Twitter for writing the following lines about the Covid shot: “It doesn’t stop infection. Or transmission. Don’t think of it as a vaccine. Think of it—at best—as a therapeutic with a limited window of efficacy and terrible side effect profile that must be dosed IN ADVANCE OF ILLNESS. And we want to mandate it? Insanity.” From the beginning of the Covid hysteria, we followed...

The spectre of a shortage of gas supplies in western Europe has dampened the economic outlook for Switzerland. Keystone/Stefan Sauer The BAK Economics market research institute has confirmed its forecast for the Swiss economy this year, but it is more pessimistic about 2023. The Basel-based institute said it expected growth of Switzerland’s gross domestic product of 2.5% in 2022, as the economy coped well with a series of challenges. However, the BAK experts have...

The pursuit of decentralised digital systems continues despite a period of intense turbulence in the cryptocurrency markets. Keystone/ Valentin Flauraud The price of bitcoin has plummeted to a third of its peak value, an experimental cryptocurrency called Terra has crashed in spectacular fashion and several crypto companies have shed jobs or are faced with bankruptcy. Where does this leave the growing blockchain industry in Switzerland? “The market crash is going to...

Der Markt befindet sich derzeit in einer Bärenphase. Auch wenn sich der BTC-Kurs inzwischen bei ungefähr 20K US-Dollar stabilisiert hat, gibt es allgemein viel Pessimismus im Cryptomarkt. Doch hier ist jemand, der mit einer positiven Prognose der derzeitigen Stimmung trotzt. Bitcoin News: Allzeithoch für Bitcoin innerhalb der nächsten 24 Monate prognostiziertIn der Spitze verlor der BTC 70 Prozent seit seinem Höchststand im November des Jahres 2021. Die Stimmung im...

Overview: The US dollar is consolidating with a slight downside bias ahead of the June CPI report. The euro held above $1.00 but is still pinned in the trough. The rate hike by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand failed to have much impact. On the other hand, the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index is lower for the fourth consecutive session. Most of the large markets in the Asia Pacific region rose, led by a 2.7% rally in Taiwan after the government promised to...

If running a fintech start-up isn’t hard enough, then try pivoting to healthtech in mid-stride. The transition from digital payments to Covid diagnostics has proven a bumpy ride for Achiko, resulting in its shares being suspended from trading on the Swiss stock exchange. SIX Group, which runs the stock exchange, was forced to act on June 28 when auditor Grant Thornton raised doubtsExternal link about whether the indebted Zurich-based company could be assumed a going...