Tag Archives: Featured

On 30 April 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office released salary data for 2020 which showed a 1.5% rise in real salaries compared to 2019. © Suwat Supachavinswad | Dreamstime.comIn 2020, a 0.8% rise in nominal salaries was boosted by inflation of -0.7% bringing the total increase in the real average Swiss salary to 1.5%. The last time salaries rose this much was in 2015 when the real increase was 1.5%. In both 2015 and 2020 negative inflation of...

Does Bitcoin Fix Defi (Definancialization)? “Bitcoin fixes this.” I cringe every time I see this popular meme. I find it worse than nails on a chalkboard. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (crypto) supporters seem to wheel this tired trope out for every problem they see, particularly at economic ones. To their credit, they genuinely want to fix the financial system’s problems. I do too! However, crypto’s supporters have their subjects completely reversed. To be...

Reading Jonathan Culbreath’s “Modern Monetary Theory for Conservatives” one can’t help but think of Murray Rothbard’s quip that “it is not a crime to be ignorant of economics … but it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.“ Culbreath’s case for modern monetary theory (MMT) rests on an ignorance of basic economic principles regarding the role of money in a free market economy....

Top gear: The items up for auction were worn or used during important matches Keystone / Ennio Leanza Millions of Roger Federer fans around the world might be salivating at the prospect of owning some mementos of the Swiss great’s incredible career after he announced he is auctioning off a collection of personal items this summer. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, regarded by many as the greatest player ever to wield a tennis racket, is putting various items under the...

Financial and real estate wealth of households increases The Swiss National Bank is today publishing data on Q4 2020 as part of the financial accounts. Thus, household wealth data are now also available for the full year. Overall, financial assets held by households increased by CHF 108 billion to CHF 2,851 billion (up 3.9%) in 2020. High capital losses in Q1 2020 due to falling stock market prices were followed by a recovery during the remainder of the year. Both...

“Read my lips: No New Taxes” Bush Sr said in his acceptance speech for his nomination in 1988 when he promised no tax rises. As most politicians, he didn’t keep his word. In the 1992 campaign Clinton made a devastating attack on Bush’s pledge and the rest is history. The simple rule is: Don’t listen to WHAT people say, but HOW they say it. Already 50 years ago the Mehrabian model concluded that words only convey 7% of a message, body language accounts for 55% and...

With effect from 1 May 2021, Astrid Frey will take on the function of Swiss National Bank delegate for regional economic relations for the Central Switzerland region. She succeedsGregor Bäurle, who assumed the posit ion of Head of the SNB’s Regional Economic Relations unit on 1 January 2021. After concluding her studies at the University of St. Gallen, Astrid Frei worked as an economist at Bank Sarasin & Cie, after which she joined the KOF Swiss Economic...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.05% to 1.1031 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 29 Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview:  The market’s initial reaction to the Federal Reserve statement and the press conference was that it was dovish: the 10-year yield slipped, and the dollar was sold to new lows.  In fact, the two countries that appear to be ahead of the curve among high-income countries, Canada and Norway, saw their currencies rally to new...

Credit Suisse has recently been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons Keystone / Peter Klaunzer As Credit Suisse executives finalised an emergency $1.9 billion (CHF1.75 billion) fundraising from investors last week, a group of the bank’s prized super-rich clients from across Europe and Asia were on a separate Zoom call hosted by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to plot a class-action suit against the lender. The clients had been persuaded by Credit Suisse to...

(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links) Having a personal finance routine can help save time and money! For a lot of people, having a strict routine will help them remember essential things. It is the case for me. Each month, I am following the same personal finance routine for my budget. In this article, I am going to describe the steps I am doing every month. It is great to have a routine. It helps you get more efficient, and like this, you do...