Tag Archives: Featured

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.10% to 1.0837 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 3(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened “severe retaliation” for the US attacked that killed an important head of a force within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. At the same time, reports indicate that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is no longer pledging to halt its nuclear weapons...

If you believe you’ve front-run the herd, you’re now in mid-air along with the rest of the herd that has thundered off the cliff. We’re awash in financial charts, but only a few crystallize an entire year. Here are the two charts that sum up everything you need to know about the stock market in 2020. Put another way–these are the two charts you need to ignore or rationalize away–unless you’re a Bear, of course, in which case you’ll want to tape a printed copy next to...

USD/CHF drops after the news broke that the key members of Iran have been killed in by the US attack near Baghdad airport. 200-hour EMA, resistance line of immediate rising channel guard adjacent upside. December month low adds to the support. USD/CHF declines to 0.9700 during the early Friday’s trading. The quote recently slipped as the Swiss Franc (CHF) strengthened, due to its safe-haven appeal, after the US-Middle East tensions are about to get worst. Read: US...

© Lovelyday12 | Dreamstime.com Every year brings changes for business owners and managers. In May 2019, a majority of Swiss voters accepted a package of changes to the way companies are taxed known as The Federal Act on Tax Reform and AHV Financing (TRAF). Many of the changes flowing from this begin on 1 January 2020. 1. Social insurance taxes Swiss social security taxes have several elements. The first three fund old age pensions (AVS/AHV), disability insurance...

GDP – A Poor Measure of “Growth” Last week the prices of the metals rose $35 and $0.82. But, then, the price of a basket of the 500 biggest stocks rose 62. The price of a barrel of oil rose $1.63. Even the euro went up a smidgen. One thing that did not go up was bitcoin. Another was the much-hated asset in the longest bull market. We refer to the US Treasury. The spread between Treasury bonds and junk bonds narrowed this week. It is now close to its post-crisis low....

It is bad enough that opponents of the free market wrongly blame capitalism for environmental pollution, depressions, and wars. Whatever the failings of their causal theories, at least they are focused on undoubtedly bad things. We have really gone beyond the pale, though, when the market is blamed for something good. Tim Jackson, a professor of sustainable development at the University of Surrey, does just that in his article. “Let’s Be Less Productive,” which...

© Anders Lundstedt | Dreamstime.com In December last year, the Observatoire statistique transfrontalier published unemployment figures for the French region surrounding Geneva. French unemployment calculations follow the method used by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which include all job seekers, according to Tribune de Genève. Official Swiss numbers only include those registered as unemployed, which is a lower percentage that excludes those who would...

The annual WEF meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos attracts some 3,000 people: global leaders, industry chiefs and bigwigs from the worlds of civil society, religion, technology and the arts. (© Keystone / Laurent Gillieron) The US delegation at the upcoming World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in Davos will be led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. It is unclear whether President Donald Trump will again attend the annual event. The White House confirmed on...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.03% to 1.0845 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 2(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Equities have begun New Year like, well, last year, with most Asia Pacific markets advancing, led by more than 1% gains in China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Only South Korea and Indonesian markets fell. In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is up almost 1% in late morning turnover. US...

The drive for financial innovation shows no sign of slacking in 2020. (Keystone/ Valentin Flauraud) It was a busy 2019 for Swiss fintech and there is promise for more to come in 2020. Here’s a round-up of fintech past and my observations of how things may shape up in the coming months. Licenses The year 2019 started with the arrival of a new breed of Fintech banking license, designed to allow small financial players to accept up to CHF100 million in deposits, but...