Tag Archives: Featured

© Marekusz | Dreamstime.com The rate on deposits at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is currently -0.75%. And while taking the rate further into negative territory is not the base case scenario, it cannot be excluded, according to some economists at the bank UBS. The probability that the SNB lowers rates further is not a base scenario, according to Thomas Jordan, the bank’s chief, reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. However, economists at UBS think it is possible, and...

Efforts are underway in Switzerland to accelerate the  development of sustainable aviation fuel. The aviation industry is a top greenhouse gas emitter. (Keystone) The Lufthansa Group has entered a partnership with the Swiss solar fuel developer Synhelion. The Swiss start-up is working to produce a fuel that emits 50% less CO2 by 2022 and plans to market a 100% renewable fuel in 2030. “We really have something here that demonstrates in a solid way that there is an...

If there’s been one small measure of progress, and a needed one, it has been the mainstream finally pushing commentary into the right category. Back in ’08, during the worst of GFC1 you’d hear it all described as “flight to safety.” That, however, didn’t correctly connote the real nature of what was behind the global economy’s dramatic wreckage. Flight to safety, whether Treasuries or dollars, wasn’t it. Back in March, while “it” was very obvious, even the New...

The virus news stream is mixed; the dollar has stabilized; US-China tensions continue to ratchet up We will get some more US economic data for May; weekly jobless claims are expected at 2.4 mln Eurozone and UK reported firm preliminary May PMI readings; BOE officials continue to take a very dovish tone South Africa is expected to cut rates 50 bp to 3.75%; Turkey is expected to cut rates 50 bp to 8.25% Japan and Australia reported preliminary May PMIs; Korea reported...

Crispin Odey I am writing in response to the comments you made in a letter to investors yesterday, which were widely reported. You have set the gold community afire, with claims that are not new and not true. So I shall attempt to douse the flames. As everyone knows, President Roosevelt outlawed the ownership of gold in 1933. Although gold was legalized in 1975, fears linger today that the governments may repeat this heinous act. There is no reason for this fear. In...

Economics has lost its way and the study has become both impotent and lacking in relevance. It’s easy to see how and why once we recognize that proper economic thinking takes place two steps beyond the apparent. Noneconomists typically take none of these steps, while modern economics has lost the ability to go beyond the first. This can, I think, be explained by economics’s increasing adoption of and reliance on mathematical and equilibrium models, which typically...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.40% to 1.0634 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, May 21(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: New two and a half month highs in the S&P 500 yesterday failed to have much sway in the Asia Pacific region and Europe today as US-China tensions escalate and profit-taking set in. Perhaps it is a bit of “buy the rumor sell the fact” type of activity on the back of upticks in the...

Die Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht FINMA veröffentlicht eine weitere Aufsichtsmitteilung im Kontext der COVID-19-Krise. Sie passt darin die Fristen von diversen, bereits erteilten Erleichterungen an und präzisiert die Berechnung der Finanzierungsquote NSFR. Mit der Aufsichtsmitteilung 06/2020 vom 19. Mai 2020 passt die FINMA die Fristen von verschiedenen, bereits gewährten Erleichterungen an. Die Kunden halten weiterhin unüblich hohe Bargeldeinlagen bei Schweizer...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that this is biggest challenge in the history of the EU.  (Keystone / Andreas Gora / Pool) Ueli Maurer has warned that the financial crisis following Covid-19 and the resulting instability in Europe are a danger for Switzerland. In an interview with public broadcaster RTSexternal link on Tuesday, he said that he is concerned about the repercussions on Switzerland of a possible debt crisis in certain countries, especially...

© Transversospinales | Dreamstime.com Yesterday, EasyJet announced that a “highly sophisticated” cyber-attack had affected around 9 million customers. The company said its “investigation found that the email address and travel details of approximately 9 million customers were accessed. These affected customers will be contacted in the next few days. If you are not contacted then your information has not been accessed.” The statement said 2,208 customers had their...