The virus news stream continues to deteriorate Lower US yields and growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in the US are taking a toll on the greenback OPEC officials are trying to work out another supply cut; The outlook for Turkey is going from bad to worse Simply put, there is nothing the Fed can do to address the economic impact of supply chain disruptions and social distancing Japan reported mostly weaker data overnight; China reports official...
Read More »FX Daily, February 28: Fallout Accelerates
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.34% to 1.0606 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, February 28(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The dramatic response by investors to Covid-19 continues unabated and worse. The slide is accelerating. The S&P 500 posted a 4.4% loss yesterday, its worst session since 2011, and the sell-off is continuing. Many markets in Asia Pacific, including Japan, China, Korea, Australia,...
Read More »Swiss Retail Sales, January 2020: +0.6 percent Nominal and -0.1 percent Real
28.02.2020 – Turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 0.6% in nominal terms in January 2020 compared with the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover fell by 0.6% compared with the previous month. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays fell in the retail sector by 0.1% in January 2020 compared with the previous year. Real growth takes...
Read More »USD/CHF Price Analysis: Dollar bouncing after falling to three-week’s lows, trades above 0.9700 figure
USD/CHF is bouncing from daily lows while nearing the 0.9730 resistance. As the bounce can be short-lived, the level to beat for sellers remains the 0.9680 level USD/CHF daily chart USD/CHF is trading below the main daily simple moving averages suggesting an overall bearish bias in the long term. The spot is just below the 50 SMA. USD/CHF daily chart(see more posts on USD/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge USD/CHF four-hour chart As expected the spot reached the 0.9680...
Read More »Geneva watch fair cancelled over coronavirus fears
Watches & Wonders Geneva is the former Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) that takes place every year in the Swiss city. (Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi) The organisers of Watches & Wonders Geneva – the former Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) – have cancelled their annual watch fair due to take place from April 25-29, amid fears over the new coronavirus outbreak. The organisers said in a statementexternal link published on...
Read More »Modern Monetary Theory is an old Marxist Idea
There is nothing new under the sun Modern Monetary Theory, or “MMT”, has been getting a lot of attention lately, often celebrated as a revolutionary breakthrough. However, there is absolutely nothing new about it. The very basis of the theory, the idea that governments can finance their expenditures themselves and therefore deficits don’t matter, actually goes back to the Polish Marxist economist, Michael Kalecki (1899 – 1970). MMT as a centralisation tool MMT says...
Read More »The EU’s Latest Screw-You to the UK Shows a Big Problem with Trade Agreements
All too often, discussion over trade deals focuses almost solely on tariffs. It’s true that tariffs—i.e., taxes—are always a significant barrier to free exchange at all levels, but there are also plenty of ways to block or lessen trade that are not primarily tariff-based. Recent conflicts over the pending negotiations between the UK and the EU are a reminder of this. For instance, The Guardian reported yesterday “The EU will demand the right to punish Britain if...
Read More »FX Daily, February 27: The Rot Continues but Somewhat Less Dollar Friendly
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.20% to 1.0647 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, February 27(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: A new phase of the Covid-19 is at hand. Yesterday was the first time that the number of new cases in the world surpassed the number of new cases China acknowledged. This confirms what we have known, namely that the battle for containing it in China has been lost. However, it...
Read More »New record for overnight stays for the Swiss hotel sector in 2019
27.02.2020 – In 2019, the Swiss hotel sector registered 39.6 million overnight stays. This represented growth of 1.9% (+755 000) compared with 2018 and constitutes a new record. This result confirms the upward trend started in 2017. Foreign demand totalled 21.6 million overnight stays which represents an increase of 1.1% (+246 000), i.e. a level of overnight stays never seen before. Swiss demand increased by 2.9% (+509 000), reaching the record value of 17.9 million...
Read More »USD/CHF Price Analysis: 50-day SMA challenges further declines
USD/CHF trades near a three-week low. Bearish MACD, failures to carry the latest recovery keep sellers hopeful, 50-day SMA acts as near-term key support. 200-day SMA, 61.8% Fibonacci retracement act as near-term key resistances. USD/CHF remains on the back foot around 0.9740, down 0.25%, during the initial trading session on Thursday. That said, the quote fails to carry the previous day’s recovery gains. Even so, a 50-day SMA level of 0.9737 acts as the near-term key...
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