Tag Archives: Featured

We will start this off with a pet peeve. Too often, one is reading something about gold. It starts off well enough, discussing problems with the dollar or the bond market or a real estate bubble… and them bam! Buy gold because the dollar is gonna be worthless! That number again is 1-800-BUY-GOLD or we have another 1-800-GOT-GOLD in case the lines on the first number are busy! Whether the writer is a bullion dealer, or...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.09% at 1.1209 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 17(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The global capital markets are off to a subdued start to what promises to be a busy week, featuring the FOMC, BOE, BOJ meetings, and the flash June PMIs. Investors also expect some signal whether Presidents Trump and Xi will at the G20...

The high price of drugs in Switzerland has been partially blamed for driving up medical insurance costs. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) The cost of health insurance in Switzerland is expected to rise 3% both this year and next, warns the umbrella group for health insurers, Santésuisse. This is way above the forecast rise in consumer goods prices of 0.9% for 2019. On Monday, Santésuisseexternal link outlined the main...

17.06.2019 – In 2018, supplementary accommodation posted a total of 16.6 million overnight stays, i.e. an increase of 4.2% compared with 2017. With 11.2 million units, Swiss visitors represented more than two-thirds of demand (67.4%), i.e. a rise of 2.9%. Foreign visitors registered a 6.9% increase with 5.4 million units. With 4.5 million units (+6.7%), European visitors generated the most overnight stays by foreigners....

If we look at these charts, it looks like only the top 10%, or perhaps the top 20% at best, might qualify as “middle class” by the metrics described below. The conventional definition of working class is based on income and education:the working class household earns between $30,000 and $69,000 annually, and the highest education credential in the household is a two-year community college degree or trade certification....

© RESTAURANT DE L’HÔTEL DE VILLE A ranking by Elite Traveler placed the restaurant Hôtel de Ville de Crissier first in a list of the world’s 100 best restaurants, eight places higher than last year. The ranking is based on the votes of readers of the magazine, which is distributed to private jet companies around the world. Franck Giovannini, the restaurant’s chef, follows a long line of award winning chefs at the...

Inflation always brings out an emotional response. Far be it for me to defend Economists, but their concept is at least valid – if not always executed convincingly insofar as being measurable. An inflation index can be as meaningful as averaging the telephone numbers in a phone book (for anyone who remembers what those things were). If you spend $1,000 a month on food for your family, and food prices rise 6% generally...

The week ahead is likely to provide some clarification for investors on three fronts that have been a source of uncertainty. The FOMC meeting, with updated forecasts, is center stage. The credit markets are pushing the Fed to be aggressive but can be disappointed. In the eurozone, the preliminary PMI may confirm a modest, even if uneven recovery. The G20 summit is the focus of much attention as many see it as the last...

The Swiss government has set a budget of CHF6 billion ($6 billion) for new jets to replace its ageing fleet and has been evaluating different planes at the Swiss army airbase, in Payerne, including the Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jet Saab’s Gripen E fighter jet will not participate in tests this month in Switzerland, the Swedish company said on Thursday. This follows a recommendation by the Swiss defence procurement...

As noted earlier this week, the world’s two big hopes for the global economy in the second half are pinned on the US labor market continuing to exert its purported strength and Chinese authorities stimulating out of every possible (monetary) opening. Incoming data, however, continues to point to the fallacies embedded within each. The US labor market is a foundation of non-inflationary sand, and China’s “stimulus” is...