Tag Archives: Featured

Neuchâtel, 4 June 2018 (FSO) – In the 1st quarter 2018, total employment (number of jobs) rose by 1.6% in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier (+0.6% with previous quarter, +1.7% in full-time equivalents). The Swiss economy counted 77 000 more jobs and 11 000 more vacancies than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. There was also an increase in the employment outlook indicator (+2.0%) and...

A recent report published by UBS shows real estate price changes in european mountain resorts. ©-Tatiana-Vasilieva-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge Over the last year, Verbier (-3.2%) and Crans Montana (-3.0%) experienced the largest price declines, while Saas Fee (+14.3%) and St. Moritz (+7.4%) climbed the most. Prices rises in the Jungfrau region (+4.8%) Gstaad (+1.5%), Flims/Laax (+2.8%), Andermatt (+1.5%),...

The main concerns of investors do not arise from the high-frequency data that are due in the coming days. Last week, the somewhat firmer than expected preliminary May CPI for the EMU failed to bolster the euro. The stronger than expected US jobs data, even if tipped by the President of the United States, and the pendulum of market sentiment swinging back in favor of two more Fed rate hikes this year did not trigger new...

[embedded content] Interview with Joe Calhoun about BiWeekly Economic Review 01/06/2018. Related posts: The Currency of PMI’s Why The Last One Still Matters (IP Revisions) The Dismal Boom Central Bank Transparency, Or Doing Deliberate Dollar Deals With The Devil What About 2.62 percent? More Pieces of Impossible Not Do We Need One, But Do We Need...

Get “Positioned In Gold” Now As “You Will Not Have Time To Get Positioned” In Physical Later Guest post by Dominic Frisby of Money Week This year’s “gold standard” of gold-related research has just come out. Conveniently enough – given gold’s “safe haven” reputation – it’s arrived just in time for another major financial market scare, this time in the form of Italy. Below, I consider some of the most pertinent points…...

Euro Area HICP Today’s release of euro area flash HICP surprised to the upside both in terms of headline inflation (which surged from 1.2% to 1.9% y-o-y in May, above consensus expectations of 1.6%) and, crucially, in terms of core inflation (HICP excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco rose from 0.7% to 1.1%). This sharp rebound in inflation will provide the ECB with a critical input for its looming decision on...

A survey of the cost of living in 77 cities, by UBS, ranks Zurich (1st) and Geneva (2nd) as the most expensive. But while these cities are the most expensive, their workers are also the highest paid. In Zurich, less than five days pay affords an iPhone X. In Geneva, the same device requires less than six days of labour. Los Angeles (6.3 days) and Miami (6.5 days) complete the top four. At the other end of the ranking, a...

Political instability in Spain has added to turmoil in other peripheral countries. The situation is not comparable with the one that Italy is experiencing at the moment, but since it comes at the same time it is increasing market volatility. Last Friday, Spain’s main oppositionparty, the Socialist party (PSOE) filed a no confidence vote against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The debate will start on May 31 with a vote...

Italian fashion brand OVS has 140 stores across the country. (Keystone) The Sempione Retail company, owner of the OVS fashion stores in Switzerland, has begun bankruptcy proceedings. Some 140 outlets will close their doors, with 1,150 workers affected. The Italian clothes brand announced in a statement on Wednesday evening that it had reached a financial dead-end. It did not go into specific details, but said that it...

Welcome to debt-serfdom, the only possible output of the soaring cost of living. Long-time readers may recall the Burrito Index, my real-world measure of inflation. The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001 (August 1, 2016). The Burrito Index tracks the cost of a regular burrito since 2001. Since we keep detailed records of expenses (a necessity if you’re a self-employed free-lance writer), I can...