Tag Archives: newsletter

When William Gibson would say that “the future is already here-it is just not evenly distributed,” he was referring to how wealth and location determine one’s access to technological advances (the future). Yet it equally can apply to the US-Chinese relationship. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, former Treasury Secretary Paulson seemed to express the views of many. If neither the US nor China changes its...

UBS says the DOJ is likely to seek “unspecified monetary civil penalties” dating back to 2006 and 2007. UBS Group AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, says it will “vigorously” contest a United States Department of Justice lawsuit concerning mortgage-backed securities it sold in the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis. In a statement issued on Wednesdayexternal link, UBS said it had been advised that the DOJ intends...

The Federal Reserve kept policy on hold, and its sparse statement gave little clue as to what it makes of the pressures in the money markets or the weakness in the housing market. The effective Fed funds rate is bumping against the cap provided by the interest rate on reserves. Some repo rates, like SOFR (the intended replacement for LIBOR), have on occasion poked above what should be the ceiling. The housing market is...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.13% at 1.1415 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, November 09(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The US dollar’s gains scored in the wake of the Fed’s signal that will continue on course to gradually hike rates have been extended. Most emerging market currencies are lower as well. Equity markets are heavy. Bond yields in Europe...

Sygnum’s Swiss HQ is situated in the heart of Zurich’s banking district. Some of the doyens of the Swiss financial industry, including former Swiss National Bank president Philipp Hildebrand and ex-UBS CEO Peter Wuffli, have joined the cryptoasset revolution with new financial services operator Sygnum. The Swiss-Singapore enterprise announced itself suddenly on Thursday after operating in stealth mode for months. It is...

Our entire economy is characterized by cartel rentier skims, central-bank goosed asset bubbles and stagnating earned income for the bottom 90%. Despite the rah-rah about the “ownership society” and the best economy ever, the sobering reality is very few Americans are able to get ahead, i.e. build real financial security via meaningful, secure assets which can be passed on to their children. As I’ve often discussed here,...

The Pound has made good gains against the Swiss Franc over the course of November so far, hitting the highest level we have seen since August and smashing through the 1.30 level. Sterling strength: Rumours of Brexit deal agreement lead to Sterling boost The main reasons behind the rise in value of Sterling is due to positive vibes surrounding Brexit. It appears that a Brexit deal for the UK is edging closer, but anyone...

Loreley Rock near Sankt Goarshausen sits at a narrow curve on the Rhine River in Germany. The shape of the bluff produces a faint echo in the wind, supposedly the last whispers of a beautiful maiden who threw herself from it in despair once spurned by her paramour. She was transformed into a siren, legend says, a tantalizing wail which cries out and lures fishermen and tradesmen on the great river to their death. While...

Gold ETFs saw inflows in volatile October as investors again hedged risk Gold ETFs see demand of 16.5 tonnes(t) in October to total of 2,346t, the equivalent of US$1B in inflows Global gold demand was robust in Q3 – demand of 964.3 tonnes – plus 6.2t yoy Strong central bank and store of value coin and bar demand offset the gold ETF outflows in Q3 Central bank gold reserves grew 148.4t in Q3, up 22% yoy Gold coin and...

© Scyther5 | Dreamstime.com After a referendum in March 2018 threatened to axe Switzerland’s costly broadcasting fee, the government put forward a counter proposal, which was adopted when 71.6% of voters voted to keep the fee. On 1 January 2019, the lower fee contained in the government’s plan will come into force. Next year, instead of CHF 451, each household will need to cough up CHF 365. Virtually every household...