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– London house prices fell by 3.2% in the first quarter – Halifax – Brexit, financial and geo-political uncertainty lead to falls– Excluding sale of seven £10m-plus houses in London, prices were down 3.4% in the year– UK house prices climb by just 0.4% in April, the slowest increase since 2008 for same period– Sales transactions fall by 19% and asking versus selling prices show turning into buyers’ market– Homeowner or...

Over the past 10 days, the euro has declined significantly against the US dollar. On 26 April, the EUR/USD rate moved below the low of its 1.21501.2550 trading range, which had been in place since 18 January. Reasons for this decline can be found in the growth differential and monetary policy divergence. Indeed, moderation in leading indicators (from elevated levels) in the euro area and a cautious ECB (given muted...

French rail unions have called a series of on-off strikes to the end of June to protest the government's reform plans. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Rail services between Switzerland and France are limited on Saturday, owing to a strike by French workers against railway reforms. Most high-speed train (TGV) services have been cancelled, with the exception of six return journeys between Paris and Zurich (2),...

Most of the world’s financial centers are closed for the May Day holiday, but the lack of participation has not prevented the extension of the US dollar’s recovery.  The Dollar Index has traded above its 200-day moving average for the first time in a year.  No new catalyst has emerged.  The widening interest rate differential in the dollar’s favor over Germany, for example, is unprecedented.  Just like Fed officials can...

Thomas Hoenig was President of the Federal Reserve’s Kansas City branch for two decades. He left that post in 2011 to become Vice Chairman of the FDIC. Before that, Mr. Hoenig as a voting member of the FOMC in 2010 cast the lone dissenting vote in each of the eight policy meetings that year (meaning he was against QE2, too). This makes him, apparently, the hawk of all hawks. In January 2011, in his capacity as still...

See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. Unfulfilled Prophecies The price of gold fell $12 last week, but that of silver dropped 63 cents. What’s up with silver?! A prominent analyst wrote on April 19 of the “breakout” in silver. Of course, without the benefit of the basis and the Monetary Metals fundamental price, he could only see the price chart, plus the...

[embedded content] Wer soll Franken herstellen dürfen? Nur die Schweizerische Nationalbank, oder auch die Geschäftsbanken wie UBS, CS oder die Kantonalbanken? Ginge es nach der Vollgeld-Initiative, über die wir am 10. Juni abstimmen, wäre künftig klar: Geld als gesetzliches Zahlungsmittel gäbe es nur von der SNB. Offsetmaschine zum Druck von Schweizer Banknoten bei der Schweizerischen Nationalbank. Keystone - Click to...

The KOF Economic Barometer for April points to an almost stable economic development. It has risen minimally, by 0.2 points, to 105.3 points. Although the Barometer currently does not reach the positive values seen at the turn of the year 2017/2018, the current value is clearly above long-term average. The Swiss economic outlook remains favourable. In April, the KOF Economic Barometer rose slightly to 105.3...

More than a quarter of tenants in Switzerland are unhappy with their accommodation, but are unable to move – especially for financial reasons. A survey published by online price comparison portal comparis.chexternal link on Thursday has found that 26% of Swiss tenants consider their housing situation to be unsatisfactory. Of the 4,000 tenants surveyed, 67% said that they could not afford to move to a better place....

Swiss Franc The Euro stood unchanged at 1.1967 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 30(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Three large corporate deals were announced. T-Mobile appears to have finally figured a way to secure Sprint.  It is a $26.5 bln equity tie-up. Marathon Petroleum is reportedly taking Andeavor for $20 bln in cash and stock. Sainsbury is...