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Before the financial crisis, the real estate bubble and the parallel growth in borrowing meant that the indebtedness of Spanish households spiralled ever higher, reaching a peak of 84.7% of GDP in Q2 2010. Since then, Spanish’s households have tightened their belt, with indebtedness falling to 61.3% of GDP in Q4 2017. However, recent data suggest that the situation might be changing again. Indeed, in 2017, households...

The Swiss economy appears to be on a roll. Pictured here: a worker at the Lantal Textiles rug factory in Melchnau (© Marcel Bieri) - Click to enlarge The Swiss unemployment rate was 2.7% in April – a level last seen in July 2012. Last month, 119,781 people were registered as without work in Switzerland – 10,632 fewer than the previous month. This brought the overall unemployment rate down from 2.9% in March...

Swiss wealth managers are still struggling to attract new assets, according to Deloitte (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Switzerland remains the world’s largest wealth management centre for international assets, but the air is getting thinner at the top and other financial hubs are gaining ground, according to a global report. A total of $1.84 trillion (CHF1.85 billion) of international assets were managed in...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.11% to 1.1937 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, May 11(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar pulled back following yesterday’s slightly softer than expected CPI report and this likely marks the beginning of a new phase, with the dollar moving lower. Investors have learned over the past two weeks that neither wages nor...

The US trade deficit, a sensitive political topic these days, declined sharply in March. It had expanded significantly (more deficit) in January and February, reaching nearly -$76 billion (seasonally adjusted) in the latter month, before posting -$68 billion in the latest figures. Exports rose while imports fell in March, making for the largest single month change in the trade condition in many years. That may mean...

Iran’s gold demand will probably be “strong” for the next few months and then gradually decline as U.S. sanctions start to take effect, according to the researcher who covers the country for Metals Focus Ltd. After a previous set of sanctions was imposed on Iran in 2012, it took two years for the country’s gold demand to start falling, according to data from the World Gold Council. It sank to only 45.1 tons by 2016, the...

The primary example of globally synchronized growth has been Europe. Nowhere has more hope been attached to shifting fortunes. The Continent, buoyed by the persistence of central bankers like Mario Draghi, has not just accelerated it is actually booming. Or so they say. Last September, politicians were lining up to confidently declare as much, often deploying that specific word. When Jean-Claude Juncker gave his annual...

The recent strength of the US dollar coupled with the rise of the US 10-year Treasury yield has weighed on the price of gold and silver. Since 19 April, gold has lost roughly 2.3%, while silver lost almost 4.5% in USD terms. At the start of the year, these two drivers were sending conflicting signals: higher US real rates were weighing on non-yielding gold, but the decline in the greenback was acting as a tailwind for...

Switzerland has the world’s most expensive meat according to a survey compiled by Caterwings in Germany. The survey, which looks at meat prices in 52 countries, ranks Swiss prices at the top across all meat categories. © Marian Mocanu | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge On average, Swiss shoppers pay 142% more than the average across all meat categories. Chicken, the meat with the highest price premium, is 222% more...

USD/CHF The USDCHF pair’s recent trades are confined within mew minor bearish channel that we believe it forms bullish flag pattern, thus, the price needs to breach 1.0035 to activate the positive effect of this pattern followed by rallying towards our waited target at 1.0100. Therefore, we will continue to suggest the bullish trend supported by the EMA50, unless we witnessed clear break and hold below 1.0000. Expected...