Zum Monatsbeginn schaffte es der BTC wieder über 40K. Doch seitdem der Konflikt zwischen Russland und der Ukraine eskalierte, ging es steil bergab. Auch der traditionelle Investmentmarkt verlor deutlich. Edelmetalle wie Gold und Silber wurden zu den großen Gewinnern. Bitcoin News: Märkte verlieren im Ukraine-Konflikt wiederIm Wochenvergleich verlor der BTC mehr als 12 Prozent und sank dadurch erneut auf ungefähr 38.700 US-Dollar. Damit wurde das Kursplus der letzten...
Read More »Weekly Market Pulse: Oil Shock
Crude oil prices rose over 25% last week and as I sit down to write this evening the overnight futures are up another 8% to around $125. Almost every other commodity on the planet rose in prices last week too, as did the dollar. Those two factors – rising dollar and rising commodity prices – mean the likelihood of recession in the coming year has risen significantly in just the last week. Rising oil prices, in particular, have been a regular feature of past...
Read More »Russia sanctions list: What the West imposed over the Ukraine invasion
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have both had their assets frozen Keystone / Alexander Zemlianichenko The US, UK and EU have adopted sanctions aimed at freezing the assets of President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in response to the war in Ukraine. They also plan to place sanctions on the Russian central bank and remove some of the country’s lenders from the SWIFT global payments system, in...
Read More »Swiss emergency relief supplies arrive in Ukraine
Aid workers load Swiss humanitarian relief supplies onto a train bound for Ukraine. Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit Around 35 tonnes of emergency aid, including medical equipment and tents, sent from Switzerland to help victims of the war in Ukraine have arrived in the capital, Kyiv. “The aid is urgently needed for hospitals serving the Ukrainian population,” the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA) tweeted on Sunday. A large part of the humanitarian aid had been flown from...
Read More »Swiss National Bank renews its commitment to adhere to the FX Global Code
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has renewed the Statement of Commitment to the FX Global Code based on the revised version of the Code dated July 2021. By signing this Statement, the SNB attests that its internal processes are consistent with the principles of the FX Global Code. The SNB also expects its regular counterparties to comply with the agreed rules of conduct. The FX Global Code sets out principles of good practice in the foreign exchange market. It was first...
Read More »Economic Aspects of the Pension Problem
On Whom Does the Incidence Fall? Whenever a law or labor union pressure burdens the employers with an additional expenditure for the benefit of the employees, people talk of “social gains.” The idea implied is that such benefits confer on the employees a boon beyond the salaries or wages paid to them and that they are receiving a grant which they would have missed in the absence of such a law or such a clause in the contract. It is assumed that the workers are...
Read More »Vladimir Nogoodnik Roils Markets
Overview: The economic disruption seen since the US warning of an imminent Russian attack on February 11 continue to ripple through the capital and commodity markets. Equities are being slammed. Most Asia Pacific bourses were off 2-3% today. Europe’s Stoxx 600 gapped lower ad has approached February 2021 levels, orr about 2.6% today. US futures are around 1.5% lower. The reaction in the major bond markets is subdued. The US 10-year yield is near 1.72%, off...
Read More »SNB says remains prepared to intervene in FX market if necessary
Franc is currently sought after as a refuge currency Franc appreciation also reflects inflation differential between Switzerland and other countries The franc continues to be highly valued SNB looks at overall currency situation Individual currency pairs do not play a special role Some verbal intervention there by the SNB but in typical cases for the franc, actions speak louder than words. That said, this could be a precursor before the “invisible hand” steps in. So,...
Read More »Swiss inflation jumps sharply in February
© Radomír Režný | Dreamstime.com The high inflation across the world is rippling as far as Switzerland. During the month of February 2022, Swiss prices rose 0.7%. Compared to the same month in 2021, prices were 2.2% higher, making this the highest price increase in two decades. The 0.66% monthly consumer price rise in February represents an annualised rate of 7.9%. Essentially, if the latest monthly rate of inflation were to continue for 12 months it would push...
Read More »Houston, We Have An Oil (and inventory) Problem
If only, like in the aftermath of the Apollo 13 explosion, we could just radio Houston to get started in figuring out just the way out of our fix. Mission Control would certainly buzz all the right people with the right stuff, summoning the best engineers and scientists from their quiet divans to the frenzied and dangerous work ahead. Sadly, in this context all we could ever turn to is Economists. And from Houston, we aren’t like to extract any more oil. The US...
Read More »