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Financial and real estate wealth of households increases The Swiss National Bank is today publishing data on Q4 2020 as part of the financial accounts. Thus, household wealth data are now also available for the full year. Overall, financial assets held by households increased by CHF 108 billion to CHF 2,851 billion (up 3.9%) in 2020. High capital losses in Q1 2020 due to falling stock market prices were followed by a recovery during the remainder of the year. Both...

“Read my lips: No New Taxes” Bush Sr said in his acceptance speech for his nomination in 1988 when he promised no tax rises. As most politicians, he didn’t keep his word. In the 1992 campaign Clinton made a devastating attack on Bush’s pledge and the rest is history. The simple rule is: Don’t listen to WHAT people say, but HOW they say it. Already 50 years ago the Mehrabian model concluded that words only convey 7% of a message, body language accounts for 55% and...

With effect from 1 May 2021, Astrid Frey will take on the function of Swiss National Bank delegate for regional economic relations for the Central Switzerland region. She succeedsGregor Bäurle, who assumed the posit ion of Head of the SNB’s Regional Economic Relations unit on 1 January 2021. After concluding her studies at the University of St. Gallen, Astrid Frei worked as an economist at Bank Sarasin & Cie, after which she joined the KOF Swiss Economic...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.05% to 1.1031 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 29 Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview:  The market’s initial reaction to the Federal Reserve statement and the press conference was that it was dovish: the 10-year yield slipped, and the dollar was sold to new lows.  In fact, the two countries that appear to be ahead of the curve among high-income countries, Canada and Norway, saw their currencies rally to new...

Credit Suisse has recently been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons Keystone / Peter Klaunzer As Credit Suisse executives finalised an emergency $1.9 billion (CHF1.75 billion) fundraising from investors last week, a group of the bank’s prized super-rich clients from across Europe and Asia were on a separate Zoom call hosted by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to plot a class-action suit against the lender. The clients had been persuaded by Credit Suisse to...

(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links) Having a personal finance routine can help save time and money! For a lot of people, having a strict routine will help them remember essential things. It is the case for me. Each month, I am following the same personal finance routine for my budget. In this article, I am going to describe the steps I am doing every month. It is great to have a routine. It helps you get more efficient, and like this, you do...

10th International Conference “The Austrian School of Economics in the 21st Century” will be held in Vienna (Austria) on November 4 and 5, 2021, organized by the Austrian Economics Center and Fundación Internacional Bases. Born in the city of Rosario, Argentina, in 2006, the Conference has become a must attend event for all those interested in the Austrian School of Economics, free trade, an open economy, and a social order favorable to entrepreneurship and...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.02% to 1.104 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 28(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: It appears that the backing up of US yields is giving the dollar a better tone and challenging the Eurosystem, which has stepped up its bond purchases. The US 10-year yield is around 1.65%, roughly a two-week high and back above the 20-day moving average. European yields are mostly 2-4...

The Battle Royale: Stocks vs. Bonds. The S&P 500 is at valuations higher than those in 1929 and rival those of 1999. Despite a recession, the index is 25% above where it was trading before the pandemic. The equity stampede is undoubtedly bullish about corporate earnings prospects and, by default, economic growth. As the stock bulls party, bond investors are glum about future economic prospects. Bond yields are below where they were before the pandemic started....

The Swiss National Bank is recalling its eighth-series banknotes as of 30 April 2021. From this date on, the banknotes from the eighth series lose their status as legal tender and can no longer be used for payment purposes. This does not apply to the public cash offices of the Confederation (SBB/CFF, Swiss Post), which will continue to accept eighth-series banknotes until 30 October 2021. Due to the revocation of the statutory exchange period on 1 January 2020, the...