© Marekusz | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s federal accounts ended 2020 with a record-breaking deficit of CHF 15.8 billion. The deficit was caused by the pandemic. An unexpected CHF 3.6 billion fall in revenue combined with net CHF 12.5 billion in largely unplanned expenses combined to take the overall result CHF 16.1 billion below the expected positive net result of CHF 0.3 billion to deliver a loss of CHF 15.8 billion for the year. Pandemic-related expenditure...
Read More »Eurodollar University’s Making Sense; Episode 46; Part 3: Bill’s Reading On Reflation, And Other Charted Potpourri
46.3 On the Economic Road to NothingGoodVilleRecent, low consumer price inflation readings combined with falling US Treasury Bill yields are cautionary sign posts that say this reflationary path may not be the road to recovery but a deflationary cul-de-sac. [Emil’s Summary] Having studied monetary policy for several years it was only natural that your podcaster spent considerable time contemplating the essential elements of fiction. Some experts say there are five...
Read More »New Opportunities 2021: Covid-19 and the future of shipping and aviation
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted transportation worldwide, sending shockwaves across supply chains, lowering demand and reducing revenue. Shipping and aviation especially experienced a steep financial decline. Companies have had to operate at limited capacity and growth prospects have dropped sharply. According to the World Trade Organization, global maritime trade volumes declined by approximately 10 percent in 2020. The International Civil Aviation...
Read More »Alpine skiing industry faces uphill battle after reopening U-turn
Carving its own way: ski resorts in Switzerland have remained open this winter. Keystone / Marcel Bieri As a fresh covering of snow brought ideal skiing conditions to the Alpine resort of Piani di Bobbio last weekend, facilities manager Massimo Fossati eagerly anticipated the arrival of the first visitors in nearly a year. Italy’s government had given the go-ahead for the skiing industry to reopen on February 15, raising hopes of a return to normality after 11 months...
Read More »Der Liberalismus hat immer das Wohl des Ganzen im Auge
19. Februar 2021 – von Ludwig von Mises Ludwig von Mises (1881 – 1973) Weit verbreitet ist die Meinung, der Liberalismus unterscheide sich von anderen politischen Richtungen dadurch, daß er die Interessen eines Teiles der Gesellschaft – der Besitzenden, der Kapitalisten, der Unternehmer – über die Interessen der anderen Schichten stelle und vertrete. Diese Behauptung ist ganz und gar verkehrt. Der Liberalismus hat immer das Wohl des Ganzen, nie das irgendwelcher...
Read More »What Poisoned America?
America’s financial system is nothing more than a toxic waste dump of speculation, fraud, collusion, corruption and rampant profiteering. What Poisoned America? The list of suspects is long: systemic bias, special interests dominating politics, political polarization, globalization and the offshoring of productive capacity, over-regulation, the rise of rapacious cartels and monopolies, Big Tech’s gulag of the mind, the permanent adolescence of consumerism, permanent...
Read More »Poverty in Switzerland: fresh data on those struggling to get by
© Sam Wordley | Dreamstime.com In 2019, the poverty line in Switzerland was CHF 27,348 (US$ 30,500) for a single person and CHF 47,712 (US$ 53,200) for a couple with two young children. The figures are calculated by SKOS based on the cost of living in Switzerland. People with incomes below these levels in Switzerland are considered to by living in poverty. In 2019, 8.7% of Switzerland’s population was living on less that these amounts, up 0.8 percentage points from...
Read More »Episode 12: The Yield Purchasing Power Paradigm
Most people think in terms of purchasing power: how much can one’s cash buy? In this week’s episode, CEO Keith Weiner & John Flaherty discuss an alternate perspective. Instead of spending your capital, what if you invested it to earn a return? What can that return buy? Along the way you’ll learn: The concept of yield purchasing power & its impact on investing decisions How the Fed keeps us stuck in the purchasing power paradigm The perverse incentives...
Read More »FX Daily, February 19: Equities Stabilizing While the Greenback Remains Under Pressure
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.25% to 1.0854 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, February 19(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The bond and equity markets are trying to stabilize ahead of the weekend. The dollar remains under pressure. In the Asia Pacific region, Hong Kong, China, and South Korean markets advanced, but most markets could not overcome the profit-taking pressures. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600...
Read More »The Swiss eID law has flaws, but is another version worth the wait?
An infographic shows the process of applying for an eID on the website of e-ID Switzerland, a committee in support of the eID Law opposed by a referendum. The popular vote is scheduled for March 7, 2021. © Keystone / Christian Beutler The eID is billed as a long-overdue key to the digital world, a single access point for services provided by a range of public and private-sector organisations. But the model proposed by Switzerland – being put to a nationwide...
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