Tag Archives: newsletter

As many countries face their second or even third lockdowns (Germany, Austria, Israel), others (Switzerland, the United States) have done what they can to escape such repetitions. Much of the discussion about this drastic move involves its costs. As Covid-19 became pandemic in early 2020, most countries opted for a similar set of measures. They implemented social distancing, slowed down the traffic of people in public spaces and eventually put a stop to large...

Like Switzerland, Iceland – whose leaders are pictured here with German Chancellor Angela Merkel – is not a member of the European Union and has no current plans for a future membership. Keystone / Str With Brexit done, Switzerland is hoping it can restart negotiations on its framework agreement with the European Union. The experience of other non-member states offers some valuable lessons on how it can engage with Brussels, though no blueprint exists. SWI...

On October 6, 2020, the auditor general of Pennsylvania, Eugene DePasquale, released a status update on his ongoing audit of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) waiver process for businesses that appealed Governor Wolf’s covid-19 closure order. To everyone’s surprise, the auditor general concluded that his office discovered inconsistencies and puzzling decisions in the business waiver process. On March 19, Governor Tom Wolf...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.16% to 1.0789 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 29(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Powerful corrective forces continue to grip the market. After a large rally to start the New Year, the correction is punishing. Most Asia Pacific equities markets were off again today to bring the week’s loss to 2.5% to 5.5% throughout the region. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is a...

The Johnson & Johnson campus in Zug © Keystone / Urs Flueeler American pharma group Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is to transfer four of its canton Neuchâtel-based subsidiaries to other locations – including abroad. The move is expected to result in the loss of up to 320 jobs by mid-2023. The company wants to move the production lines for its two of its subsidiaries in Neuchâtel, western Switzerland, to Puerto Rico and Mexico. The inspection and storage...

Government-mandated money in the form of legal tender is a historical anomaly. For much of mankind’s history private monies and quasi monies competed alongside each other. Now, again, a new era of private money competition is resurging and reshaping our world. Money, finance, and banking are currently experiencing the “Great Unbundling.” Value chains within finance are being broken up across the spectrum. Customers or users are no longer obtaining their money...

In the wake of the extreme price explosion in GameStop stock, driven in large part by the subreddit WallStreetBets on Reddit, there is naturally a great deal of talk about “market manipulation” and related concerns. Many people are saying that hedge funds manipulate markets. Others are saying that the rich and powerful are now upset because “manipulation has been democratized.” The Secruities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now monitoring the situation. Nancy Pelosi...

Verbier ski lift © Le News SARL According to a recent survey by Swiss media company Tamedia, 55% of the population is in favour of closing the country’s ski domains if the Covid-19 situation gets worse. reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. Ski resorts have been working hard to control crowds and police mask wearing. At Verbier, ‘Covid Angels’ are ever present, reminding people to pull masks up over noses and have relieved a number of the worst transgressors of their...

The FOMC delivered a dovish hold, as we expected; we get our first look at Q4 GDP; Fed manufacturing surveys for January will continue to roll out; weekly jobless claims data will be closely watched The vaccination gap between the UK and the US vs. Europe continues to wide, and grievances against suppliers are getting worse; Germany January CPI will be reported; if inflation risks were rising , ECB officials wouldn’t be so concerned about the strong euro and its...

Global confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million this week. There is no denying that the coronavirus pandemic has caused tremendous hardship and loss. To mitigate new cases climbing further, stricter lockdown and travel restrictions are being announced and implemented, with the curfew in the Netherlands as an example. Lock-down fatigue, as evidenced by the riots against this implemented curfew, is growing. Through it all, hope is on the horizon as vaccine...