Tag Archives: newsletter

Was ist es, was uns im Falle des Überwachungsskandals der CS so stark verstört hat? Mir fallen drei Punkte auf. Erstens die Tatsache, dass die Schweizer Grossbank offensichtlich einen eigenen internen geheimen Überwachungsdienst unterhält, der Arbeitnehmer auch ausserhalb des Arbeitsplatzes und ihrer Arbeitszeiten überwacht respektive bespitzelt. Zweitens ist es verstörend, dass sich der betreffende verdeckte Überwachungsmann, der einen Badge der CS hatte, das Leben...

We are approaching the mid-point of the first quarter, and the coronavirus from China is the new key development for businesses and investors.  The economic impact appears to be still growing as the disruption to supply chains, production, and demand continues.  The re-opening of China from the extended Lunar New Year holiday brought some relief to the markets as officials ensured ample liquidity, leaned against short selling, and offered concessions to businesses...

Rohner speaking at a news conference last October, following the discovery that the Credit Suisse management spied on former executives including wealth manager Iqbal Kahn.   (Keystone/Ennio Leanza) The chairman of the Credit Suisse bank says he does not expect to be voted out of office before his term ends next year following the departure of the bank’s CEO on Friday amid a surveillance scandal. Urs Rohner says he has received “clear responses” from shareholders...

Are these claims even remotely plausible for a highly contagious virus that spreads easily between humans while carriers show no symptoms? It’s clear that the narrative about the coronavirus is being carefully managed globally to minimize the impact on global sentiment and markets. Authorities are well aware of the global economy’s extreme fragility, and so Job One for authorities everywhere is to scrub the news flow of anything that doesn’t support the implicit...

In the conservative and libertarian movements there have been two major forms of surrender, of abandonment of the cause. The most common and most glaringly obvious form is one we are all too familiar with: the sellout. The young libertarian or conservative arrives in Washington, at some think-tank or in Congress or as an administrative aide, ready and eager to do battle, to roll back the State in service to his cherished radical cause. And then something happens:...

Creating money may soon look entirely different in the digital age. (Keystone / Lm Otero) Central banks are contemplating a response to alternative money systems, such as bitcoin or Libra, with new digital versions of their own currencies. They go by the name of Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs. Libra’s stablecoin project launched in Geneva last year was a “watershed” moment that “kicked everyone in the pants”, Michael Sung, a professor at Fudan University,...

Risk-off sentiment intensified last week; the dollar continues to climb This is another big data week for the US; the US economy remains strong Fed Chair Powell testifies before the House Tuesday and the Senate Wednesday; the Senate holds confirmation hearings for Fed nominees Shelton and Waller Thursday President Trump will unveil his budget proposal for FY2021 beginning October 1 this Monday Eurozone and UK have heavy data weeks Riksbank meets Wednesday and is...

CHF struggles to find demand as a safe-haven on Friday. US Dollar Index pushes higher above the 98.50 mark. Nonfarm Payrolls in US is expected to come in at 160K in January.  The USD/CHF pair closed the last four trading days in the positive territory and continued to edge higher on Friday to touch its best level since December 27th at 0.9772. As of writing, the pair was up 0.2% on the day at 0.9763. The sour market mood fails to help the CHF find demand as a...

The current monetary environment in Switzerland is as far from ordinary as can be imagined: negative interest rates (from -0.75% in the short term to -0.25% for 50Y govt bonds) and oceans of liquidity (M0 has grown to 50% of M3 from pre-crises levels of around 8%). The Swiss National Bank faces criticism because it is seen as contributing to this state of affairs. Both the critique and the counter-arguments have many facets. Let us pick just one of them: is the SNB...

A primary school class in Aargau, northern Switzerland (Keystone) Switzerland’s public finances rose by 1.7% in 2018 to CHF232.6 billion ($238.8 billion) compared with 2017. As a percentage of the total, Switzerland spent more on education and less on defence than the European Union. The largest budget item remained social protection, costing almost CHF92 billion or 39.4% of the total, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on Thursdayexternal link. This is...