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On Swiss trains passenger numbers have increased very gradually, and currently stand at around 55% of normal capacity in regional trains and 45% on intercity trains. © Keystone / Christian Beutler The collapse in the number of commuters and other passengers on Swiss trains and buses due to the pandemic is likely to leave a big hole in the finances of public transport companies. The Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung newspapers reported on Sunday that Alliance...

Congolese demonstrations protest outside Glencore’s headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, in July 2018. © Keystone / Urs Flueeler The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has opened a criminal probe into Swiss-based commodity trader and miner Glencore over alleged corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it mines copper and cobalt. Glencore said in a statement on June 19 that the Swiss criminal investigation was for the multinational’s...

There are some indexing events this week that could add to market volatility; the IMF will release updated global growth forecasts Wednesday The regional Fed manufacturing surveys for June will continue to roll out; Fed speaking engagements are somewhat limited this week Eurozone reports preliminary June PMI readings Tuesday; ECB releases its account of the June meeting Thursday All quiet on the Brexit front; UK reports preliminary June PMI readings Tuesday Japan...

We are reading now about possible regulations for air travel. In brief: passengers might be forced to spend hours at the airport. Authorities will perform medical checks, including possibly needles to draw blood, no lounges, no food or drink on board the plane, masks required at all times, and even denied the use of a bathroom except by special permission. We would wager an ounce of fine gold against a soggy dollar bill that people will hate this. The majority of...

Donald Trump’s economic populism, and his break with the established post-war conservative movement, has created an opening for new types of conservatism. Among these is the anti-market wing of the movement characterized by a renewed enthusiasm for trade controls, more spending on welfare programs, and more government regulation in the everyday lives of ordinary Americans. The economic agenda has been voiced perhaps most enthusiastically by pundit Tucker Carlson and...

(Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links) You have probably heard a lot about Financial Independence. A lot of things on this blog are about my path to Financial Independence (FI). But why would you want to be financially independent? There are many reasons for wanting to be financially independent. And as you will see, retiring may not be the most significant reason. In this post, I am going to list the main reasons people want to be Financially...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.12% to 1.0664 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Investors begin the new week, perhaps slowed a bit by the weekend developments and the growth of new infections. Equities are mixed. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index snapped a four-day advance, though India bucked the regional trend and gained 1%. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is recovering...

© Jan Gajdosik | Dreamstime.com The Swiss authorities should have been more open about what they did and didn’t know about the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the early stages, according to Bertrand Kiefer, doctor, ethicist and editor of the Swiss Medical Review. Speaking to RTS, Kiefer said he believes the public should be treated like adults. A paternalistic approach to communication in such situations is ineffective, in his view. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health...

On 18 June 2020, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it would maintain its negative rate of interest (-0.75%) and remains willing to intervene more strongly in the foreign exchange market. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a severe downturn in economic activity and a decline in inflation both in Switzerland and abroad. The bank presented a new lower inflation forecast than the one it issued in March 2020. The red line in the chart above shows deflation exceeding...

They’re hoping the endless circuses and trails of bread crumbs will forever distract us from their plunder and the inequalities built into America’s financial system.. The primary story of the past 20 years is the already-rich have gotten much richer, with destabilizing economic, social and political consequences. The Federal Reserve and its army of academic / think-tank / financier apologists, lackeys, toadies, apparatchiks and sycophants have several rather thin...