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The Producer Price Index (PPI) or officially named “Producer and Import Price Index” describes the changes in prices for producers and importers. For us it is interesting because it is used in the formula for the Real Effective Exchange Rate. When producers and importers profit on lower price changes when compared to other countries, then the Swiss Franc reduces its overvaluation. The Swiss PPI values of -6% in 2015...

The pound to Swiss franc exchange rate has been rather volatile, oscillating in a tight range between 1.2942 and 1.3336 in the last month. There is an expectation that we could see the pound losing further ground with the market bracing for worse news in the future for sterling. Sterling has somehow managed to remain reasonably buoyant amidst all the political uncertainty that lies ahead. This is principally down to...

Last week, we wrote that regulations, taxes, environmental compliance, and fear of lawsuits forces companies to put useless ingredients into their products. We said: “For example, milk comes from the ingredients of: land, cows, ranch labor, dairy labor, dairy capital equipment, distribution labor, distribution capital, and consumable containers.” There are eight necessary ingredients, without which milk cannot be...

Swiss National Bank chief Thomas Jordan (left), economics minister Guy Parmelin (second from left), president Ueli Maurer and communications manager Peter Minder give a press conference in Washington. Obstacles to implementation of a revised double-taxation agreement between Switzerland and the United States may soon be removed, according to Swiss president and finance minister Ueli Maurer. Maurer was speaking after a...

China’s Passenger Car Association reported last week that retail sales of various vehicles totaled 1.78 million units in March 2019. The total was 12% less than the number of automobiles sold in March 2018. This matches the government’s data, both sets very clear as to when Chinese economic struggles accelerated: May 2018. For decades, there was just one way for China’s car market: up. Once the trend abruptly reversed...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.07% at 1.1338 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 15(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The holiday-shortened week is off to a slow, tentative start. The surge of the S&P 500 before the weekend failed to inspire today. Asia markets were mostly firmer, led by Japan, while China, Hong Kong, and Singapore moved lower....

In the big picture, we argue that the dollar’s appreciation is part of the third significant dollar rally since the end of Bretton Woods. The first was the Reagan-Volcker dollar rally, spurred by a policy mix of tight monetary and loose fiscal policies. The rally ended with G7 intervention to knock it down in September 1985. After a ten-year bear market, a second dollar rally took place. It can be linked to the tech...

Das Bundesgesetz über die Nationalbank (Nationalbankgesetz, NBG) besagt in Artikel 25: „Das Aktienkapital der Nationalbank beträgt 25 Millionen Franken. Es ist eingeteilt in 100’000 Namenaktien mit einem Nennwert von je 250 Franken. Die Aktien sind vollständig liberiert.“ Und in Artikel 31 Absatz 1 steht: „Vom Bilanzgewinn wird eine Dividende von höchstens 6 Prozent des Aktienkapitals ausgerichtet.“ Schliesslich folgt...

There are no extreme “fixes” to secular declines in sales, profits, employment, tax revenues and asset prices. The saying “never let a crisis go to waste” embodies several truths worth pondering as the stock market nears new highs. One truth is that extreme policies that would raise objections in typical times can be swept into law in the “we have to do something” panic of a crisis. Thus wily insiders await (or trigger)...

Growth and price rises should moderate in 2019. The Swiss economy posted impressive GDP growth in 2018, although there was significant divergence between strong growth in the first half and stagnation in the second. Overall, we expect Swiss GDP to expand by 1.3% in 2019, down substantially from 2.5% in 2018. Risks to our growth outlook for Switzerland are tilted to the downside. Looking ahead, we expect the Swiss...