EUR/CHF is looking north, having bounced up from key MA support. The 4-hour chart indicators are also reporting bullish conditions. EUR/CHF is better bid at 1.1030 press time and could challenge the Oct. 17 high of 1.1059 in the next 24 hours. The 4-hour chart shows, the currency pair has bounced up from the 50-period moving average (MA). That ascending (bullish) technical line has emerged as strong support in the last eight days. The strong bounce from the key MA...
Read More »Real wages set to rise in Switzerland for first time in three years
Is it too early for Swiss workers to crack open the champagne over wages? Employees in Switzerland are expected to receive above-inflation pay rises for the first time since 2016, according to a survey of companies. On average, workers are forecast to take home a 1.1% pay hike – a rise of 0.9% when taking inflation into account. These are the findings of research portal Lohntendenzen.chexternal link, as reported by the NZZ am Sonntagexternal link newspaper. The...
Read More »FX Weekly Preview: Fed’s Mid-Course Correction to be Challenged while ECB Resumes Bond Purchases
The week ahead will help shape the investment climate for the remainder of the year. The highlights include three central bank meetings (Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and the Bank of Canada). Among the high-frequency data, the US and the eurozone report the first estimates of Q3 GDP, and the US October jobs data and auto sales will be released. Investors will also get the preliminary Oct CPI for EMU. A few hours before the FOMC meeting concludes on October 30,...
Read More »EM Preview for the Week Ahead
EM has been on a good run but this week will be a big test. Brexit uncertainty may finally end. Or it may not. A delay would be positive for EM, whilst a potential hard Brexit would be negative. The Fed meets Wednesday and key US data will be reported during the week, culminating with the jobs report Friday. The dollar has been on its back foot as September data have come in weaker than expected, so any sort of positive data surprises this week could add to the...
Read More »Somehow Still Decent European Descent
How times have changed. In the middle of 2018, we were told the risks to the global economy were all tilted to the upside. If central bankers weren’t careful, they chanced an uncontrollable inflationary breakout, the kind that would make the last few years of the 2010’s look too much like the 1970’s. Always eager to bottle up the inflation genie, Germany out of everyone actually welcomed negative factors as they built up during the year. From last August: In spite of...
Read More »Swiss central bank makes 388 million from negative interest rates
Swiss National Bank – © J0hnb0y | Dreamstime.com The Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland’s central bank, has earned CHF 388 million from negative interest rates since introducing them in 2014 to tame the rising strength of the Swiss Franc, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick. On 15 January 2015, the SNB announced that it was abandoning its policy of maintaining an exchange rate cap of 1.20 francs to 1.00 euro. At the same time it increased negative interest...
Read More »Swiss remain the richest in 2019
© Marekusz | Dreamstime.com According to a recent report by the bank Credit Suisse, the Swiss are worth more on average than the residents of any other nation. The bank’s annual Global Wealth Report calculates average net worth per Swiss adult to be US$ 564,653 (CHF 560,643) at mid-2019. The median figure was US$ 227,891 (CHF 226,273). Switzerland’s combined personal wealth of US$ 3.9 trillion represents 1.1% of the global total, while the nation’s population...
Read More »How pension payments are making Swiss housing unaffordable
A motorway underpass means the gutting of this district in Zurich and the loss of more affordable apartments. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) Under pressure to invest, Swiss pension funds are ploughing money into real estate, considered a safe and profitable option. As this drives up housing prices, however, desperate residents are fighting back through direct democracy. Building land in central Switzerland is scarce, and apartments and houses expensive, especially in...
Read More »USD/CHF technical analysis: Jumps back closer to over 1-week tops
The intraday pullback finds decent support ahead of 0.9900 handle. Move beyond 0.9935 will set the stage for additional near-term gains. The USD/CHF pair did witness some intraday pullback but showed some resilience below 38.2% Fibonacci level of the 1.0028-0.9837 recent downfall. The pair managed to find decent support near 200-hour SMA and has now moved back closer to over one-week tops set earlier this Friday. Meanwhile, technical indicators on the 4-hourly chart...
Read More »Five things to come out of Zuckerberg’s Libra testimony
Mark Zuckerberg appearing before the US Congress hearing into Libra. Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of the US Congress on Wednesday about his company’s plans to launch a new, global digital currency. During a marathon hearing, the Facebook chief executive and founder attempted to change the narrative surrounding Project Libra. The proposed currency has been beset by criticism from regulators and politicians, while support from corporate partners has dwindled. Mr...
Read More »