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The second most frustrating aspect of trying to analyze global shadow money is how the term “shadow” really applies in this case. It’s not really because banks are being sneaky, desperately maintaining their cover for any number of illicit activities they are regularly accused of undertaking. The money stays in the shadows for the simple reason central bankers don’t know their jobs; even after a somehow Global Financial Crisis in 2008, they don’t realize the full...

The US-China diplomatic relationship may be entering a new stage. The balance of power between the key players – Trump, China, the US Congress, and the Democrats – is changing and their roles are being reshuffled. This might be enough to break the endless cycle of agreements and re-escalations. In short, we think both Trump and Chinese officials have a greater incentive to reach a deal (or at least not to escalate) this time around. Meanwhile, the rising antagonist...

The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Zweig famously referred to gold as a “Pet Rock” in 2015. He was blasted by people who understand that gold is no passing fad, and it serves some very important roles in an investment portfolio. The valuable roles played by gold have been well covered here. It’s a hedge against both inflation and deflation, it represents true diversification for portfolios stuffed with conventional securities, and it is a way of protecting wealth...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.09% to 1.0999 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 22(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Bismark is said to have warned that laws were like sausages, and to respect them, one ought not to see how they are made. The UK had a non-binding referendum more than three years ago, and although it won by 52%-48% and the party leaders committed to adhering to the results, it still...

Today, the Swiss National Bank is opening the SNB Forum on the ground floor of its premises at Fraumünsterstrasse 8 in Zurich. This has been created as part of the mult i-yearrenovation of this building, and is open to the public. The SNB Forum’s content is aimed at an interested expert audience – visitors will be able to find out all about the National Bank at the site. In addition, the Forum will function as an issue and return point for literature from the SNB...

The company’s CO2 emissions in 2018 was 1,585,000 tons. (© Keystone / Laurent Gillieron) The Swiss-based agricultural firm has set aside $2 billion (around CHF1.97 billion) over five years to reduce emissions from agricultural practices. The company, which has come under fire for profiting from selling hazardous pesticides abroad, also announced on Tuesday that it will be reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030. “These aren’t just words, this is real action that...

USD/CHF seesaws around late-Friday tops. 100-HMA, Friday’s high will restrict the latest pullback. September month low can please sellers during the declines. Failure to extend the latest recovery seems to portray the USD/CHF pair’s weakness as it trades around 0.9870 amid pre-European session on Tuesday. The pair trades below 100-Hour Simple Moving Average (HMA) and Friday’s high, around 0.9900, which holds the key to pair’s further recovery towards a 200-HMA level...

An estimated 2,200 individuals in Switzerland are in the ultra-high net worth group, with wealth of over $50 million (Keystone) The Swiss have pulled away from the pack when it comes to assets per adult, remaining on average the wealthiest citizens in the world. In concrete terms, by mid-2019 assets per adult in Switzerland stood at $564,650 (CHF555,000), an increase of $17,790 over the previous year, according to the tenth Credit Suisse Global Wealth Reportexternal...

China’s growing troubles go way back long before trade wars ever showed up. It was Euro$ #2 that set this course in motion, and then Euro$ #3 which proved the country’s helplessness. It proved it not just to anyone willing to honestly evaluate the situation, it also established the danger to one key faction of Chinese officials. The entire world slowed in 2012 following #2, but until the bottom of #3 it wasn’t really clear what that might mean. For a very long time,...

If you’re truly interested in finding solutions to humanity’s pressing problems, then start helping us pry open the Overton Window. The Overton Window describes the spectrum of concepts, policies and approaches that can be publicly discussed without being ridiculed or marginalized as “too radical,” “unworkable,” “crazy,” etc. The narrower the Overton Window, the greater the impoverishment of public dialog and the fewer the solutions available. Those holding power in...