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Authored by Richard Murphy via Tax Research UK blog, The FT has reported this morning that: Debt at UK listed companies has soared to hit a record high of £390bn as companies have scrambled to maintain dividend payouts in response to shareholder demand despite weak profitability. They added: UK plc’s net debt has surpassed pre-crisis levels to reach £390.7bn in the 2017-18 financial year, according to analysis from Link...

While monetary tightening remains the main risk for global stock markets, the threat of a trade war continues to dominate the headlines… THE DONALD’S DEALMAKING The question raised by Donald Trump’s trade agenda with China remains, in essence, extremely simple. It is whether The Donald is engaged in a typical ‘Art of the Deal’ negotiation, where he can suddenly turn on a dime and declare a ‘win’, or whether he is...

The DoJ is investigating Glencore’s activities in DRC, Nigeria and Venezuela. Swiss commodities mining and trading giant Glencore has been subpoenaed by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) in relation to its activities in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Venezuela. A statementexternal link from the Baar-based company said the DoJ has demanded “documents and other records with respect to...

With the first half of 2018 now drawn to a close, much of the financial medias’ headlines and commentary relating to the gold market has been focusing on the fact that the US dollar gold price has moved lower year-to-date. Specifically, from a US dollar price of $1302.50 at close on 31 December 2017, the price of gold in US dollar terms has slipped by approximately 3.8% over the last six months to around $1252.50, a...

Swss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.03% to 1.1565 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, July 03(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The global capital markets are trying to stabilize. US equities recovered from early losses yesterday but this was not enough to stop Asian equities from extending recent losses. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.2% for the sixth...

The Swiss railway system ranks as the best in Europe. The intercity IC2000 trains feature double-storeyed coaches. (Keystone) The Swiss Federal Railways is revamping its intercity IC2000 fleet at a cost of approximately CHF300 million ($302 million). The first completely renovated trains will be put back into operation in early 2019. The 341 wagons should be fit for another 20 years on the rails after their makeover....

Stock Markets EM FX ended Friday mixed, capping off a mostly softer week. TRY, MXN, and RUB were the top performers and the only ones up against USD, while ARS, CLP, and BRL were the worst.  Looking ahead, US jobs data on Friday pose some risks to EM, coming on the heels of a higher than expected 2% y/y rise in PCE. China will also remain on the market’s radar screen, with the first snapshots of June economic activity...

See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. “On résiste à l’invasion des armées; on ne résiste pas à l’invasion des idées.” These are the actual words written by Victor Hugo in Histoire d’un Crime (History of a Crime).Translated literally, it means an invasion of armies can be resisted; an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted. However, there are many alternative...

More banks turned a profit last year than in 2016 Switzerland lost a total of nine banks in 2017 bringing the total to 253. Around 20 years ago the country boasted more than 400 banks. According to the annual “Banks in Switzerland” report released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Thursday, only one foreign bank opened a Swiss branch last year. The number of people working for banks also declined. Staff numbers in...

A gold bond is debt obligation that is denominated in gold, with interest and principal paid in gold. As I will explain below, it’s a way for the issuer to pay off its debt in full, and there are other advantages. Sometimes, I find that it’s helpful to show a picture of what I’m talking about. At the Harvard Club in New York, an old gold bond is hanging on the wall among other memorabilia. This is a gold bond bought by...