© Mykhailo Polenok | Dreamstime.com This week, Swisscom became the first Swiss mobile phone company to switch on its 5G network, according to a press release. Swisscom spokesperson, Esther Hüsler, said that at midnight on Wednesday Swisscom flipped the switch to become the first Swiss operator to put its 5G network into service. It’s 5G network went live across 102 locations across the country, including most of...
Read More »Good Friday, bad Gotthard traffic
Spot the difference: traffic queues at the motorway A2 southbound at the Gotthard tunnel between Goeschenen and Erstfeld, northbound is largely free Long queues have been reported at the Gotthard tunnel in central Switzerland as holidaymakers head south for the Easter break. The traffic jam at the northern end of the tunnel stands at 12 kilometres, with a wait of almost two hours, the Touring Club of Switzerlandexternal...
Read More »China: Q1 growth beats expectations
The Chinese economy grew at a faster rate than expected in the first quarter as policy stimulus effects kick in. The National Bureau of Statistics of China published Q1 GDP figures along with some key economic indicators for March. The data generally surprised on the upside. While we had previously flagged the upside risk to our earlier GDP forecast following the rebound in PMIs and strong credit numbers, the latest...
Read More »Rail bosses worried over train punctuality
Passengers boarding a train in Bern station The national railway operator, Swiss Federal Railways, has set up a taskforce to look into train punctuality – currently 90.1% – after the rate slipped slightly last year. News of the taskforce was broken by CH-Media groupexternal link and confirmed by the Federal Railwaysexternal link to the Swiss public broadcaster SRFexternal link. The group, made up of experienced...
Read More »Business cycle could define Trump’s re-election chances
President Trump’s focus on getting re-elected in November 2020 may have implications for his economic policy choices. As we move closer to the 2020 presidential election, Trump has been blatantly leaning on the Federal Reserve to be more accommodative and has been trying to appoint nominees who share his preference for loose monetary policy to the Fed board. The countdown to the 2020 elections also seems to be prompting...
Read More »FX Daily, April 19: Holiday Note
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.03% at 1.1399 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 19(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Many financial centers are closed today. These include Australia, India, most European markets, and the US. In Asia, equity markets that were open moved higher. The Nikkei, which gapped higher on Monday, rose 0.5% today for a 1.5%...
Read More »Syngenta slammed for hazardous pesticide profits
Soybean harvest in Mato Grosso, Brazil (Keystone / Andre Penner) A United Nations representative is demanding action following reports that Swiss crop science company Syngenta is selling highly hazardous pesticides abroad. “There is an urgent need to end this exploitation of lower standards of protection. This is a morally and ethically unjustifiable situation,” Baskut Tuncak, United Nations Special Rapporteur on human...
Read More »China’s Blowout IP, Frugal Stimulus, and Sinking Capex
It had been 55 months, nearly five years since China’s vast and troubled industrial sector had seen growth better than 8%. Not since the first sparks of the rising dollar, Euro$ #3’s worst, had Industrial Production been better than that mark. What used to be a floor had seemingly become an unbreakable ceiling over this past half a decade. According to Chinese estimates, IP in March 2019 was 8.5% more than it was in...
Read More »FX Daily, April 18: EMU Disappointment Lifts the Dollar
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.15% at 1.1393 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, April 18(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: A bout of profit-taking in equities began in the US yesterday and has carried through Asia and Europe today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell for the first time in five days, while the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is snapping a six-day advance....
Read More »Pound to Swiss Franc rates: UK housing price growth hits 6 year low
Pound to Swiss Franc rates We have seen a fairly stagnant market following the Brexit extension until 31st October. Although a key factor on GBP/CHF economic date releases will now gain back some of their impact. Yesterday saw the ease of House Price Growth data and figures dropped to a six year low. The average house price of across the UK grew by 0.6%, but property prices in the...
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