Buy bitcoin or gold? Bitcoin buyers are investing in gold in 2019 Poll of 4,000 bitcoin buyers shows their No 1 investment in 2019 is gold “Gold lost to bitcoin and now it’s going the other way…” says ETF strategist “Gold is a store of value and there’s no disputing that…” Buy Bitcoin or Gold(see more posts on gold price, )Gold in USD (10 Years) – GoldCore.com - Click to enlarge via CNBC.com Bitcoin’s hot streak is...
Read More »FX Daily, January 29: Fragile Tone Persists
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.19% at 1.1353 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 29(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The positive impulse in the capital markets seen last week has faded. The gap higher opening ahead of the weekend by the S&P 500 was follow by a gap lower opening yesterday. The US threatened crackdown on Huawei disrupted...
Read More »Cool Video: Bloomberg Clip US Growth in Relative Terms
With a jam-packed week for investors, and several high profile earnings reports, first look at Q4 GDP, the resumption of US-China trade talks, the FOMC meeting, and US jobs, it was a good time to be invited on the set of Bloomberg TV, with David Westin and Lisa Abramowicz. The clip here is with Matt Winkler, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. Winkler has a piece out today that compares the US economic performance under the...
Read More »Chinese Courts Frustrate Anti-Fake Watch Measures
Luxury watches are an important status symbol in China, as in many other parts of the world. - Click to enlarge The Sino-Swiss free trade agreement (FTA) is having only a limited effect on the fight against fake watches, according to a Swiss official. Steps taken by Beijing to counter fraud are often not being enforced by courts. Speaking to Swiss public broadcaster SRF, deputy director of the Swiss Federal Institute...
Read More »Gold Consolidates Above $1,300 After 1.2 percent Gain Last Week
via Marketwatch: Gold futures settled above $1,300 an ounce on Friday, with prices for the yellow metal at their highest since June as the U.S. dollar pulled back and investors eyed geopolitical turmoil and global growth worries. Rising gold prices reflect “political uncertainty” in the U.S., Eurozone, Venezuela and pockets of South America, as well as China-U.S. trade talks, said George Gero, managing director in RBC....
Read More »Modern Monetary Theory: A Cargo Cult, Report 20 Jan 2019
Newly elected Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said that Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) absolutely needed to be “a larger part of our conversation.” Her comment shines a spotlight on MMT. So what is it? According to Wikipedia, it is: “a macroeconomic theory that describes the currency as a public monopoly and unemployment as the evidence that a currency monopolist is restricting the supply of the financial...
Read More »FX Daily, January 28: Getting Ducks Lined Up for Later in the Week
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.05% at 1.1331 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, January 28(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The global capital markets are consolidating ahead of this week’s big events, which include the FOMC meeting, US jobs, an important Brexit vote in the UK parliament and the first look at Q4 EMU and US GDP. The US dollar is narrowly...
Read More »FX Weekly Preview: Divergence Reinvigorated
Eurozone Last week the focus was on Europe. Prospects of a delay in Brexit helped extend sterling’s gains to 11-week highs. Disappointing flash PMI for the eurozone and a dovish Draghi pushed the euro below $1.13 for the first time since mid-December. Speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia would be forced to cut interest rates saw the Australian dollar punch through $0.7100. For its part, the yen was...
Read More »Switzerland signs more post-Brexit deals with UK
Switzerland with its Gotthard tunnel is a major transit country for goods vehicles travelling between northern and southern Europe. Swiss President and Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has signed two agreements with the UK as part of the government’s strategy to maintain smooth ties after Brexit. The agreements on road transport and non-life insurance were signed with UK Chancellor Philip Hammond at the World Economic Forum...
Read More »The “Working Rich” Are Not Like You and Me-or the Oligarchs
Rising income inequality may be a reflection of the changing nature of work. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story The Rich Boy included this famous line: “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” According to a recent paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER),Capitalists in the Twenty-First Century (abstract only), the “working rich” are different from you and me, and...
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