Tag Archives: newsletter

Recent protests could have a negative impact on French growth, tax revenue and president Macron’s reform plans for his country and for Europe. French protests began on November 17 over hikes in fuel taxes, but have progressively broadened out into an expression of general anger with the French government about the cost of living and high taxes. To calm the situation, the government has dropped the planned fuel tax hike...

Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.15% at 1.13 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, December 06(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The global capital markets were fragile amid trade uncertainty and economic slowdown fears. News that Canada arrested the CFO of Huawei on behalf of the US, ostensibly for violating the embargo against Iran triggered an almost immediate...

The investigation by SRF found that hackers could easily gain access to names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of customers at a Starbucks shop in Bern. (Keystone) An investigation by Swiss Public Television, SRF, has found that data isn’t sufficiently protected when customers use WiFi at cafes in Switzerland of the global coffee chain. Free WiFi access at Starbucks – one of the great perks offered by the company –...

Pictet Wealth Management’s latest positioning across asset classes and investment themes. Asset Allocation We remain neutral on global equities overall, seeing relatively limited potential for developed market stocks in particular as earnings growth declines. We favour companies with pricing power as well as measurable growth drivers and low leverage. We have moved from underweight to neutral in US Treasuries, as the...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.06% at 1.132 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, December 05(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The 3%+ drop in the S&P 500 yesterday kept global equities under pressure today, though losses in Asia and Europe were milder. In Asia, only Hong Kong and Taiwan benchmarks lost more than 1%. In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is...

What’s scarce in a world awash in free content and nearly infinite entertainment content? After 3,701 posts (from May 2005 to the present), here are my observations of the Alternative Media from the muddy trenches. It’s increasingly difficult to make a living creating content outside the corporate matrix. The share of advert revenues paid to content creators / publishers has declined precipitously, shadow banning has...

Every three months the rate of interest used to set Swiss rents is reviewed. If it goes down some renters have the right to request a decrease in rent. This time it remained at 1.50%. ©-Sergei-Razvodovskij-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge The last time it dropped was 2 June 2017 when it fell to 1.5%, its lowest level since 2008. The rate is based on the average Swiss mortgage rate over three months. This rate is...

I was in graduate school, studying American foreign policy when I stumbled on Riccardo Parboni’s “The Dollar and Its Rivals.” This thin volume showed how the foreign exchange market was the arena in which capitalist rivalries were expressed. More than any single book, it set me on a more than 30-year path. The dramatic world of foreign exchange that Parboni depicted changed in a significant way in the mid-1990s. Led by...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.12% at 1.1339 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, December 04(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Equity markets are unable to build on yesterday’s advance, but bonds and oil are extending gains. The dollar remains on the defensive and is off again all the major currencies. The lack of a joint statement over the weekend by the US...

Swiss Franc Coins - Click to enlarge In today’s GBP/CHF forecast we look at why the Pound has been coming under a huge amount of pressure recently against the Swiss Franc. Those that have been following the currency markets will be aware that the pressure on GBP is largely owing to the uncertainty caused by the ongoing Brexit talks. We are now just over a week away from arguably one of the biggest events in British...