Tag Archives: newslettersent

  Swiss Franc Currency Index The Swiss Franc index recovered this week against the dollar index. The franc improved against both dollar and euro, given that the SNB was not dovish enough, Trade-weighted index Swiss Franc, March 18(see more posts on Swiss Franc Index, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge Swiss Franc Currency Index (3 years) The Swiss Franc index is the trade-weighted currency...

There has always been something like Newton’s third law observed in the business cycles of the US and other developed economies. In what is, or was, essentially symmetry, there had been until 2008 considerable correlation between the size, scope, and speed of any recovery and its antecedent downturn, or even slowdown. The relationship was so striking that it moved Milton Friedman to finally publish in 1993 his plucking...

Summary: Nearly half of OPEC’s intended cuts are being offset by an increase in US output. The contango rewards the accumulation of inventories. The drop in oil prices probably weighs more on European reflation story than the US. Oil prices are lower for the seventh consecutive session.   Light sweet crude prices had fallen 10.3% over the past two weeks, and with today’s losses are off another 1.6% already...

Retail sales comparisons were for February 2017 skewed by the extra day in February 2016. With the leap year February 29th a part of the base effect, the estimated growth rates (NSA) for this February are to some degree better than they appear. Seasonally-adjusted retail sales were in the latest estimates essentially flat when compared to the prior month (January). That leaves too much guesswork to draw any hard...

Trump vs. the Deep State If there had been any doubt that the land of the free and home of the brave is now a totalitarian society, the revelations that its Chief Executive Officer has been spied upon while campaigning for that office and during his brief tenure as president should now be allayed. President Trump joins the very crowded list of opponents of the American State which includes the Tea Party, tax resistors,...

24 Heures. On Monday the franc went as low as 1.0825 to the euro, the lowest since early December last year. © Yulan | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge According to some experts, the weaker franc can be partly explained by the market activities of the Swiss National Bank (SNB). The cantonal bank of Thurgau said that the SNB appeared to be targeting a weaker franc ahead of the Dutch elections on Wednesday. Adding that...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, March 17(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF Article 50 – Invocation Imminent With the House of Commons voting against amendments to the brexit bill, it was passed to the Queen for approval which was really a formality, more a mark of respect to a bygone age. Article 50 is now ready to be invoked at anytime. It is anticipated to be next week. I am of...

Warren Buffett has frequently advised aspiring investors to take a contrarian view on markets and “be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.”  In fact, being dismissive of the wall street ‘herd mentality’ has resulted in some of Buffett’s most successful trades over the years including his decision to load up on bank stocks during the ‘great recession’. But the market wizards at Credit...

A Case of Botched Timing, But… When last we wrote about the gold sector in mid February, we discussed historical patterns in the HUI following breaches of its 200-day moving average from below. Given that we expected such a breach to occur relatively soon, the post turned out to be rather ill-timed. Luckily we always advise readers that we are not exactly Nostradamus (occasionally our timing is a bit better). Below is...

Summary: Many who think that the US is becoming isolationist are wrong. The thrust is now more about unilateralism. Unilateralism can lead to the US being more isolated. Domestic issues have dominated the news of the first 50 days of the Trump Administration. With the German Chancellor’s trip to Washington tomorrow, Secretary of State Tillerson in Asia, and the G20 meeting, foreign affairs may knock the debate...