Italian Prime Minister has set the date for the constitutional referendum as late as practically possibly. It will be held on December 4. The issue is the perfect bicameralism that gives as much power to the Senate as the Chamber of Deputies. Renzi’s argument is that the political reform is necessary to make Italy governable. Italy has had 63 governments since the end of WWII. In order to address the economic...
Read More »FX Daily, September 30: SNB Intervenes to Polish Q3 Results
Swiss Franc During the day the EUR/CHF has fallen to a low of 1.0819. We know that the in-official new floor lies at that level. Moreover, the SNB had to polish the Q3 results. With interventions she lifted the EUR/CHF to 1.0893 and the euro continued rising thanks to speculators that jumped on the train.There was no economic data that could have justified the sudden increase. EUR/CHF, September 30. FX Rates True...
Read More »Divergence: Norway and Sweden
Summary: Sweden has one of the weakest of the major currencies this year. Norway has one of the strongest of the major currencies this year. The key driver is divergence of monetary policy and that divergence is likely continue into next year. The euro is trading at its lowest level against the Norwegian krone since August 2015. The euro is near its best levels against the Swedish krona in nearly as long....
Read More »Swiss stocks slump on Deutsche Bank trouble
SMI The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week notably lower, underperforming global stocks, as financial sector stocks sell off on questions over Deutsche Bank’s solvency. . - Click to enlarge Economic Data Global equities edged lower this week with European financials among the biggest losers after the share price of Deutsche Bank hit a 30 year low on mounting concerns about the survival of the struggling...
Read More »Donald’s Electoral Struggle
Wicked and Terrible After touting her pro-labor union record, the Wicked Witch of Chappaqua rhetorically asked, “why am I not 50 points ahead?” Her chief rival bluntly responded: “because you’re terrible.”* No truer words have been uttered by any of the candidates about one of their opponents since the start of this extraordinary presidential campaign! Electoral map, Donald Trump(see more posts on Donald Trump,...
Read More »Switzerland, UBS Consumption Indicator
The Swiss consumption indicator by UBS shows improvements. The indicator is still distant from the highs in 2012. At the time stronger growth in Emerging Markets and the weaker franc helped the Swiss economy. The UBS Consumption Indicator rose to 1.53 points in August from 1.45. This development was fueled by resurging tourism and above-average car sales for the month. However, the situation on the labor market casts...
Read More »Switzerland stays most competitive nation as WEF warns on trade
© Palinchak | Dreamstime.com The World Economic Forum named Switzerland the most competitive nation for an eighth straight year as it warned less open trade was threatening economic growth globally.Switzerland was ahead of Singapore and the U.S. in the annual rankings of 138 countries, with Netherlands overtaking Germany to take the fourth spot. The Geneva-based organization used the report to highlight its concern...
Read More »Great Graphic: Stocks and Bonds
Summary: The relationship between the change in Us 10-year yields and the change in the S&P 500 has broken down. The 60-day correlation is negative for the first time since late Q2 2015. It is only the third such period of inverse correlation since the start of 2015. As market participants, we are sensitive to changing inter-market relationships. This Great Graphic, from Bloomberg shows the correlation...
Read More »Are The ‘Invisible Americans’ the Key Players in This Election?
Memo to the D.C. Beltway/mainstream media apologists and propagandists: the 25 million Invisible Americans are no longer buying your shuck-and-jive con job. Just as the Vietnam War was built on lies, propaganda, PR and rigged statistics(the infamous body counts–civilians killed as “collateral damage” counted as “enemy combatants”), so too is the “recovery” nothing but a pathetic tissue of PR, propaganda and lies. I...
Read More »Negativzinsen: Unsere Schweiz als Versuchskaninchen
In der gestrigen Ausgabe der NZZ am Sonntag wird Nobelpreisträger Paul Krugman zitiert, wie er den Mindestkurs der SNB und deren Negativzinsen lobt. Die Negativzinsen seien ein „wertvolles Experiment“ meint er und „bedankt“ sich dafür sogar bei der SNB. „Die Schweiz eruiert neues Territorium. Aus akademischer Sicht liebe ich das.“ Die SNB hat sich also zum Versuchskaninchen der internationalen...
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