Tag Archives: newslettersent

How We Got Used to Fiat Money Most false or irrational ideas about money are not new. For example, take the idea that government can just fix the price of one monetary asset against another. Some people think that we can have a gold standard by such a decree today. This idea goes back at least as far as the Coinage Act of 1792, when the government fixed 371.25 grains of silver to the same value as 24.75 grains of...

Nearly all (99.6%) of all businesses in Switzerland are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Keystone) One in four small and medium-sized Swiss firms (SMEs) suffers due to a serious lack of qualified staff, a new Credit Suisse survey reveals. The economic situation in Switzerland is generally favourable to most SMEs, which are slightly more optimistic about the future than they were last year, a Credit Suisse...

Summary: North American traders began the week by selling dollars. Euro is testing a downtrend off the year’s high. DXY is testing its uptrend. After consolidating in the Asian session and European morning, the euro has been bid higher in North America.  It is testing a downtrend line, drawn off the year’s high set in early August near $1.1910, as depicted in this Great Graphic, composed on Bloomberg. It is met the...

Why are profit margins persistently high? With decent earnings this quarter, corporate profits as a % of GDP will approach (maybe exceed) 10% again. That is abnormally high compared to the period 1960 to 2000. Margins actually started to rise in the mid-80s but really accelerated after 2000 and outside of the 2008 crisis have remained high. Why? What changed in 2000 to elevate corporate profits so much? Is this just...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.04% to 1.1389 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 23(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates A mixed US dollar will greet the North American participants today. It is softer against the euro and yen, but firmer against the dollar-bloc currencies. Among the emerging market currencies, the eastern and central European currencies are...

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visits Fort Knox Gold Later tweeted ‘Glad gold is safe!’ Only the third Treasury Secretary to visit the fortified vault, last visit was 1948 Last Congressional visit was 1974 Speculation over existence of gold in Fort Knox is rife Concerns over Federal Reserves lack of interest in carrying to an audit on gold Gold was last counted in 1953, nine years before Mnuchin was born Mnuchin...

Robots are used a lot in industry (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The Swiss Business Federation (economiesuisse) rejects imposing a so-called robot tax on companies to make up for lost income taxes as workers are gradually replaced by machines. Rather than focusing on a robot tax, Switzerland should encourage the development of a faster internet network and cooperation between business and Swiss research institutes,...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.03% to 1.1352 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, August 21(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar is mostly firmer against most of the major and emerging market currencies. The main impetus appears to be some position adjustment emanating from equities. The equity markets turned south in the second half of last week and...

The Sage of Omaha’s adage is “it’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.” Berkshire Hathaway Welling Cash Pile, Q2 2013 - Q2 2017 - Click to enlarge But for Warren Buffett the current environment doesn’t appear to be offering up any wonderful companies at fair valuations. The situation is so bad that the cash stockpile of Berkshire Hathaway has more than...

The Swiss National Bank’s investment in US nuclear arms fabrication has soared since last year. (Keystone) A wide range of topics occupied Swiss newspapers this weekend, from Swiss investments in US arms companies and requirements for FIFA World Cup host countries, to what to do in the event of a terror attack. A critique of Geneva’s relationship with the Red Cross also made headlines. Swiss arms investments The NZZ am...