It wasn’t a very good two weeks for economic data with the majority of reports disappointing. Most notable I think is that the so called “soft data” is starting to reflect reality rather than some fantasy land where President Trump enacts his entire agenda in the first 100 days of being in office. Politics is about the art of the possible and that is proving a short list for now. Republicans can’t agree among...
Read More »Gold Sovereigns – ‘Treasure’ Trove Found In UK – Don’t Be The Piano Owner
Gold Sovereigns – ‘Life Changing’ ‘Treasure’ Trove Found In UK The gold sovereigns – semi-numismatic gold coins made up of both gold sovereigns and half gold sovereigns dating from the reigns of Victoria, Edward VII and George V – were discovered inside an old piano after it was donated to a school last year. A gold sovereign from that period is currently valued at between £200-250, with a half sovereign worth between...
Read More »Euro gains against Swiss franc on French election result
The official French presidential election results place Emmanuel Macron (23.8%) and Marine Le Pen (21.5%) in first and second places in the first round of the French presidential race. The run off between these two will take place on 7 May 2017, when most forecasters expect Macron to win and become France’s next president. How votes are expected to split between MACRON and LE PEN in the 2nd round. This according to...
Read More »FX Daily, April 24: Dramatic Response to French Election
Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, April 24(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge FX Rates The results of the first round of the French election spurred a dramatic response in the capital markets. Our thesisthat there is no populist-nationalist wave sweeping the world is supported by the previous results in Austria, the Netherlands, and now France. The AfD in Germany is wilting in the polls, and...
Read More »Money In America
In 1830, France was once more swept up in revolution, only this time at the end of it was installed one king to replace another. Louis-Phillipe became, in fact, France’s last king as a result of that July Revolution. The country was trying to make sense of its imperial past with the growing democratic sentiments of the 19th century. Despite being one of the richest men in all Europe and aligned with the Bourbons, he...
Read More »Central Banks Have a $13 Trillion Problem
Paycheck to Paycheck GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – The Dow was down 118 points on Wednesday. It should have been down a lot more. Of course, markets know more than we do. And maybe this market knows something that makes sense of these high prices. What we see are reasons to sell, not reasons to buy. Nearly half of all American families live “paycheck to paycheck,” say researchers. Without borrowing, 46% couldn’t raise $400 to...
Read More »FX Weekly Review, April 17 – 22: Dollar Technicals Trying to Turn, but…
Swiss Franc Currency Index While the dollar index had another bad week with a 0.75% less, the Swiss Franc currency index could accumulate the corresponding gains. Main reason is that the EUR/CHF rose over 1.07. The euro is still the main component of the Swiss Franc index, but the dollar is recovering thanks to rising pharmacy exports to the U.S. Trade-weighted index Swiss Franc, April 22(see more posts on Swiss...
Read More »Big bonuses contrast big losses at Credit Suisse, despite bonus haircuts
© Denis Linine | Dreamstime.com The management of Credit Suisse Credit Suisse reduced their bonuses by 40% after severe criticism from shareholders. The reduction amounts to around CHF 20 million. Some are still outraged. The group made a loss of CHF 2.7 billion in 2016 and one of CHF 2.9 billion in 2015. In an interview published in Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung, Vincent Kaufmann, the CEO of Ethos described the...
Read More »Simple Math of Bank Horse-Puckey
The Raw Deal We stepped out on our front stoop Wednesday morning and paused to take it all in. The sky was at its darkest hour just before dawn. The air was crisp. There was a soft coastal fog. The faint light of several stars that likely burned out millennia ago danced just above the glow of the street lights. After a brief moment, we locked the door behind us and got into our car. Springtime southern California...
Read More »Marx, Orwell and State-Cartel Socialism
When “socialist” states have to impose finance-capital extremes that even exceed the financialization of nominally capitalist economies, it gives the lie to their claims of “socialism.” OK, so our collective eyes start glazing over when we see Marx and Orwell in the subject line, but refill your beverage and stay with me on this. We’re going to explore the premise that what’s called “socialism”–yes, Scandinavian-style...
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