Tag Archives: Politics

A “Swiss Conversation” with Frank R Suess, Founding Partner and Chairman of BFI Capital Group in Switzerland and Claudio Grass The world has already changed, arguably irreversibly, but the full effects of the extreme political, fiscal and monetary measures that were enforced during the covid crisis are not yet entirely apparent. What we can say for sure though, is that even though this is a global crisis, its impact is not evenly distributed. Some jurisdictions pose far greater...

Hildebrand Keystone/Peter Klaunzer The Swiss government has nominated Philipp Hildebrand, a former head of the country’s central bank, to lead the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “His experience in the highest levels of the private and public sectors, both in Switzerland and internationally, make him the ideal candidate for this prestigious position,” Economics Minister Guy Parmelin told a news conference on Wednesday. “This candidacy...

Interview with Patrick Barron – Part II of II Claudio Grass (CG): This crisis has shaken a lot of industries and core functions of the global economy and international trade. How do you assess its impact on the most important part of the machine, the banking system? Do you see risks there that investors should be worrying about? Patrick Barron (PB): Banks are financial intermediaries. They take deposits and make loans. That has been going on for millennia. What we call banking...

Interview with Patrick Barron – Part I of II We’re less than two weeks away from the US election, and yet this sense of utter confusion, bitter political conflict, and economic uncertainty that has been ominously hovering over the nation, as well as the rest of the world, doesn’t seem to have subsided. The country still appears to be in a directionless state, with its economy in serious trouble and its society dangerously fragmented. There seems to be a wide rift in...

Interview with Patrick Barron – Part I of II We’re less than two weeks away from the US election, and yet this sense of utter confusion, bitter political conflict, and economic uncertainty that has been ominously hovering over the nation, as well as the rest of the world, doesn’t seem to have subsided. The country still appears to be in a directionless state, with its economy in serious trouble and its society dangerously fragmented.  There seems to be a wide rift in US...

Part II of II Outlook and wider impact As showcased during the debates and in the entire campaign rhetoric, politicians in the US but also in Europe, are solely focused on promoting solutions that only serve to paper over the problems and address the symptoms of the disease. From “covid checks” to rent relief, and everything in between, all their proposed “fixes” are only providing some temporary breathing room to those millions of citizens affected by the economic...

Part II of II Outlook and wider impact As showcased during the debates and in the entire campaign rhetoric, politicians in the US but also in Europe, are solely focused on promoting solutions that only serve to paper over the problems and address the symptoms of the disease. From “covid checks” to rent relief, and everything in between, all their proposed “fixes” are only providing some temporary breathing room to those millions of citizens affected by the economic shutdown and...

Part I of II The implications of the upcoming US election are obviously very important not just for American citizens, investors and ordinary savers, but for the rest of the world too. Economic, fiscal and monetary developments and trends that take place in the US influence the global economy in a major way, and the policies that are adopted there often come to define the rest of the West. After all, central planners in general tend to think alike and seek to confirm their own...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.02% to 1.0712 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, October 16(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: It was like deja vu all over again. First, the market reacted immodestly to headlines indicating there was little chance of pre-election fiscal stimulus in the US. It was hardly new news. Then the market seemed to react with surprise that there was no last-minute breakthrough in the...

In July 2020, a group started gathering signatures to launch a public vote to ban Switzerland’s Covid-19 contact tracing app. To launch a referendum in Switzerland organisers must collect 50,000 signatures from eligible voters within 100 days. Organisers of the “Stop Swiss Covid” initiative had until 8 October 2020 to collect 50,000 signatures. According to RTS they failed to reach the required signature milestone. When this happens the vote fails to proceed. The...