Tag Archives: shopping

In Switzerland it is possible to order goods online without paying up front. Retailers will send orders with a payment slip included with the goods. Fraudsters are exploiting this quirk of Swiss postal retail. Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.comFraudsters order goods online pretending to be someone else. The goods are then shipped without the need to provide any payment details. The fraudster then waits for the order to be delivered and takes it from the unsuspecting victim’s...

Despite on and off closures of Swiss retailers last year, total 2020 retail sales figures rose by 0.1% compared to 2019. © Marlon Trottmann | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s backdrop of negative inflation, meant real total year-on-year retail sales rose by 0.8%. However, headline sales numbers masks significant variations by retail sector. While e-commerce (+14.1%), sales of technology (+13.8%) and food, drink and tobacco sales (+8.5%) rose substantially, retail sectors such as shoes and...

In the NZZ, Monica Rüthers writes about the history of the border between Konstanz (in Germany) and Kreuzlingen (in Switzerland). Shoppers have been crossing the border for ages although governments have tried to prevent this with varying fervor. Exchange rate regimes have affected which goods are bought, where.

The Market Has its Head Buried Deep In The Sand Several “black swans” are looming which could inflict a financial nuclear accident on the U.S. markets and financial system. I say “black swans” in quotes because a limited audience is aware of these issues – potentially catastrophic problems that are curiously ignored by the mainstream financial media and financial markets. The most immediate problem is the Treasury...

The state of Brazilian exports has deteriorated over the last decade. The country has become more reliant on exporting raw materials compared to manufactured goods, and has suffered from the recent downturn in the prices of many commodities. Meanwhile, the cost of manufacturing goods in the country has surged over the past decade, rendering it less competitive in the global marketplace. How can the country compete more effectively? It must get back to its roots, said manufacturers at Credit...