Tag Archives: Swiss and European Macro

Despite tensions since the beginning of the year, there is no evidence of FX market interventions by the Swiss central bank. SNB FX Intervention In the wake of the financial crisis, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) increased massively the monetary base to provide liquidity and limit the Swiss franc’s appreciation. The expansion in the monetary base can essentially be seen in the form of an increase in sight deposits held...

Zurich/Basel, 9 March 2018 – The Annual Report 2017 provides comprehensive and detailed information on the firm, its strategy, business, governance, financial performance and risk, treasury and capital management, as well as on the regulatory and operating environment for the financial year 2017. UBS net profit attributable to shareholders for 2017 was CHF 1.1 billion and diluted earnings per share were CHF 0.27. The...

Unemployment Rate (not seasonally adjusted) Registered unemployment in February 2018 – According to SECO surveys, at the end of February 2018, 143,930 unemployed people were registered with the regional employment agencies (RAV), 5,231 fewer than in the previous month. The unemployment rate fell from 3.3% in January 2018 to 3.2% in the month under review. Compared with the same month of the previous year,...

The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.4% in February 2018 compared with the previous month, reaching 101.1 points (December 2015=100). Inflation was 0.6% compared with the same month of the previous year. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Switzerland Consumer Price Index (CPI) YoY, Apr 2013 - Mar 2018(see more posts on Switzerland Consumer Price Index, ) Source: Investing.com -...

Market participants have enjoyed a protracted period of very low volatility, but it may well have come to an end in 2018. Central banks are often said to be responsible for the disappearance of volatility, for example through their large-scale asset purchases, which have compressed the term premium. But, now that the same central banks are heading for the exit from unconventional policies, they, too, need to relearn how...

This week the German Bundesbank published its 2017 annual report, which includes a number of interesting figures that are relevant to the broader (monetary) policy debate in the euro area. In particular, the Bundesbank provided details of the amount of securities held on its balance sheet for policy purposes, including QE, at the end of 2017, and the corresponding flows of income stemming from its asset purchases....

Just ahead of Sunday’s general election, there is little sign of appetite among the leading parties to tackle the significant challenges that Italy faces. The Italian general election campaign is in its final stretch before voting on 4 March. The election will take place under the new electoral law (Rosatellum bis), which allocates 37% of parliamentary seats via the principle of “first-past-the-post” and 61% via...

Switzerland’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an above-average 0.6% in the 4th quarter of 2017.1 Growth was broad-based across the various business sectors, with manufacturing, construction and most service sectors, particularly financial services, providing momentum. On the expenditure side, growth was underpinned by consumption and investment in construction but was hindered by investment in equipment and...

The Used Goods Question Retail sales in several countries like Germany, Japan and Switzerland continue to fall or they remain steady for years. In the United States they have strongly risen recently. We should remind readers, that used goods sold via Ebay or similar, are not contained in this statistics. Still they create economic value for the purchases. By mentality, Swiss, Germans or Japanese pay more attention so...

In February 2018, the KOF Economic Barometer rose by 0.4 points to a new reading of 108.0. After the previous month’s decline, it thus stabilised its position on a level clearly above its long-term average. This indicates that in the near future the Swiss economy should continue to grow at rates above average. In February 2018, the KOF Economic Barometer climbed from 107.6 in January (revised up from 106.9) by 0.4...