Switzerland

Highlights        The US dollar is mostly higher today, but the drivers are elsewhere.  Greek talks with the EU/ECB/IMF are beginning, but they look to continue for a couple of weeks.  It seems…

The SNB's apparent absence had emboldened the market, which has driven the euro to record lows against the Swiss franc.  The SNB had been clear.  It was still closely monitoring the Swiss franc even though it acknowledged that at…

There are a lot of interlocking threads in the Greek saga. One consistent theme that ties all of the different threads together is the fragility of complex systems. In our globalized and complex world of finance and banking, every major…

Benchmark Currencies: 16 Dec 2008 Nearly one year later and the U.S. dollar is looking very weak – and not just against the Euro, but also against Sterling and Swissy, and especially against the Loonie and the Aussie Dollar.  Even…

The number is zero.  According to a recent Harvard study, two of every three bankruptcies in the US are medical-related. That’s why at least catastrophic coverage for everyone is the real purpose of healthcare reform. Why some…

It is refreshing to read the foreign press because they have decidedly different takes on issues.Whether you agree or not, it is important to hear those views. The Swiss are very negative on the U.S. and their tax fight against UBS. This…

The U.S. has been using the weakness of the UBS banking franchise to shake down the organization for the names of American clients suspected of using the bank to dodge taxes in the United States. As far as the Swiss government is concerned,…

Dollar bears are getting their way in the currency markets right now.  While most eyes are peeled on Sterling (up 3 big figures since Friday) and the Euro, all currencies are rising against the Dollar (including the Commodity Dollar Complex…

This past Sunday Felix Salmon wrote a post called "10 reasons for the lack of German econobloggers." I found it inaccurate and offensive. Let me tell you why. I was in Germany at the time I read the post and had been there for the…

This comes from French-language Swiss daily Le Temps: Over 50% of respondents in Geneva surveyed by the HEG School of Management believe that the bankruptcy of a large institution is likely. The Swiss political world is clearly…