Ralph Weidenmann, Partner

Posts of June, 2012

Prime rates: China is pushing the economy

China faces a succession of headaches. Will the US central bank flood the markets with money for a third time? Is 100 billion euros enough to bail out Spain? Inflation, China’s number one headache, is being superseded by growth worries. For this reason, its central bank is abandoning its so far restrictive monetary policy in favor of an expansive one.  >>

June 29th, 2012 | POLITICS AND BUSINESS

Solace: Politicians back the SNB

This time, the “Currencies and interest rates” section is devoted entirely to the topic “SNB and minimum euro rate”. To defend the minimum EUR/CHF exchange rate of 1.20, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) had to intervene vigorously and purchase euros. In May, this increased the SNB’s foreign exchange reserves by 66 billion to more than 300 billion francs. The euros  >>

June 29th, 2012 | CURRENCIES AND INTEREST RATES

Choppy: Emerging markets with dollar problem

Swiss stocks on the top picks list. BRIC markets suffer double. Everything invested in safety. The euro debt crisis is still the dominant theme on the financial markets, and not merely in Europe. A large US investment firm compiled a list of European companies that would survive a euro crash relatively unscathed. Interestingly, all of them are Swiss companies: Givaudan,  >>

June 29th, 2012 | FINANCIAL MARKETS