30 January 2020 In its recently released report on foreign exchange markets, the US Treasury added Switzerland to its watchlist of currency manipulators. To be sure, the Swiss franc does meet some of the criteria. Indeed, Switzerland's current account surplus is a staggering 10% of GDP, and its bilateral trade surplus with the USA has [...]
4 February 2018 In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis followed by Europe's Sovereign Debt Crisis, the Swiss franc (CHF) appreciated sharply (see top Chart), reflecting its traditional role as a safe haven. Confronting considerable deflationary risks the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned its policy aimed at setting a floor for the exchange rate [...]