Tag: Swiss National Bank (SNB)

The Next Bombshell To Hit The Markets ... Greece

Posted on by The INO.com Team

The big news of this past week has to be the Swiss National Bank (SNB) parting ways with the euro. Make no mistake about it, this was a game changer and the ramifications of SNB's actions will be felt for a long time to come.

The next big game changer will be Greece exiting out of the Euro and going back to its old currency the Greek drachma. It may not happen next week, or next month, but it will happen.

On to the markets - it has been quite a week for the indices, with the DOW, S&P 500 and NASDAQ all down over 2%. The strong downtrend in crude oil was unabated, with crude closing down the week with a loss of 3%. The only two positives of the week, are the dollar index, which closed the week with a gain of 0.7% and gold which climbed to its best levels in over four months with a gain of 3.16% for the week. Continue reading "The Next Bombshell To Hit The Markets ... Greece" →

A Black Swan Event Rocks Gold And The Swiss Franc Today

Posted on by The INO.com Team

A black swan event is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise and has major consequences.

Today, such an event occurred causing the Swiss franc to soar as much as 30% and gold to jump to 4-month highs in chaotic trading after The Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned the cap on the currency's value against the euro.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said the cap, introduced in September 2011, was no longer justified. No one predicted, hinted or even contemplated that The Swiss National Bank would do this.

This move could well begin the demise of the euro that was cobbled together some 15 years ago. Personally, I am surprised to this day that this currency has survived as long as it has. The disparity between the work ethic of a country like Germany versus Greece is a joke - yet that is what the euro represents.

A Flight To Quality

As the Russian ruble continues to lose buying power, money is flowing into Switzerland from that country. I remember when I lived in Switzerland, flights used to arrive with passengers whose suitcases were stuffed full of illegal money. Make no mistake about it, this move by the Swiss National Bank is a game changer. Continue reading "A Black Swan Event Rocks Gold And The Swiss Franc Today" →