Currencies
You thought it only get mentioned in James Bond films, where the super bad guys promised to destroy the world (they always do, don’t they?) unless the US or UK government pay them hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars to some offshore Swiss banks. It made you think how come the bad people […]
... written on Feb 09 2015The last four days were excited, and if you eat, drink, sleep and breathe crude oil, we bet you must have thought the oil crisis was over. You must have thought that since the oil prices rebounced a whopping 19% in the four days, the market had found its bottom. Guess what, after the oil […]
... written on Feb 05 2015Swiss-made watches have become more expensive over night. Swatch watch group which sells brands such as Omega, Tissot, Longiness and Calvin Klein was trembling at the sudden change of event. So did Richemont, which owns Cartier, Chloé and Montblanc. Shares of Swatch Group tumbled 15% while Richemont was down 14%. If you happen to collect […]
... written on Jan 18 2015Is Russian economic meltdown merely a domestic problem? Does it affect other countries as well? Obviously it does, judging by data from Dubai, a popular tourist destination for Russians. According to Dubai Airports, passenger traffic related to Russia plunged 18.2% from a year earlier in November. Cargo volume through Dubai International also dropped 8% from a year earlier in the same […]
... written on Dec 31 2014As we have promised, there would be more bitching and grumbling about global oil prices ever since Russia got itself deeper and deeper into an economic meltdown. Christmas will not be pretty and fun in Kremlin this year. Under Vladimir Putin’s instruction, Russian central bank has been propping up local currency Ruble in order to […]
... written on Dec 23 2014One day after the Russian central bank dramatically raised its key interest rate to 17% from 10.5%, Apple today halted online sales of its products in the country due to “extreme” Ruble fluctuations. The latest stunt by Putin administration didn’t work. In fact, the whopping 650-points increase in interest rate only worsen the situation. The Ruble simply […]
... written on Dec 17 2014Six months ago in June, Crude Oil WTI was traded at above US$105 a barrel. In case you’re wondering, WTI (West Texas Intermediate), is the benchmark for Texas light sweet oil. About 6-months later today, the same crude oil is trading at US$57.50 (as of time this article is being drafted), losing more than 45% […]
... written on Dec 15 2014Some important commodities are being whacked as we enter the month of December. Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected proposals to boost gold reserves in a referendum, resulting in the glittering metal tumbled more than 2% at one point to US$1,142.90 per ounce. Copper also fell to as low as $6,230.75, breaching below its March low to hit its […]
... written on Dec 01 2014After unveiled its new banknote series, easily the best money ever designed, Norway has unveiled yet another stylish design – passports. Much to the envy of non-Norwegian citizens around the globe, Norway’s National Police Directorate has announced that it’s selected a new “cool and beautiful” design for the nation’s passports, thanks to Oslo-based Neue Design Studio. With the […]
... written on Nov 19 2014Five giant banks and US$3.3 billion – that’s how many players and the amount of penalty the global regulators are slapping them. In a latest financial scandal – British, American and Swiss regulators have found HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland (R.B.S.), JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and UBS guilty of manipulating the foreign currency markets. At stake […]
... written on Nov 12 2014
