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Swiss Economy on Fire and Aussie Dollar Goes on Sale
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs reported a jobless rate in June of 3 percent that beat analyst estimates at 3.1 percent. In addition this represents the 4th month in a row that the Swiss have seen a lower jobless rate, down from a high of 3.4 percent in January. The lowest rate the Swiss have ever seen in history was the staggering 1.6 percent jobless rate reported in November of 2000, right at the end of the technology and dot com bubble of the late 1990’s. In addition, at 99.24, the Consumer Price Index in Switzerland has also seen four months in a row of higher figures.
Furthermore, recent Swiss retail sales figures were up more than expected to 3.35 percent from a year ago. However, GDP growth has been modest at about 1 percent. Yet, when taking into account the drag that the Swiss economy has felt from overall weakness in the Euro region, a positive GDP is still impressive. Especially, when considering that Germany, the economic powerhouse of Europe is only registering a flat to +.3% GDP growth rate and even Austria, another economic muscle of Europe has seen a slightly contracting GDP.
Alexander Fleiss serves as Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Rebellion Research Partners LP, a Global Macro hedge fund and financial advisory that invests across all asset classes and is based in New York. Mr. Fleiss also oversees the firm's institutional research ... View Full Bio