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Swiss central bank cuts rates by a quarter point in third trim this year

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A view of the headquarters of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), before a press conference in Zurich, Switzerland, March 21, 2024. 

Denis Balibouse | Reuters

The Swiss National Bank on Thursday took a third step to loosen monetary policy this year, bringing its key interest rate down by 25 basis points to 1.0%.

The trim, which had been anticipated by 30 of 32 analysts surveyed in a Reuters poll, marked the SNB’s third interest rate reduction of 2024.

It was the first major Western central bank to reduce interest rates back in March.

The third trim comes amid similar signals from the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve, which took the long-awaited plunge to slim down its interest rates with a 50-basis-point cut last week. Domestically, Swiss inflation remains subdued, with the latest headline print pointing to a 1.1% annual increase in August.

The Swiss franc gained ground against major currencies on the back of the latest interest rate decision. The U.S. dollar and euro were down nearly 0.14% and 0.16% against the Swiss coin, respectively — meeting ING analysts’ expectations that the cut would lead to “outperformance” of the Swiss currency.

The strengthening of the Swiss currency in August prompted one of the country’s largest associations, the technology manufacturers’ group Swissmem to entreat the SNB to “act soon, in line with its mandate” and ease pressures constraining local businesses.

“This renewed exacerbation has come at a sensitive time for one of the key export industries: following a tough period of over a year, a slow recovery was in sight. If the upside pressure cannot be contained, these hopes will dissipate,” Swissmem said at the time.

The SNB acknowledged the broader trend of its currency rally as a key contributor to the Thursday reduction.

“Inflationary pressure in Switzerland has again decreased significantly compared to the previous quarter. Among other things, this decrease reflects the appreciation of the Swiss franc over the last three months,” it said in a statement.

“The SNB’s easing of monetary policy today takes the reduction in inflationary pressure into account. Further cuts in the SNB policy rate may become necessary in the coming quarters to ensure price stability over the medium term,” it added.

“The SNB has consistently been behind the curve on its inflation forecasts this year, even as it has conditioned them on lower rates each time. The 0.6% forecast for 2025 is likely a bit too close for comfort for a central bank keen to return to deflation,” said Kyle Chapman, FX markets analyst at Ballinger Group.

“I expect another two 25bp moves in December and March at the very least, primarily because I don’t see any near-term sources of depreciation for the franc without a stronger stance on intervention from the SNB. We are heading back towards zero relatively quickly,” Chapman added. 

Economics

Trump tariffs could cause summer economic slump: Chicago Fed president

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Austan Goolsbee, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., April 10, 2025. 

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Business owners and CEOs are already stocking up on inventory, and some American shoppers are panic buying big-ticket items in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The sudden buying binge could cause an “artificially high” level of economic activity, said Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee.

“That kind of preemptive purchasing is probably even more pronounced on the business side,” Goolsbee told CBS’ “Face The Nation” on Sunday, adding: “We heard a lot about preemptive building-up of inventories that could last 60 days, 90 days, if there [was] going to be more uncertainty.”

Businesses stockpiling inventory and consumers accelerating their purchasing decisions — buying an Apple iPhone now, say, rather than waiting until the fall — may inflate U.S. economic activity in April and lead to a slowdown in the coming months, Goolsbee suggested.

“Activity might look artificially high in the initial, and then by the summer, might fall off — because people have bought it all,” he said.

Sectors affected by Trump’s tariffs, particularly the auto industry, are most likely to heavily stock up on inventory now before import levies on goods from other countries potentially rise further, said Goolsbee. Many car parts, electronic components and other big-ticket consumer items are manufactured in China, for example, which currently faces a 145% total tariff rate on goods imported to the United States.

Trump’s tariffs on a bevy of other countries are currently in the middle of a 90-day pause, with a 10% baseline tariff rate instead applying to all imported goods across the board. The pause is due to expire on July 9, with Trump touting a series of rate negotiations with foreign leaders between now and then.

“We don’t know, 90 days from now, when they’ve revisited the tariffs, we don’t know how big they’re going to be,” Goolsbee said.

Some U.S. business owners who buy goods manufactured in China say they already can’t afford to place rush orders on inventory. Matt Rollens, owner and CEO of Granite Bay, California-based novelty drinkware company Dragon Glassware, says he’s temporarily holding his products in China because paying the 145% levy would force him to raise consumer prices by at least 50%, likely drying up customer demand.

Rollens has enough inventory in the U.S. to last roughly until June, and hopes the tariffs will be rolled back by then, he told CNBC Make It on April 11.

Short-term uncertainty and financial pain aside, the Fed’s Goolsbee expressed optimism about the country’s longer-term economic outlook.

“If we can get through this, it’s important to remember: The hard data coming into April was pretty good. The unemployment rate [was] around steady full employment, inflation [was] coming down,” he said. “It’s just a desire of people expressing they don’t want to back to ’21 and ’22, at a time when inflation was really raging out of control.”

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Economics

Donald Trump wants a certain kind of immigrant: the uber-rich

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IN HIS LOVE of lucre Donald Trump can be crass. In their pursuit of efficiency, free marketeers can be, too. Consider the sale of citizenship. Most people dislike the idea of treating national belonging as a commodity. Yet about a dozen countries hawk passports and more than 60, including America, offer residency in exchange for an investment or donation. Its “golden-visa” scheme is cumbersome, under-priced and inefficient. On this point the president and the market agree.

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Economics

Checks and Balance newsletter: The Democrats’ future is up for grabs

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Checks and Balance newsletter: The Democrats’ future is up for grabs

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