Tariffs have been a cornerstone of international trade, used as tool for economic protection, political leverage, and revenue generation. While they can safeguard domestic industries, they also risk triggering retaliatory measures, raising consumer prices, and distorting global supply chains. The recent resurgence of tariffs under the Trump administration, particularly targeting China, Mexico, and Canada, has reignited debates on their efficacy and long-term consequences. Are tariffs a necessary shield against unfair trade practices, or do they inflict more harm than good?

In Q224, inflation continued trending down prompting the start of the easing cycle by G10 central banks. The global economy surprised positively as growth has been robust so far. Financial market valuations have risen globally.

Most investors manage their wealth for the long term, trying to maximize their returns for the risk that they are willing to take. But what if you have a financial goal that you want to reach by a certain, perhaps not that long-term, deadline? To answer this question, MBaer Merchant Bank launched the Project "Goal-Based Investing for retirement planning" in co-operation with Dr. Marcus Wunsch from ZHAW. Financial support from Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, is gratefully acknowledged.

Monday mornings are dreadful as I get the weekly screen time report on my smartphone, exposing the details of my social media diet and internet excursions. I was pleased to see that my screen time went down 36% over the second week of March compared to the first week - every so often some good news -, I spent most of my time on social media (LinkedIn, WhatsApp) and much less time on news apps and websites (The Economist, FT).

Israel's remarkable economic performance continued in 2022, a new government coalition led by Mr. Netanyahu took power last December and the country marked its 75^th anniversary in April. Yet, instead of celebrations, Israel faces a crisis.

Individuals and families are increasingly responsible for their own savings and investment decisions. We will enjoy longer lives and life expectancies are expected to increase. At the same time, the standard of living provided by a given amount of income is likely to fall over time due to inflation, as prices of goods and services ...

The death toll from the 6 February earthquake disaster topped 41,000 in Turkey and 6'000 in Syria and the full scale of the earthquake disaster is still unfolding. The World Health Organization (WHO) called the Turkey-Syria earthquakes "Europe's worst natural disaster in a century", estimating that some 26 million people across both countries need humanitarian aid and immediate assistance.

Europe's gas and power concerns have been fading recently, driven by a fortuitous combination of a mild winter and lower demand for energy. This is good news. But the current gas prices are not low and Europe's gas supply remains fragile. Elevated energy prices are a significant contributor to inflation and a large drag on European growth for this year, at least. 

In 2021, we launched the Global Investment Opportunities (GIO) strategies based on our proprietary factor investing approach. Our strategic asset allocation based on the insightful prediction of a surge in inflation resulted in strong risk-adjusted and relative performance for 2022.

With inflation running at its highest level over several decades and forecasted to stay high in the next year, many people are concerned that the sharp increase in the price level will erode their standard of living and hence their life satisfaction. 

Inflation is running at its highest level over four decades and is forecasted to stay high and far above central banks' targets also next year. Central banks failed to deliver on their commitment to keeping inflation under control. Fed and ECB can only restore their credibility by acting aggressively to bring inflation down and compensate for their policy, forecasting and communication errors.

As central banks appear to be committed to changing their mindset by transitioning from QE to QT, investors should be prepared to change their paradigm and assumptions about central banks' support. The risk is for some of the investors to metamorphose from QE-addicted Wolfs of Wall Street to QT-intolerant Chihuahuas of Bahnhofstrasse.

How can we learn from the future? What if we are all wrong? The quality of our decisions can be improved, and our forecasting skills can be trained in an uncertain world. The value of imagining alternative futures is in the process of questioning assumptions and common mental models, and in preparing for uncertain but conceivable futures.

Our bank has grown steadily since its foundation in December 2018.

That is why we will be moving into new office premises in Zürich-Enge as of March 7, 2022.

In 2021, we launched the Global Investment Opportunities (GIO) mandates based on our proprietary factor investing approach. The strategic investments based on the insightful prediction of a surge in inflation resulted in a strong absolute and relative performance for the year.

Four Swiss rowers make history with their win in the crazy Atlantic Challenge. After 35 days and 4800 km on the high seas, the Swiss team reaches the finish line as big winners. 

As a sponsor of the SWISS RAW team, we follow the toughest rowing race up close and cheer along with the team. We regularly share the most important events, race progress and emotions in this blog post. 

Massive retirement, safety concerns, generous government benefits and taking care of own family explain why millions of Americans have been leaving the workforce. This suggests that wage increases may not bring enough workers to hiring companies. With tight labour markets and high inflation, we expect the Fed to start raising interest rates already in 2022.

There is no doubt in the scientific community and increasingly in the general public that climate change is a real and direct consequence of human activity. Climate change threatens, in some extreme scenarios, to bring us back to Stone Age living standards, according to William D. Nordhaus, the inventor of the modern economics of climate change.

Chips are everywhere: in consumer electronics, in cars, in medical devices and in defence systems. As such, they are a basic requirement for the functioning of modern economies. A global shortage of chips can thus have a disproportionate impact on the world economy. 

The road to El Dorado: how housing became unaffordable

MBaer becomes new main sponsor of FCZ Women

A spectre is haunting Europe - the one of poor economic growth

Vaccines and lockdowns won't end the pandemic soon

MBaer Merchant Bank is growing rapidly and is strengthening its leadership team.

Perspectives for Strategic Asset Allocation

and Hannah Wise, anchor women on CNN Money

Perspectives for Strategic Asset Allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation

Perspectives for strategic asset allocation