Macroeconomics

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased more than expected last week, hitting the lowest level over the past five weeks, official figures revealed on Thursday. The US Department of Labour reported initial jobless claims fell 25,000 to a total of 234,000 in the week ended April 1, down from the preceding week’s upwardly revised reading of 259,000. This was the biggest weekly decline since April 2015. Meanwhile, market analysts expected unemployment claims to plunge only 251,000 during the reported week. The number of job-seeking persons decreased from 2,052,000 to 2,028,000, thus, affecting the moving average, which hit its lowest level since June 2000. At the same time, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate of 1.5% remained unchanged from last week. In general, the fact that jobless claims have been fluctuating around 260,000 for more than two years, indicating that the US has a healthy labour market. In addition, the largest spike in unemployment claims was recorded in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and California, while the largest drop in unemployment happened in Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.

According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) surveys, 152,280 unemployed persons were registered at the Regional Employment Services Centers (RAV) at the end of March 2017, 7,529 less than in the previous month. The unemployment rate thus fell from 3.6% in February 2017 to 3.4% in the reporting month. Compared to the previous month, unemployment fell by 3,044 (-2.0%). Youth unemployment (15 to 24 year olds) in March 2017 decreased by 1,545 persons (-8.1%) to 17,563. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to a decrease of 1’344 persons (-7.1%).

With the reliability of a finely-tuned watch, the latest release of foreign-currency reserves held at the Swiss National Bank has shown yet another record, in a sign the central bank continues to swim against the tide. The foreign exchange reserves jumped by nearly 15 billion Swiss francs ($14.93 billion) in March.

The SNB held 683.181 billion francs worth of foreign currency at the end of March, compared with 668.332 billion francs in February, revised from an originally reported 668.18 billion, preliminary data calculated according to the standards of the International Monetary Fund showed.
The franc fell to about 1.07 francs to the euro after the data release, which followed news of U.S. missile strikes against an airbase in Syria that prompted inflows into assets considered safe havens.

Around the time of the S&P 500’s launch in 1957, a remake of the Hollywood musical Anything Goes opened in cinemas across America. The movie featured Cole Porter’s eponymous song, which began with the words “Times have changed”.

Switzerland’s central bank bought another 67.1 billion Swiss francs ($67.6 billion) worth of foreign currencies in 2016, almost a quarter less than the previous year, in its effort to fight the appreciation of the safe-haven franc. The sum, published in the central bank’s annual report on Thursday, compares with a 2015 tally of 86.1 billion francs and a record of 188 billion spent in 2012.
"These interventions occurred mainly at times of heightened uncertainty, when the Swiss franc was particularly sought after as a safe investment," the Swiss National Bank said in its annual report published on Thursday.

Switzerland’s economic growth projection for 2017 was downgraded as activity turned out disappointingly weak in the second half of last year.

In the Spring forecast, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said it expected economic growth of 1.6% in 2017, down from the forecast of 1.8% it gave in December. The downward adjustment to resulted from a "sluggish close of 2016," SECO said.

The UK’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest since the summer of 1975, with a record number of people in work: the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate fell to 4.7% .

Other figures published on Wednesday showed that unemployment fell by 31,000 in the three months to January, to 1.58 million, the lowest for a decade, giving a jobless rate of 4.7%, the lowest since the summer of 1975.

Following its latest quarterly policy meeting, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) made no changes in interest rates and it kept its target range for three-month Swiss franc Libor at -1.25% to -0.25% and the rate it charges on sight deposits at -0.75%.

Consensus forecasts were for an unchanged policy, although there had been some speculation that a shift could be sanctioned with a further rate cut. The SNB reiterated that the franc is still significantly overvalued and that it would remain active in the foreign exchange market as necessary.