SNBN 3,615.00 CHF up 115.00 (3.29%) on the day.
From Wolf Street:
Shares of the Swiss National Bank Soar 64% in Two Months
What the heck is going on?
The central bank of Switzerland has become a huge hedge fund since it decided in January 2015 to print Swiss francs — for which there is huge global demand — and sell these freshly created francs to buy bonds and stocks that are denominated in euros and dollars. US stocks are a particular favorite. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has thereby created a fantastical money-fabrication scheme. This scheme is publicly traded. And the shares have become a doozie.
Today, the shares (SNBN) closed at a new high of 3,126 Swiss francs, having soared 64% since July 19 in cryptocurrency-fashion. This chart shows the daily moves since May:
In January 2015, the SNB “shocked” the financial markets globally by scrapping its minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 to the euro and switched to a draconian negative-interest-rate policy and massive asset purchases — massive for a tiny country like Switzerland — to keep the value of the franc from rising against the euro.
This chart of weekly moves shows how the SNB’s shares spiked 28% during those heady days in January 2015, how things calmed down afterwards, relatively speaking, and how all heck broke loose in July 2016, with the shares soaring 200% in a little over a year, including 90% since April:...MORE
