The central banksʼ increased injections of liquidity into the financial markets are bolstering the markets – and equities are no exception. The European Central Bankʼs return to quantitative easing a few weeks ago is supporting the global interest rate cuts implemented to date and should stimulate economic growth in Europe in 2020. Although not yet definitively conclusive, initial signs of stabilization are evident in Europeʼs economic momentum. As in other regions, these signs are coming from the manufacturing industries. It is currently important to note that the services sector data appear to be somewhat mixed. Employment trends remain a key factor for consumption in Europe, the emerging markets and the US. The latest US labour market report is supporting the equity markets. Europe, as a cyclically sensitive region, could profit from a continued stabilization of political and economic momentum: its relative undervaluation is factoring in a risk premium.

It is true that the various factors relevant to Switzerland’s economic momentum are not all pointing in the same direction right now. But an improvement in Swiss economic growth in 2020 would not come as a surprise to us, particularly in the event of a further de-escalation of the US–China trade conflict. Special factors such as international sporting events, which count as “services imports” for Switzerland, will have an additional positive impact in 2020. Swiss consumer spending has improved, and the leading indicators of industrial activity point to a stabilization, just as they do in other countries.

The turbulent performance of Bitcoin over the last year has brought this cryptocurrency to the attention of the wider public. But this currency has actually been around for almost ten years, and an estimated 1,600 other alternative currencies have also sprung up in the meantime. The question is often asked whether these constructs – which only exist in the form of digital code – can really be considered currencies at all in a way that bears comparison with the dollar, euro or yen. We will return to this question later in this article. First of all it is worth establishing what actually lies behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple.