Platinum Gold Ratio

On 2011-08-09 the Platinum Gold ratio hit 1 to 1. As you can see in the chart below, this is happening the third time in the last 10+ years. And it hasn't gone much lower historically nor did it stay there for very long. And it makes sense. Platinum is the rarer, finer, heavier, more precious "White Gold"! Since then actually Gold has retreated a bit and Platinum moved slightly up again. We will see...

Tire Tycoons

Tire companies and their market caps in CHF billion, source Thomson DataStream, 2011-06-12:

Car Companies

Car companies and their market caps in CHF billion, source Thomson DataStream, 2011-06-05:

Silver Mine Production

World Silver Mine Production

year   mio oz       t
1989    527.3   16400
1990    533.7   16600
1991    501.6   15600
1992    479.0   14900
1993    453.3   14100
1994    450.1   14000
1995    479.0   14900
1996    485.5   15100
1997    530.5   16500
1998    553.0   17200
1999    549.8   17100
2000    581.9   18100
2001    601.2   18700
2002    604.4   18800
2003    604.4   18800
2004    643.0   20000
2005    668.7   20800
2006    652.7   20300
2007    675.2   21000
2008    684.8   21300
2009    700.9   21800

Source: USGS

Compounding Interest

Compounding Interest, present value, future value, etc.

Updated 2011-04-11, here is another financial calculator, that includes all different variables in a single form.

Silver

Unlike gold, silver production is consumed to a very high degree!

From Wikipedia:


(a silver iodide generator for cloud seeding)

Silver ... has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal.

...

Today, silver metal is also used in electrical contacts and conductors, in mirrors and in catalysis of chemical reactions. Its compounds are used in photographic film and dilute silver nitrate solutions and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides. While many medical antimicrobial uses of silver have been supplanted by antibiotics, further research into clinical potential continues.

...

Currency

...

The name of the United Kingdom monetary unit "pound" (£) reflects the fact that it originally represented the value of one troy pound of sterling silver. In the 1800s, many nations, such as the United States and Great Britain, switched from silver to a gold standard of monetary value, then in the 20th century to fiat currency.

...

Photography and electronics

Photography used 30.98% of the silver consumed in 1998 in the form of silver nitrate and silver halides. In 2001, 23.47% was used for photography, while 20.03% was used in jewelry, 38.51% for industrial uses, and only 3.5% for coins and medals. The use of silver in photography has rapidly declined, due to the lower demand for consumer color film from the advent of digital technology, since in 2007 of the 894.5 million ounces of silver in supply, just 128.3 million ounces (14.3%) were consumed by the photographic sector, and the total amount of silver consumed in 2007 by the photographic sector compared to 1998 is just 50%.

Some electrical and electronic products use silver for its superior conductivity, even when tarnished. For example, printed circuits can be made using silver paints,[6] and computer keyboards use silver electrical contacts. Some high-end audio hardware (DACs, preamplifiers, etc.) are fully silver-wired, which is believed to cause the least loss of quality in the signal. Silver cadmium oxide is used in high voltage contacts because it can withstand arcing.

Mirrors and optics

Mirrors which need superior reflectivity for visible light are made with silver as the reflecting material in a process called silvering, though common mirrors are backed with aluminium. Using a process called sputtering, silver (and sometimes gold) can be applied to glass at various thicknesses, allowing different amounts of light to penetrate. Silver is usually reserved for coatings of specialized optics, and the silvering most often seen in architectural glass and tinted windows on vehicles is produced by sputtered aluminium, which is cheaper and less susceptible to tarnishing and corrosion. Silver is the reflective coating of choice for solar reflectors.

...

Small devices such as hearing aids and watches commonly use Silver oxide batteries due to their long life and high energy/weight ratio. Another usage is high-capacity silver-zinc and silver-cadmium batteries.

Furthermore from the Amalgam Wikipedia page, "Silver-mercury amalgams are important in dentistry".

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein, Vaduz

Bank Assets under Management,
2010-06-30

LGT     CHF  86.8 bn
LLB     CHF  46.4 bn
VPB     CHF  40.5 bn
        ============
Total   CHF 173.7 bn

2010-10-31

1.		2.
3.		4.
5.		6.
7.		8.
9.		10.
11.		12.
13.		14.
15.		16.
17.

Purchasing Power

Nice graphic from DollarDaze!

Germany's Gold

The German Gold treasury is actually hosted in New York, London, and Paris. Ein Schelm, wer Böses dabei denkt.

manager magazin (in German): 3440 Tonnen mythische Fracht

Nach Angaben des "World Gold Council" betragen die offiziellen Goldreserven Deutschlands derzeit 3439,5 Tonnen. Dies entspricht 45,6 Prozent der Gesamtreserven oder einem Wert von rund 36,5 Milliarden Euro. Das Edelmetall ist in Barren à 12,5 Kilo gegossen und wird überwiegend in einem Tresor in Manhattan gelagert. Dort betreibt die US-Notenbank für 60 Nationen das mit 550.000 Barren größte Goldlager der Welt.

"Der größte Teil unserer Goldreserven wird außerhalb deutscher Grenzen, wo er entstanden ist, gehalten: bei der Fed in New York, bei der Bank of England in London und der Banque de France in Paris. In dieser Reihenfolge", sagte Kotz dem Stern.

In den 50er und 60er Jahren waren der Bundesbank dort aufgrund außenwirtschaftlicher Überschüsse Deutschlands die Goldreserven von anderen Nationen übertragen worden. Wegen der hohen Kosten für Transport und Bau neuer Tresore lehnt es die Bundesbank aus betriebswirtschaftlichen Gründen ab, die Goldbarren nach Deutschland zu schaffen.

Prof. Hans-Helmut Kotz was a member of the executive board of the Bundesbank from 2002 till 2010. The stern interview was in 2004.

Kleingeld

Pocket change currently in use:

No	Fractional Currency	Countries
1.	Cent	28
2.	Centavo	16
3.	Cents	10
4.	Centime	9
5.	Fils	6
6.	Centimes	4
7.	Sen	4
8.	Centesimo	3
9.	Centimos	3
10.	Bani	2
11.	Centavos	2
12.	Centimo	2
13.	Chon	2
14.	Dirham	2
15.	New Pence / Pence	2
16.	Ore	2
17.	Paisa	2
18.	Piastres	2
19.	Agorot	1
20.	Att	1
21.	Aurar (inactive)	1
22.	Avos	1
23.	Baizas	1
24.	Bututs	1
25.	Cantimo	1
26.	Centas	1
27.	Centesimos	1
28.	Chetrum	1
29.	Deni	1
30.	Dinar	1
31.	Diram	1
32.	Fen	1
33.	Fening	1
34.	Filler	1
35.	Ghana Pesewas	1
36.	Groszy	1
37.	Haleru	1
38.	Hallalas	1
39.	Hellers	1
40.	Iraimbilanja	1
41.	Khoums	1
42.	Kobo	1
43.	Kopek	1
44.	Kopeken	1
45.	Kurus	1
46.	Laari	1
47.	Lipa	1
48.	Lisente	1
49.	Lumma	1
50.	Millimes	1
51.	Mongo	1
52.	New Pence	1
53.	Ngwee	1
54.	Oere	1
55.	Paise	1
56.	Para	1
57.	Pence	1
58.	Piaster	1
59.	Piastre	1
60.	Poisha	1
61.	Pyas	1
62.	Qapik	1
63.	Qindarka	1
64.	Rappen	1
65.	Santims	1
66.	Satang	1
67.	Sene	1
68.	Seniti	1
69.	Senti	1
70.	Stotinki	1
71.	Tambala	1
72.	Tenge	1
73.	Tetri	1
74.	Thebe	1
75.	Tiin	1
76.	Tijin	1
77.	Toea	1
78.	Tyin	1
79.	XU	1

Source: SIX Telekurs

AuM

Assets under Management (in German)

UBS bleibt zweitgrösster Vermögensverwalter

1 Bank of America: 1,740.51 Milliarden Dollar

2 UBS: 1,593.74 Milliarden Dollar

3 Morgan Stanley: 1,508.00 Milliarden Dollar

4 Wells Fargo: 1,218.00 Milliarden Dollar

5 Credit Suisse: 775.43 Milliarden Dollar

6 JP Morgan: 636.00 Milliarden Dollar

7 Royal Bank of Canada: 379.00 Milliarden Dollar

8 HSBC: 367.00 Milliarden Dollar

9 Deutsche Bank: 272.38 Milliarden Dollar

10 Pictet: 243.21 Milliarden Dollar

Quelle: Scorpio Partnership 2010 Global Private Banking

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A Forced Investment

See this video of Brady Dougan (in English), Credit Suisse CEO, best earning banker in the world (71 USD million bonus?!):

The record bonus was "a forced investment", people have to see the context.

He is sweating ... at least.

Yes, really, I am curious, why are you leading C. Suisse, and where?

Where did Ospel lead the U. B. of Switzerland? At least we know why:).