Syz the moment

Concurrently the cost of a Big Mac was 5.69 dollars in the U.S., and 5.87 U.S. dollars in the Euro area. What is the Big Mac index? The Big Mac index, published by The Economist, is a novel way of measuring whether the market exchange rates for different countries’ currencies are overvalued or undervalued. It does this by measuring each currency against a common standard – the Big Mac hamburger sold by McDonald’s restaurants all over the world. Twice a year the Economist converts the average national price of a Big Mac into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at that point in time. As a Big Mac is a completely standardized product across the world, the argument goes that it should have the same relative cost in every country. Differences in the cost of a Big Mac expressed as U.S. dollars therefore reflect differences in the purchasing power of each currency. Source: Tavi Costa, Crescat Capital, Statista, The Economist

In 1987, Bernard Arnault created $LVMH. In 1988, Johann Rupert created richemont $CFR.SW – an acquisition-driven luxury group much like LVMH, and to date, one of Arnault's largest competitors. Richemont is now the second largest luxury conglomerate and the third largest luxury company (with $RMS being the second) in the world. The group's many prestigious maisons include Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc, Piaget, and Vacheron Constantin, to name a few. Since inception, Richemont has compounded its top line at 5% per year. Looking instead at the last 15 years, the group has grown its revenue and FCF at a 6% and 9% CAGR respectively. Quartr just created this infographic, mapping out every acquisition since Richemont's inception.

@BloombergTV

Swiss National Bank cut the policy rate by 25 BPS to 1.50%. USDCHF and EURCHF both jumped by more than one figure to 0.8970 and 0.9780 respectively. Market was only pricing in a 35% probability of this cut.

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Rolex sales crested $10 billion for the first time as the top Swiss watch brand gained market share, according to a report by Morgan Stanley. The dominant Swiss luxury watch brand produced 1.24 million watches in 2023 with sales of 10.1 billion Swiss francs ($11.5 billion). That’s a gain of 11% from 2022, analysts at Morgan Stanley and Swiss firm LuxeConsult said in a report Wednesday, adding Rolex’s current level of market share is “unprecedented.” The maker of the Daytona, Submariner and Datejust models grew its retail market share to just over 30% as well-heeled buyers clamored for watches made by the Geneva-based entity, which is controlled by a charitable trust named for Hans Wilsdorf, who co-founded the brand in 1908. The lower priced Tudor watch brand, which is owned by the same foundation as Rolex, had sales of about 545 million francs in 2023, according to Morgan Stanley estimates. source : bloomberg, morgan stanley

Monthly exports increased 3.1% to 1.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.2 billion) by value, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday. Growth was as high as 11.8% in the first half of last year. The number of timepieces exported rose 2.9% to 1.2 million as shipments of the Swatch brand’s Blancpain and Omega collaborations drove demand at the low end. The number of exported watches priced above 3,000 francs fell 4.5% in January, even as their value rose 4.3%, the Federation said in a statement. At the same time, the number of watches exported with a wholesale price of less than 200 francs surged 5.5% driven by the Swatch Group AG’s namesake brand. Exports to the US, the biggest market for Swiss timepieces, rose by a modest 2.2% by value. Mainland China exports gained 5% while shipments to Hong Kong fell 4.7%. Exports of watches hit a record 26.7 billion Swiss francs by value in 2023, but the rate of sales growth slumped to just 3.6% in the second half of the year as consumers pulled back. source : swissinfo

The inflation rate in Switzerland is already well below the target of 2%. At 1.7%, it is a full 2ppts lower than the German rate. Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ