[kurthr]

For many economies that's a possibility, but the Swiss Franc has a much larger circulation than proportional to economic fundamentals (like the pound and dollar). That has to do with the perceived stability of the currency. Normally, a run on a currency doesn't work because it's locally used, but as seen in the collapse of the pound in 92 that made Soros a household name, it could. That would force much higher interest rates in Switzerland (or politically unacceptable inflation).

[everybodyknows]

No sign of stress on the franc yet, actually up against the euro:

https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/EURCHF=

[kurthr]

But wow, an intra-day move of 2%!?! I guess it's been banging around a lot lately.

[pjc50]

> much higher interest rates

Last time I looked Swiss rates were -0.75%, so I don't think having to go back to positive rates would be an unspeakable horror.

[exoque]

Are you aware what happened in the last months? You should check the rates again.

[kurthr]

Yep, Inflation at 3%, short rates at 1%, rising 50bp a meeting, expected to hit 2% by June.

[madaxe_again]

Yeah, but they’ll just blame immigrants, which will make it politically acceptable. Worked in the U.K. last time around, and Switzerland is increasingly xenophobic, particularly the older generation, who hold the power and the votes.

[saiya-jin]

You mean the country that has by far the highest immigrants : citizens ratio in whole Europe? Nationalism is rising on whole continent for quite some time, Swiss expect others to respect their rules and way of life. If that's a mountain too tall to climb for some then they struggle.

Swiss are type of general population that when given choice if to have 4 weeks of fully paid vacation or 6, they vote for 4 due to negative impact on employers. Given similar voting freedom to british population gave us brexit. I wouldn't compare them if I were you

[madaxe_again]

The more one believes oneself or one’s countrymen to be immune to such forces, the more likely said forces are to prevail.