Rolexes Just Got More Expensive -- Or, You Can't Keep a Good Currency Down

Switzerland’s central bank surprised the world this morning by removing its self-imposed cap of 1.20 Swiss francs per euro and letting the franc float higher. It also lowered its deposit rate for banks to -0.75 percent to discourage inflows of bank funds into the Swiss National Bank. Yes, that’s minus 0.75 percent. (The comparable Federal Reserve rate is +0.25, resulting in a 1 percentage point differential.)