True to form

FOREIGN skiers were bound to suffer. So was the Swiss economy, most assumed, after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) suddenly abandoned the Swiss franc’s peg to the euro in January. The franc rose by 30% against the euro in a matter of minutes, and remains about 15% higher than it was. This made Swiss exports more expensive for foreigners, and foreign goods cheaper for the Swiss. That would dent exports and deter tourists, the assumption ran—a particular worry in a country where net exports (ie, exports less imports) make up 12% of GDP. In addition, shopkeepers seemed likely to suffer for another reason, as more Swiss headed across the border into the euro zone to load up on cheap goods.

At a vinothèque in Ferney-Voltaire, a French town a short walk from the border, the manager says that the franc’s appreciation has been good for business. Swiss families flocked to Ferney-Voltaire in January to exchange their francs for euros and go on a shopping spree. “Cars were queuing down the road,” he says.

Yet the loss of business to the euro zone cannot be all that bad, since consumer spending within...

from The Economist: Finance and economics http://ift.tt/1d41bIW