Switzerland: Swiss off, traders!

Don’t bid up the Swiss franc. Or else! That is the Swiss National Bank’s message to the markets – a message it has rammed home several times since March by suddenly selling francs to buy euros or US dollars. Each time, the franc has plunged in response. Official interventions in currency markets often misfire. The speculators win, leaving the central banks to nurse foreign exchange losses and their pride. But the central banks that lose are usually trying to prop currencies up. The SNB is tryin...