The Swiss National Bank suffered a loss for the first half of the year, giving politicians keen to raise their profile in an election year more fodder for criticism. The SNB had a loss of 50.1 billion francs ($52 billion) in the six months through the end of June, the central bank said in a statement on Friday. That’s a record, according to SNB spokesman Walter Meier. While the SNB, led by President Thomas Jordan, isn’t required to generate a profit for monetary policy purposes, it needs adequate income in order to make its customary annual payout to the federal and cantonal governments. With the municipalities ... (full story)