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    The Education Bubble: Is A Harvard MBA Worth $500,000? Written by Peter Diekmeyer   College students are back at their desks this month facing bleak prospects. With tightening job markets leaving kids with no place else to go, universities continue to jack up fees.   The upshot is growing signs that America is in the midst of an “education bubble,” just as big as those in stock, bond, and real estate markets.   Case in point: four years at Harvard University...

Investec Switzerland. Natalie Obiko Pearson and Katia Dmitrieva, writing for Bloomberg, look at the UBS 2016 Global Real Estate Bubble Index report. While Switzerland’s two main cities, Zurich and Geneva, are not described as having “Bubble risk” they are in the next category: “Overvalued”. Vancouver, London and Stockholm rank as the cities most at risk of a housing bubble after a surge in prices in the past five years, according to a UBS Group AG analysis of 18 financial...

Investec Switzerland. The World Economic Forum named Switzerland the most competitive nation for an eighth straight year as it warned less open trade was threatening economic growth globally.Switzerland was ahead of Singapore and the U.S. in the annual rankings of 138 countries, with Netherlands overtaking Germany to take the fourth spot. © Palinchak | Dreamstime.com The Geneva-based organization used the report to highlight its concern about a gradual decline in openness....

Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week notably higher, although under-performing global stocks amid optimism that central banks will continue to support equities by keeping interest rates at historic lows and providing markets with additional liquidity. © Winterling | Dreamstime.com Global equities experienced a “relief rally” after crucial central bank policy meetings in Japan and the US indicated that the era of cheap money has further to...

Yesterday the European Commission announced that EU residents should soon be able to make calls and use data without any additional charges while travelling in another EU country. Countries outside the EU, but within the European Economic Area (EEA), including Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland’s neighbour Liechtenstein, will be included in the deal. © Quintanilla | Dreamstime.com Günther H. Oettinger, EU Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, said: “Today’s draft rules ensure we can...

Investec Switzerland. Julius Baer Group Ltd. said Asia may overtake Europe as its biggest revenue-generating region, as the Swiss wealth manager steps up hiring in Hong Kong and Singapore. “In the next five years, Asia could be the biggest region for us if we grow at double-digit” rates, Chief Executive Officer Boris Collardi said Wednesday in an interview in Singapore. More than half of about 200 new bankers that Julius Baer plans to hire this year will be based in Asia,...

Largely due to a flood of central bank liquidity, global private financial assets have grown by 61% over the seven years since the financial crisis, almost twice the growth rate of economic output, says a report from the German Insurance giant Allianz. This has boosted the wealth of those who own shares. Those relying on interest, on the other hand have seen their wealth stagnate. The report goes on to say “after seven years, a monetary policy of “more and more” appears to be reaching its...

By Allan Flynn, Guest Post at BullionStar.com Five months have lapsed without decision, since London gold and silver benchmark-rigging class action lawsuits received a cool response in a Manhattan court. Transcripts from April hearings show, in the absence of direct evidence, the claims dissected by a “very skeptical” judge, and criticized by defendants for lack of facts suggesting collusion, among other things. Judge Valerie E. Caproni, former white-collar...

Investec Switzerland. In a report published by SECO, a group of economy experts working for Switzerland’s federal government, says it anticipates an acceleration in economic growth in Switzerland from 0.8% in 2015 to 1.5% in 2016 and 1.9% in 2017. Along side this they expect unemployment to rise from 3.3% in 2015, to an annual average of 3.6% in 2016, before falling again to 3.4% in 2017. However, they also see risks. © Flynt | Dreamstime.com The group mainly pins the...

Investec Switzerland. Swiss watch exports fell in August as demand weakened from Japan to the U.S., extending the industry’s slump to fourteen months. © Magryt | Dreamstime.com Shipments dropped 8.8 percent to 1.4 billion francs ($1.4 billion), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said in a statement Tuesday. The slowdown has spread from Asia to Europe and the U.S. in recent months, leading Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, the maker of Cartier and IWC Schaffhausen...