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Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index, along with other European markets, fluctuated this week as central bank decisions dominated the landscape. © Jorg Hackemann | Dreamstime.com Equity markets advanced at the beginning of the week as chances of the Federal Reserve raising US interest rates later this month declined after a surprisingly weak report on the US service-sector earlier this week. The report followed data last week that showed cooling job growth in...

Investec Switzerland. Basel City will leapfrog Zurich to become Switzerland’s second-most attractive location for businesses by 2020 as Swiss cantons cut corporate tax to bolster their appeal, according to Credit Suisse Group AG. © Petr Gnuskin | Dreamstime.com Basel, home of Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG, will move up two places in the ranking of 26 cantons over the next four years, given a plan to reduce its tax rate to 13 percent from 22.18 percent, Credit Suisse said...

A study by Omio, compares the cost of travelling 100km by train. Switzerland led the ranking with the most costly train trips in Europe. Travelling 100km in Switzerland cost CHF 52. The study is based on the prices of 300 million domestic train journeys across Europe between April 2015 and April 2016. The price differences are significant. In Ukraine (40th), the cheapest, a 100km train trip costs less than CHF 2. Even countries near the top, like second placed UK (CHF 26) and third...

(Media Release - September 8, 2016 - Immediate Release) – Jan Skoyles - @Skoylesy has been appointed Research Executive  at international gold specialist @GoldCore . As a recognized thought leader in the gold and fintech space, Jan will augment GoldCore’s research capabilities and will focus on the UK economy and gold’s role as an important diversification, payment and savings vehicle. As one of the world's largest and fastest growing gold bullion delivery...

Investec Switzerland. A UBS Group AG unit was found by a federal judge to have violated some contracts with mortgage-backed securities trusts that hold loans, putting it at risk of having to buy back more loans or pay damages in a $2 billion lawsuit. © Chhobi | Dreamstime.com U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel Tuesday ruled that UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. had breached warranties on 13 of 20 loans in the trusts that were introduced into evidence in a three-week trial in...

Investec Switzerland. Syngenta AG Chief Executive Officer Erik Fyrwald appointed a new head of finance as he works to complete a new strategic plan for the world’s largest agrochemical company, soon to be acquired by state-owned China National Chemical Corp. for $43 billion. © Jostein Hauge | Dreamstime.com Mark Patrick, who has been with the company for 23 years, will replace Chief Financial Officer John Ramsay, who has decided to step down at the end of September, the...

Investec Switzerland. It’s a sign the world is getting used to negative interest rates when what once seemed bizarre starts looking like the norm. © Robyn Mackenzie | Dreamstime.com Consider Switzerland, where more and more companies are taking out insurance policies to protect their cash hoards from theft or damage. “Because of the low interest rate level, we note increasing demand for insurance solutions for the storage of cash,” said Philipp Surholt at Zurich Insurance...

While subtle, the general public loss of faith in central banking has been obvious to anyone who has simply kept their eyes open: it started in Japan where in February hardware stores were reported that consumers were hoarding cash, as confirmed by the spike in demand for safes, "a place where the interest rate on cash is always zero, no matter what the central bank does." Then, as we reported just over a week ago, Burg-Waechter KG, Germany’s biggest safe manufacturer, posted a 25% jump in...

Investec Switzerland. Banks in Switzerland reduced their domestic workforce by 4.1 percent in the first half as companies combined and made cost cuts to stem declining profitability, a survey by the nation’s main bank association showed. © Yudesign | Dreamstime.com The loss totals 3,454 jobs, the Swiss Bankers Association said in its annual industry report on Thursday. The number of workers fell by 1 percent to 103,041 in 2015.“The continued low interest rate environment and...

Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index, along with other European markets, is trading slightly higher this week after financials rallied on merger and acquisition rumors and hopes for improved growth. European banks, the industry group battered the most so far this year, lead gains after it emerged that Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG executives held talks about a potential merger in early August this year. Bank rally – © Valeriia Arnaud | Dreamstime.com US...