le News

Investec Switzerland. If there’s one country with reason to resent the rise of populist movements, it’s Switzerland. Twenty-two months after it abandoned its 1.20-per-euro exchange-rate cap, the Swiss National Bank still finds the franc in focus every time there’s a major event that threatens to upset markets. Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the White House pushed the currency to the strongest level since the wake of June’s Brexit vote, and options prices suggest more gains are...

Where you are born makes a big difference to the chances of getting a job when you leave school. In 2015, youth unemployment rates in some OECD countries such as Greece (49.8%), Spain (48.3%) and Italy (40.3%) were all close to 50%. In others such as Germany (7.2%), Austria (10.6%) and Switzerland (8.6%), youth unemployment was far lower. Why? The Young Workers Index 2016, an annual report by PWC, offers some insights. © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com PWC’s analysis ranks 35 OECD...

Investec Switzerland. The Swiss government urged rejection of a popular initiative that would transform the monetary system and end fractional-reserve banking, according to its dispatch to Parliament. The measure seeks to put the central bank solely in charge of money supply and forbid commercial banks from granting loans that aren’t fully backed by deposits, effectively ending the way banking has been conducted for centuries. It’s a system known as Vollgeld — or “whole...

Investec Switzerland. While the bearish sentiment that engulfed European equities in recent weeks is being vindicated, health-care stocks are easing the pain. The region’s largest industry group headed for its biggest jump in more than 14 months, tempering losses for equity benchmarks after Donald Trump won the race to govern the region’s biggest export market. Novo Nordisk A/S and Shire Plc rose more than 5 percent, after investors punished the shares in recent weeks amid...

Investec Switzerland. TAG Heuer is opening an office in Silicon Valley, marking the first time a big Swiss watchmaker has expanded into the cradle of the U.S. technology sector and cementing its smartwatch alliance with Google and Intel Corp. © Tomnex | Dreamstime.com The office, which opened Nov. 1 and is located on Intel’s campus in Santa Clara, California, will house about a dozen research and development employees, according to Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Biver....

Investec Switzerland. TAG Heuer is opening an office in Silicon Valley, marking the first time a big Swiss watchmaker has expanded into the cradle of the U.S. technology sector and cementing its smartwatch alliance with Google and Intel Corp. © Tomnex | Dreamstime.com The office, which opened Nov. 1 and is located on Intel’s campus in Santa Clara, California, will house about a dozen research and development employees, according to Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Biver....

Investec Switzerland. The SMI is set to finish the week notably lower as investors continue to dump equities amid worries about the implications of next week’s US election, the trajectory of interest rates and mixed corporate earnings. © Daniel Raustadt | Dreamstime.com Until a week ago the market had confidently calculated a Clinton win but new FBI investigations appear to have put Trump firmly back in the race. The MSCI All Country World Index sank to its lowest level...

Investec Switzerland. The promise of snow across the Alps this weekend won’t be enough to lift the gloom at some of Europe’s top ski resorts as the pound’s post-Brexit slide dents British bookings. © Gerd Kohlmus | Dreamstime.com Jon Fricker, a property developer in Beaconsfield, west of London, said some of his friends would probably back out of their annual piste reunion if the cost of a long weekend in the Portes du Soleil ski area straddling the border between France and...

Investec Switzerland. Swiss talks with the European Union about immigration restrictions mustn’t be impacted by the U.K.’s decision to leave the bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. © Joachim Eckel | Dreamstime.com “In the EU, we should carry on negotiations with Switzerland in the same way as we would have if there were no question on Britain,” Merkel said after a meeting with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Amman in Berlin on Wednesday. “Switzerland has a right as...

Submitted by Ronan Manly, BullionStar.com News has just emerged in the gold market that the giant Swiss precious metals refiner Argor-Heraeus has held discussions to be acquired, and that the likely outcome is an acquisition by a private equity group. This private equity group is believed to be London-based WRM CapInvest, part of Zurich headquartered WRM Capital. Other interested buyers are also believed to have examined a bid for Argor-Heraeus, including Japanese refining group Asahi...