Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

Switzerland’s budget for 2016 is looking better than expected. Instead of a shortfall of CHF 0.5 billion, the latest figures forecast a surplus of CHF 1.7 billion. © Zestmarina | Dreamstime.com Overall income was up CHF 1.2 billion and costs were down CHF 1.0 billion. This CHF 2.2 billion shift took the annual forecast from CHF -0.5 billion to CHF 1.7 billion. The biggest driver of the change was the effect of negative interest rates. Since last year the Swiss government has been issuing...

Investec Switzerland. The pendulum for Britain has swung back to positive, and it’s tourists who’ve pushed it there.Britain was one of the few bright spots for Swiss watch exports in July, rising 13.4 percent from a year earlier and counteracting a massive 26 percent drop in June, according to data published by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry on Tuesday. Overall exports dropped for a 13th consecutive month.Richemont and Swatch, whose shares fluctuated after the...

SMI The Swiss Market Index is set to close lower this week underperforming global equities as US stocks reached new record highs and emerging markets outperformed on a weaker dollar. Click to enlarge. Oil also made further gains this week as investors bet that talks between OPEC members and other producers may result in action to stabilise the market in the coming weeks. Click to enlarge. Japan The week began with...

Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index is set to close lower this week underperforming global equities as US stocks reached new record highs and emerging markets outperformed on a weaker dollar. © Aleksandar Milosevic | Dreamstime.com The week began with some gloomy economic data after reports showed on Monday that Japan’s second quarter GDP growth slowed more than forecast to 0.2%, reflecting a drag on exports from a stronger JPY and a drop in business investment....

Investec Switzerland. Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan keeps saying the franc is “significantly overvalued.” And that’s despite the central bank’s record-low deposit rate and occasional currency market interventions. © Dariusz Kopestynski | Dreamstime.com While the franc is typically a top choice for foreign investors looking for a safe place to park their money, anxieties about the euro area’s debt burden or Brexit aren’t the only factor. The residents of...

A very insightful post from Bloomberg. We added some more explanations. We explained that the dollar is currently more overvalued than the Swiss Franc. Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan keeps saying the franc is “significantly overvalued.” And that’s despite the central bank’s record-low deposit rate and occasional currency market interventions. While the franc is typically a top choice for foreign...

Investec Switzerland. Source: UBS Risks to the Swiss property market remained elevated in the second quarter of 2016, with rock-bottom interest rates propping up demand for residential assets to be rented out for investment purposes. Still, UBS Group AG’s index experienced a “slight” decrease in the period, according to economists Matthias Holzhey and Claudio Saputelli. That’s because of a slowdown in the pace of mortgage growth and a 0.6 percent decline in home prices on an...

Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index is set to close slightly higher this week, outperforming global equities thanks to defensive heavyweights such as Nestlé and Novartis. © Alan Gignoux | Dreamstime.com Pessimism hit European shares at the beginning of the week as sliding oil prices and bank stress test results helped revive concerns over the strength of the recovery and stability of the financial sector. The bank stress tests results showed most of the region’s...

Investec Switzerland. © Vividrange | Dreamstime.com The value of the Swiss National Bank’s U.S. stock portfolio jumped to a record in June, helped by equity market gains. The holdings climbed to $61.8 billion from $54.5 billion at the end of March, according to calculations by Bloomberg based on the central bank’s regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and published on...

Investec Switzerland. The value of the Swiss National Bank’s U.S. stock portfolio jumped to a record in June, helped by equity market gains. © Vividrange | Dreamstime.com The holdings climbed to $61.8 billion from $54.5 billion at the end of March, according to calculations by Bloomberg based on the central bank’s regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and published on Wednesday. SNB spokesman Walter Meier declined to comment on the filing, which is...