Investec Switzerland. Nestle SA rose the most in more than four months as investors welcomed the surprise appointment of Fresenius SE’s Ulf Mark Schneider as successor to Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke. © Neil Harrison | Dreamstime.com The stock gained 2.7 percent to 73.05 Swiss francs at 10:16 a.m. in Zurich as analysts said the health-care executive’s arrival may portend a strategic revamp at Europe’s biggest company by market value. “Nestle is in need of fresh legs,”...
Read More »Brexit shakes global markets
Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is set to post a modest gain this week despite confirmation that the UK has decided to leave the European Union. The SMI opened almost 7% lower following the announcement before recovering. The Swiss franc strengthened the most since the Swiss National Bank (SNB) lifted its cap against the euro in 2015. Around the world, financial markets buckled after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union was announced on Friday...
Read More »Brexit shakes global markets and the SMI
Investec Switzerland. Swiss Market Index The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is set to post a modest gain this week despite confirmation that the UK has decided to leave the European Union. The SMI opened almost 7% lower following the announcement before recovering. The Swiss franc strengthened the most since the Swiss National Bank (SNB) lifted its cap against the euro in 2015. click to enlarge Around...
Read More »Britain votes to leave EU. What does it mean?
All of the votes have been counted. 51.9% of the votes were for “leave”. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, said in an announcement, that EU law will continue to apply to the UK until the nation formally leaves the club, including rules on free movement of people. © Lucian Milasan | Dreamstime.com David Cameron said in a speech that he’d like to assure British citizens abroad and EU citizens in the UK that there would be no immediate changes. He also announced his resignation and...
Read More »Britain votes to leave EU
All of the votes have been counted. 51.9% of the votes were for “leave”. Voter turnout was 72.2%. Voting was divided. Scotland (62.0% remain) and Northern Ireland (55.8% remain) voted too stay, while England (53.4% leave) and Wales (52.5% leave) voted to leave. © Donfiore | Dreamstime.com In the markets, the pound dropped as low as 1.32 US dollars, 1.20 Euros and 1.29 Swiss francs according to Reuters. By around 9:00 am the pound had moved from these lows to 1.37 US dollars, 1.24 Euros and...
Read More »Swiss tax redistribution in 2017 – winners and losers
Swiss cantons have very different tax bases, tax rates and costs. To even things up, and temper tax rate competition between cantons that jockey to attract the wealthiest residents with the lowest tax rates, Switzerland has a system known as la péréquation financière nationale in French, or Finanzausgleich in German, which requires “rich” cantons to give money to “poor” cantons. Yesterday, the Swiss federal government published the numbers for 2017. In 2017, the top three payers will...
Read More »Swiss tax redistribution in 2017 – winners and losers
Swiss cantons have very different tax bases, tax rates and costs. To even things up, and temper tax rate competition between cantons that jockey to attract the wealthiest residents with the lowest tax rates, Switzerland has a system known as la péréquation financière nationale in French, or Finanzausgleich in German, which requires “rich” cantons to give money to “poor” cantons. Yesterday, the Swiss federal government...
Read More »Swiss franc shows enduring Brexit concern even as odds lengthen
Investec Switzerland. At least one Brexit warning light is still flashing red. While the pound has rallied in recent days and bookmakers have shortened their odds on a win for “Remain” in Thursday’s U.K.’s European Union referendum, the Swiss franc is still about 0.4 percent from the 2016 high it reached last week. © Sergey Kuzmin | Dreamstime.com The Swiss currency, traditionally sought by investors in times of market stress, climbed as the “Leave” campaign gained ground in...
Read More »Swiss stocks tumble and franc rises on Brexit fears
Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is set to post one of its largest falls since February this week as growing uncertainty around the result of Britain’s referendum on its membership of the 28-nation European Union bloc led to a global sell-off of company shares. © Evgenyi Gromov | Dreamstime.com Stocks around the world tumbled and demand for safe haven assets sent sovereign bond yields to record lows as new opinion polls fueled anxiety that the UK will...
Read More »Brits in Switzerland say Brexit won’t mean freedom from Brussels
Investec Switzerland. Brexit backers who hold Switzerland as a model for the U.K. outside the European Union won’t find much support from British expatriates living in Geneva. Attending a British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce event addressed by the head of the “Leave” campaign recently at Geneva’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, most said the idea that Bern is free of the long arm of Brussels is a myth. © Neil Harrison | Dreamstime.com While the 41,000 Britons living in Switzerland...
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