Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

Investec Switzerland. Three years after Lloyds Banking Group Plc sold its private bank in Geneva, the only signs of life at the now-empty building are piles of cigarette butts and nutshells lying on its dirty window ledges. The riverside offices at Place de Bel-Air are a short walk away from the remaining private banks, hedge-fund managers and luxury-goods stores in the heart of the Swiss city. The locked entrance, where millionaire clients used to come and go, is a reminder...

Investec Switzerland. Swiss Market Index (SMI) is set to close lower this week, underperforming global stocks after a stronger Swiss franc hurt domestic firms and Brexit fears weighed on investor sentiment. © James53145 | Dreamstime.com On the other side of the Atlantic, the S&P 500, an index which tracks the share prices of the top 500 US companies,  hit a seven-month high after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen painted a mostly upbeat picture of the economy on...

Investec Switzerland. Foreign-exchange traders, bracing for chaos on the night of Britain’s European Union referendum, are preparing to fall back on techniques perfected before the era of computerized transactions. © Lucian Milasan | Dreamstime.com Banks are ready to draw on lessons learned after some electronic platforms failed during the storm of volatility that followed the Swiss National Bank’s shock decision to remove its currency cap last year. One key failsafe as the...

Official unemployment numbers show there were 144,778 people registered as unemployed across Switzerland at the end of May 2016, 4,762 fewer than in April. This decline took the unemployment rate from 3.5% to 3.3%. Despite this improvement, there were 8,429 more without jobs than in May last year when the unemployment rate was 3.2%. © Edward J Bock 111 | Dreamstime.com The highest rate of unemployment of 4.3% was among those between 30 and 34 years old. Only 3.0% of those aged between 15 and...

Investec Switzerland. Once again, someone else’s crisis is threatening to make life more difficult for the Swiss. © Juan Moyano | Dreamstime.com Ever since it abandoned an exchange-rate cap in January 2015, the Swiss National Bank has battled against the franc’s appeal as a haven, guiding the currency lower with intervention and interest-rate cuts in an effort to keep the economy competitive. The strategy is finally paying off, with the franc just posting its weakest month...

Investec Switzerland. Global stock markets are set to close largely unchanged this week. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) underperformed after data showed that Switzerland’s economy barely grew in the first quarter of this year. © Michael Flippo | Dreamstime.com Sentiment swung between optimism and pessimism on mixed economic data while investors awaited announcements from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the OPEC meetings.  Global stocks came under pressure mid-week...

Investec Switzerland. Switzerland’s economy barely grew in the first quarter as government spending fell for the first time in a year. The slowdown to 0.1 percent followed expansion of 0.4 percent in the last three months of 2015 and fell short of the 0.3 percent growth that economists had forecast. © Denis Linine | Dreamstime.com The report published Wednesday by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Bern also showed that government expenditure dropped 0.8...

Investec Switzerland. Switzerland should be wary of “well-meaning” international pressure to withdraw its 1,000-franc ($1,007) note, according to the central bank’s former president. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime.com Concern has mounted globally that big banknotes make life easier for criminals and should therefore be scrapped. While officials in the euro area have announced plans to phase out their most valuable note, the Swiss National Bank has stated its intent to retain...

Investec Switzerland. Nestle SA agreed to pay DBV Technologies SA, a French developer of therapeutic skin patches, as much as 100 million euros ($110 million) for the right to sell an experimental test to detect milk allergy, the most common food allergy in children. © Albina Glisic | Dreamstime.com Nestle will pay the Montrouge-based company 10 million euros upfront for development of the test, which Nestle will have the right to sell globally pending regulatory approval,...

Investec Switzerland. Stock markets around the world are set to close higher this week after investors interpreted a rise in oil prices as a positive sign for the global economy. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) outperformed global markets amid a strong performance from financials and pharmaceuticals. © Ssuaphoto | Dreamstime.com Sentiment was bolstered this week as oil prices moved above the level of 50 US dollar per barrel on signs that a two-year supply glut may be coming...