Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

Investec Switzerland. Swiss stocks are set for a modestly positive end to the week despite stock markets coming under pressure on growing speculation that the US Federal Reserve could raise rates as early as next month. © Kenneth Graff | Dreamstime.com Stocks markets were volatile this week after the latest meeting minutes from the US Federal Reserve showed that most policymakers thought a June interest rate hike was appropriate given the continued improvement of the US...

Le Matin. Swiss customs couldn’t believe their eyes when they visited the garages of a Vaud resident who they had questioned at a border stop in Geneva. The two garages contained a total of 5,000 kgs of food. Among the stash they found 520 litres of spirits, 1,400 litres of wine, 2,800 kgs of meat and large quantities of oil, port and cheese. © Ferenc Ungor | Dreamstime.com The smuggler had created a network allowing the resale of the goods to regular clients including restaurants,...

Investec Switzerland. Glencore Plc shareholders showing up for the miner’s annual meeting on Thursday can take comfort in the stock’s best ever start to a year. Less so the loss of about half the company’s value since they met 12 months ago and more than 70 percent since a $10 billion initial public offering in 2011. Such wild share swings highlight both the opportunities from billionaire Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg’s plans to cut net debt by as much as $9...

Investec Switzerland. Julius Baer Group Ltd. said net new money from clients amounted to less than 3 percent of managed assets in the first four months of the year, missing its target. Source: Julius Baer Clients in eastern Europe and Latin American showed “slow momentum,” while customers in Asia reduced borrowings and wealthy French and Italians repatriated money for tax declarations, the Zurich-based company said in a statement on Thursday. Julius Baer said it can still...

Investec Switzerland. Swiss stocks are set to close higher this week, outperforming global equities on positive earnings releases and brighter inflation signals. Stock markets around experienced a mixed week as investors weighed Federal Reserve rate hike expectations against gloomy economic data out of the US  with more positive indicators out of China. © Jakub Krechowicz | Dreamstime.com Last Fridays US employment report showed that firms took on the fewest workers in...

Investec Switzerland. Shares of Zurich Insurance Group AG headed for the biggest gain in more than four years after Switzerland’s biggest insurer posted a first-quarter profit that beat analyst expectations. Source: Facebook – Zurich Switzerland The stock rose as much as 5.6 percent, and was trading 5.4 percent higher at 228 francs as of 11:24 a.m. in Zurich, paring losses this year to 12 percent. A close at this level would mark the biggest one-day gain since September...

Investec Switzerland. Nestlé is by far the largest food company in the world. Its 335,000 employees produce more than 2,000 brands, manufactured in 436 factories across 85 countries. It’s Europe’s most valuable corporation, worth $240 billion, comfortably more than oil giant Royal Dutch Shell. Among the world’s 195 nations, it sells in 189. © Gvictoria | Dreamstime.com Nestlé’s impact on the history of how we eat is almost impossible to overstate. Sweets as we know them...

Investec Switzerland. Swiss stocks fell significantly this week, underperforming global equities, amid renewed global growth worries and a poor performance from financial heavyweights. Stock markets across the world tumbled after weaker-than-expected manufacturing data out of China revived fears around global growth prospects. © Huating | Dreamstime.com In the US, the future path of interest rate hikes remained in focus. Two regional Federal Reserve presidents said...

Investec Switzerland. The main players in Europe’s most hostile bid situation are digging in. Saint-Gobain said last week that its bitterly contested plan to take control of building materials rival Sika was still a strategic priority — even though the Swiss target’s board and minority shareholders are prepared for a multi-year fight. There are peaceful ways out of the situation, if only emotion wasn’t involved. © Zepherwind | Dreamstime.com Sika is controlled by...

Investec Switzerland. Swiss equities are expected to finish lower this week, underperforming global stocks after the Federal Reserve and the bank of Japan held off on policy changes, mirroring last weeks “wait and see” stance of the European Central Bank. © G0d4ather | Dreamstime.com U.S. central bankers skipped an interest-rate hike on Wednesday for the third straight meeting since kicking off its tightening cycle last year. According to the Banks statement, the Fed...