General Electric Switzerland has already slashed some 2,000 posts since 2016. (© Keystone / Urs Flueeler) United States engineering giant General Electric has revealed it will cut a further 450 jobs at two of its Swiss sites. Since 2016, the company has already shed some 2,000 workers. The company, which generated profits of $954 million (CHF952 million) last year, blamed the latest cuts on “financially challenging...
Read More »China looks to new policies to boost infrastructure spending
To stabilise growth, the Chinese government will likely put more focus on infrastructure investment. A new policy announced recently could give a further boost to this sector. Activity data in May point to continued weakness in Chinese economic momentum, with growth in both fixed-asset investment and industrial production slowing last month. The only positive news came from retail sales, where growth picked up after the...
Read More »FX Daily, June 19: Still Patient?
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.21% at 1.1169 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 19(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Risk-taking was bolstered by the dramatic shift in Draghi’s rhetoric less than two weeks after the ECB meeting and a Trump’s tweet announcing that there was going to be an “extended” meeting between him and Xi at the G20 meeting and that...
Read More »Swiss Franc at 5 month highs vs the Pound
. Tory leadership debate does little to help the pound Sterling has remained under a lot of pressure against a number of currencies including vs the Swiss franc. The Tory leadership race is now down to 5 candidates after former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab only managed to get 30 votes. This was short of the required 33 to progress to the next round. Last night we had the live television debate involving the last five...
Read More »Swiss health insurance deductibles to remain changeable annually
© Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com One idea for containing rising healthcare costs was to remove the possibility of changing health insurance deductibles every year, making it possible only every three years. If people are able to switch from high to low deductibles annually then they can save money by opting for a high deductible one year, while postponing visits to the doctor until the following year when they opt...
Read More »Swiss gold refinery turns back on artisanal miners
Metalor is one of the world’s biggest gold refineries. Swiss gold refinery Metalor Technologies has announced it will no longer deal with artisanal mining operations. The company cites the increasing cost of ensuring that gold is being produced by small mines in compliance with human rights and environmental standards. Metalorexternal link has come under repeated fire for doing business with gold mines in South America...
Read More »FX Daily, June 18: Draghi Ends Calm Ahead of FOMC, Sending the Euro and Yields Down
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.08% at 1.1196 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, June 18(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: ECB President Draghi underscoring the likely need for more stimulus broke the subdued tone as market participants took a “wait and see” stance ahead of tomorrow’s FOMC decision. Draghi’s comments sent the euro through $1.12 for the first...
Read More »Das Einmaleins des neuen Leitzinses
Wie schon beim Libor teilt die Nationalbank mit dem Leitzins mit, wo sie die Kurzfristzinssätze haben will: SNB-Präsident Thomas Jordan. Foto: Anthony Anex (Keystone) Die Schweizerische Nationalbank (SNB) führt neu einen Leitzins ein. Hatte sie denn bis jetzt gar keinen? Doch, hatte sie, aber der hiess anders. Nutzen wir doch die Gelegenheit, um zu klären, was eigentlich ein Leitzins ist. Und was sich nun geändert hat....
Read More »How Much of Your “Wealth” Is Hostage to Bubbles and Impossible Promises?
All asset “wealth” in credit-asset bubble dependent economies is contingent and ephemeral. A funny thing happens to “wealth” in a bubble economy: it only remains “wealth” if the owner sells at the top of the bubble and invests the proceeds in an asset which isn’t losing purchasing power. Transferring “wealth” to another asset bubble that is also deflating doesn’t preserve the “wealth” from evaporation. All the ironclad...
Read More »Raiffeisen bank announces CHF1 million executive pay cap
An activist impersonating former Raiffeisen CEO Pierin Vincenz who faced accusations of enriching himself thanks to poor board governance. Switzerland’s third largest bank will limit the annual remuneration of top management to CHF1 million (around $1million) from July 1. The announcement was made at the bank’s general meeting on Saturday in Crans-Montana. CEO Heinz Huber’s compensation has already been adjusted when he...
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