23 December 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Ahead of the Christmas break, trading volumes were thin this week amid a lack of new market catalysts. Swiss and European equities were generally unchanged through the week, tracking global stock markets. Overall, sentiment appears to be positive as investors close […]
Seven banks fined in Swiss probes of rate-rigging cartels
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Switzerland handed out about $100 million in antitrust fines against seven U.S. and European banks for participating in cartels to manipulate widely used financial benchmarks. JPMorgan Chase & Co. was fined 33.9 million francs ($33 million) for operating a cartel with Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc for more […]
How gifts destroy billions of dollars of value
If you haven’t had a chance to go Christmas shopping don’t despair, gifts destroy value. For example, someone on a diet is unlikely to place much value on a box of chocolates. The difference between what was paid for the chocolates and what the recipient would have paid represents destroyed value. They could have been […]
Swiss watch exports poised for worst year since 1984: chart
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The number of watches Switzerland exports is on track to reach the lowest level since 1984, when digital timepieces were in vogue and Swatch Group AG had just been formed in reaction to low-cost competition. Three decades later, difficult times are back: 11-month data is due Tuesday after the […]
Swiss to avoid EU clash as immigration bill passes final hurdle
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. After three years of uncertainty, Switzerland may just have solved its immigration dispute with the European Union. Lawmakers in Bern on Friday passed a bill designed to curb EU immigration by giving locals a head start on filling job vacancies. By supporting the measure — which sidesteps quotas — […]
December rally continues this week for SMI
16 December 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. 2016’s December rally continued this week as Swiss and European equities outperformed global stocks. The US dollar continued to surge after the Federal Reserve increased interest rates for only the second time in a decade on Wednesday. Fed Head Janet Yellen […]
Swiss fact: Switzerland is one of the world’s top 5 coffee exporters
According to UN trade statistics, the small Alpine nation exported US$ 2.4 billion1 of coffee in 2013. This figure is far higher than its cheese (US$ 615 million2) or chocolate (US$ 822 million3) exports, two far more famous Swiss exports. In 2013, Swiss coffee exports ranked 4th behind Brazil ($5.3b), Germany ($3.4b) and Vietnam ($2.9b). Ethiopia, […]
Swiss banks probed at home over Brazil’s ‘Carwash’ bribe scandal
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The Switzerland attorney general’s office is shifting its focus to banks operating in the country as it continues to investigate Brazil’s bribery scandal, after plea deals with individual executives provided fresh insights into how the illicit funds flowed through the financial system. Attorney General Michael Lauber said in an […]
Migros Bank could pass on negative interest rates
20 Minutes. Because of negative interest, even a savings account earning 0% interest is earning too much reckons the bank’s boss. Soon many banks will be passing on some of the cost of negative interest to their clients, reports 20 Minutes. Migros Bank will need to seriously consider doing the same in 2017. The bank’s boss Harald […]
Swiss-based Glencore’s Rosneft deal reopens battle for Russian commodities
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. In the cutthroat world of commodities trading, there’s no bigger prize than Russia. The country of Vladimir Putin has it all: oil, natural gas, aluminum, nickel, wheat, coal and many other riches. The world’s biggest trading houses have jostled over it for decades. In recent years, Trafigura Group had […]
