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%. The […]
Brexit threatens to undo Swiss central bank efforts to bring down strong franc
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Once again, someone else’s crisis is threatening to make life more difficult for the Swiss. 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 […]
Global stock markets flat on mixed economic data
3 June 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by 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. Sentiment swung between optimism and pessimism on mixed economic data […]
Novartis opens its third largest research centre globally, in China
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Novartis AG employees in Shanghai have a new $1 billion home. The seven-building campus on the outskirts of Shanghai is accented by bamboo staircases and tree-lined courtyards. The company said the 1,300-person facility will be its third major research center, after Basel, Switzerland, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Foreign drugmakers are […]
Swiss growth unexpectedly slows
Brought to you by 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. The […]
SNB shouldn’t scrap its biggest bill, says former central bank president
Brought to you by 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. 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 […]
Nestle buys rights to milk-allergy test from French company
Brought to you by 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. Nestle will pay the Montrouge-based company 10 […]
Stock markets edge higher as oil price hits US$50 a barrel
27 May 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by 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 […]
Nestlé chief downplays risk of Brexit to the company
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Nestlé SA Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke said he expects the U.K. will choose to stay within the European Union, though an exit wouldn’t be a huge risk to the world’s largest food company. Brexit probably isn’t among the top 10 risks for Nestlé, Bulcke said Wednesday at a […]
Regulator set to penalise Swiss banks over ties to alleged corruption in Malaysia and Brazil
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Switzerland’s top financial regulator warned the risk of money-laundering has risen in Switzerland in recent years as the watchdog said it’s preparing to penalize six Swiss banks over their ties to alleged corruption in Malaysia and Brazil. Widening corruption scandals at 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Brazilian oil producer Petroleo […]
