Category Archive: Swiss Markets and News

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Investec
Investec is a distinctive Specialist Bank and Asset Manager. We provide a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, as well as certain other geographies. Investec’s strategic goals are motivated by the desire to develop an efficient and integrated business on an international scale through the active pursuit of clearly established core competencies in the group’s principal business areas.
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Credit Suisse targeted for break-up by activist hedge fund

2017-10-17

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2017-10-17

A Swiss hedge fund is poised to launch an activist campaign to break up Credit Suisse, tapping into investor impatience with the progress of the bank’s turnround under chief executive Tidjane Thiam. RBR Capital Advisors, supported by Gaël de Boissard, a former Credit Suisse investment bank co-head, is set to unveil the plan later this week at the JPMorgan Robin Hood investor conference in New York, according to people briefed on it.

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Bern’s SkyWork could be grounded at end of month

2017-10-16

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2017-10-16

SkyWork Airlines, which flies to various European destinations from Bern Airport, may be forced to cease operations by the end of October due to its unstable financial situation. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) has limited SkyWork’s operating permit to the end of this month because the company is unable to meet its financial commitments for its 2017 and 2018 winter schedule.

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“This May Be The End Of Europe As We Know It”: The Pension Storm Is Coming

2017-10-13

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2017-10-13

World Population 65 years and older, 1990 - 2050
I’ve written a lot about US public pension funds lately. Many of them are underfunded and will never be able to pay workers the promised benefits - at least without dumping a huge and unwelcome bill on taxpayers. And since taxpayers are generally voters, it’s not at all clear they will pay that bill. Readers outside the US might have felt safe reading those stories. There go those Americans again… However, if you live outside the US, your country...

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Why Small States Are Better

2017-10-10

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2017-10-10

Andreas Marquart and Philipp Bagus (see their mises.org author pages here and here) were recently interviewed about their new book by the Austrian Economics Center. Unfortunately for English-language readers, the book is only available in German. Nevertheless, the interview offers some valuable insights.

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Airbnb has ‘impact’ on housing market

2017-10-09

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2017-10-09

Online accommodation platforms such as Airbnb have negative effects on the Swiss housing market and lead to fewer homes available for tenants and higher rental prices, a study has revealed.

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Talk of cutting Swiss pensions paid to foreign residents

2017-10-08

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2017-10-08

Chair
According to Le Matin, Jean-Luc Addor, a parliamentarian and member of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), wants to know what savings could be made if pensions paid to those abroad were adjusted for living costs in those countries. According to the newspaper, after the rejection of the vote to reform Swiss pensions, Addor said that the rejected reform was aimed at guaranteeing the financing of the pension system over the coming years, as well as...

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Swiss blue-chip CEOs dominate European wage ranking

2017-10-07

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2017-10-07

The chief executive officers of Switzerland’s top firms take home almost double the median salaries of Europe’s 100 biggest companies, according to a study by consultants Willis Towers Watson.The Eurotop 100 study, presented on Thursday, studied the direct remuneration – not including pension or bonuses – of the CEOs of the 100 most highly capitalised blue-chip companies in Europe.

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Switzerland Tops World’s Most Competitive Countries Index (Yemen Least)

2017-10-06

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2017-10-06

World's Most and Least Competitive Countries, 2017 - 2018
Something else 'Murica is no longer #1 in... A recently released World Economic Forum report has found that the global economy is recovering well nearly a decade on from the start of the global financial crisis with GDP growth hitting 3.5 percent in 2017. The eurozone in particular is regaining traction with 1.9 percent growth expected this year. As Statista's Niall McCarthy points out, the improvement in Europe's economic fortunes can be seen in...

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Critical Swiss-German rail route back to normal

2017-10-05

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2017-10-05

Commuters using a busy stretch of railway between the Swiss city of Basel and Karlsruhe in Germany will be relieved to learn that services will return to normal on Monday following long-running repairs to a German tunnel.

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“This Is A Crisis Greater Than Any Government Can Handle”: The $400 Trillion Global Retirement Gap

2017-10-03

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2017-10-03

Size of the retirement savings gap, 2015 - 2050
Today we’ll continue to size up the bull market in governmental promises. As we do so, keep an old trader’s slogan in mind: “That which cannot go on forever, won’t.” Or we could say it differently: An unsustainable trend must eventually stop. Lately I have focused on the trend in US public pension funds, many of which are woefully underfunded and will never be able to pay workers the promised benefits, at least without dumping a huge and unwelcome...

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Switzerland Tourism Names New Director – Martin Nydegger

2017-10-02

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2017-10-02

The top Swiss tourism body has announced that Martin Nydegger will take over from his predecessor Jürg Schmid as head of the organisation. The 46-year-old Nydegger has been a member of Switzerland Tourism’s executive board since 2008. A selection committee within Switzerland Tourism’s Board of Directors selected Nydegger for the post earlier this week, and announced the decision on Friday after the Swiss cabinet approved the move. He will formally...

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Here Are The Cities Of The World Where “The Rent Is Too Damn High”

2017-10-01

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2017-10-01

Number of years to buy a flat
In ancient times, like as far back as the 1990s, housing prices grew roughly inline with inflation rates because they were generally set by supply and demand forces determined by a market where buyers mostly just bought houses so they could live in them. Back in those ancient days, a more practical group of world citizens saw their homes as a place to raise a family rather that just another asset class that should be day traded to satisfy their...

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Swiss 2018 health premiums unveiled. Brace yourself.

2017-10-01

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2017-10-01

Yesterday, the Swiss government released health insurance premiums for 2018. There are price hikes across the board, particularly in French-speaking Switzerland. Next year, the price of standard compulsory insurance for an adult with a CHF 300 deductible will rise 4% on average. The cost varies by canton. Prices rises range from 1.6% to 6.4%. Health premiums for children will rise by an average of 5%, more than those for adults.

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The Global Housing Bubble Is Biggest In These Cities

2017-09-30

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2017-09-30

UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index
Two years ago, when UBS looked at the world's most expensive housing markets, it found that London and Hong Kong were the only two areas exposed to bubble risk.What a difference just a couple of years makes, because in the latest report by UBS wealth Management, which compiles the bank's Global Real Estate Bubble Index, it found that eight of the world's largest cities are now subject to a massive speculative housing bubble.

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Survey offers clues to why Swiss rejected last Sunday’s pension reform

2017-09-30

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2017-09-30

Kid
A survey by Tamedia offers clues to why 52.7% of Swiss voters rejected the pension reform plan that was put to a vote last Sunday. 20% of those voting “no” thought it was a pseudo reform that didn’t go far enough, while 26% felt it left too much of a burden on younger taxpayers. In 1981, when the life expectancy of an average Swiss woman was 79.2 years, the average time spent collecting the state pension was 15.2 years. Now an average Swiss woman...

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Swiss want TV tax cut by half, according to survey

2017-09-29

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2017-09-29

Kids
Some who move to Switzerland might not be aware that they are almost certainly required to pay one of the world’s highest broadcasting fees. An annual Swiss licence costs CHF 451.10 per household. A successful vote in 2015 changed the rules on who must pay the fee. From 2019, it will be compulsory for anyone with a primary or secondary residence in Switzerland to pay it, effectively making it a tax on all households. At a new lower price of CHF 400...

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Housing in Zurich and Geneva only moderately overvalued, says UBS

2017-09-28

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2017-09-28

The UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2017 describes housing in Zurich and Geneva as only moderately overvalued. The two Swiss cities rank 6th (Geneva) and 9th (Zurich) in a list of 20 selected global cities. The top eight: Toronto, Stockholm, Munich, Vancouver, Sydney, London, Hong Kong and Amsterdam are all classified as bubble risk. Only Chicago is undervalued.

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How Much Space Does $1,500 Rent In The World’s ‘Most Magnetic’ Cities?

2017-09-28

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2017-09-28

How Much Space Does $1,500 Rent In The World's 'Most Magnetic' Cities?
New Yorkers who wince every time they slip a $1,500 rent check under their super’s door should consider moving to Shanghai, or maybe Berlin. According to a new study published on RentCafe, $1,500 will buy you three times more space in Shanghai than in Los Angeles and twice as much in Frankfurt. Meanwhile, rents per square foot are five times higher in San Francisco than they are in Berlin.

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Watch industry unperturbed by new ‘Swiss made’ regulations

2017-09-27

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2017-09-27

The majority of Swiss watch executives surveyed by consulting firm Deloitte are positive about new rules requiring at least 60% of a watch’s manufactured costs to be incurred in Switzerland. According to the Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry Study 2017external link, released on Wednesday, 44% of 60 watch executives surveyed consider the new “Swiss made” rules to be positive compared to 20% who believed they would have a negative effect.

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Les Suissesses et les Suisses disent OUI à leurs paysans! ATS

2017-09-26

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2017-09-26

Les Suisses ont accepté par 78,7% de compléter la Constitution par un article sur la sécurité alimentaire. Les Romands ont été les plus enthousiastes. Les Suisses sont très attachés à la sécurité alimentaire. Dimanche, 78,7% d’entre-eux ont dit «oui». Aucun canton n’a refusé.

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