Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Swiss firms in record number of mergers and acquisitions

The number of merger and acquisition deals involving Swiss companies hit a record high in 2018, according to a report by consultancy firm KPMG. Activity peaked in a number of sectors including financial services, consumer markets, technology, media and telecommunications, power and utilities, says KPMG. There were also a record number of private equity transactions.

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L’enfer fiscal peut être suisse… Si si!

Le scandale de la valeur locative, un revenu fictif taxé. Je profite du billet de G Monti pour introduire un thème qui, à lui seul résume ce que peut être l’injustice fiscale. Il s’agit de ce qui est appelée en Suisse la valeur locative de son logement. Il ne faut pas le confondre avec un impôt foncier, ni avec un loyer.

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Workers paid in euros may not claim for currency losses

The Swiss Federal Court has ruled that two Swiss companies do not have to compensate two employees who were paid in euros and who ended up with less than their franc-earning colleagues. Explaining its decision on Tuesday, the country’s highest court said the cross-border workers from Germany and France had agreed to a corresponding change to their contracts in 2011 – knowing what it meant for their salaries – and therefore any subsequent demands...

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Swiss and Italian leaders discuss cross-border tax deal

By spring, the Italian government is expected to clarify its position on a new tax system for cross-border commuters between Italy and Switzerland. “It is a delicate issue that must be digested sufficiently, with both administrative and political evaluations. It takes time, but spring is not far away,” Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi told Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis in Lugano in southern Switzerland on...

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Learn to ski in three lessons!

Learn to ski in three lessons! — swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos Subscribe:...

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20 years of fighting the white death

Heavy snowfalls in recent days have prompted the authorities to issue the highest level of avalanche risk warning in the Swiss mountains. Similar dangerous levels were reached in the winter of 1999. What has changed in avalanche protection since then? (SRF, swissinfo.ch) — swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its …

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Financial watchdog pushes for upgrade of cyber defence

The chief executive of the Swiss financial watchdog, Mark Branson, has called for the creation of a national cyber defence centre. In an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, Branson reiterated that Switzerland was lagging on safety standards behind other financial centres.

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Chris Iggo, Anlagechef Festverzinsliche, AXA Investment Managers

Wegen der unsicheren Märkte wird die Fed ihre geplanten Zinserhöhungen nicht umsetzen – zumindest vorläufig. Das sagt der Investmentchef für festverzinsliche Anlagen bei Axa Investment Managers im cash-Video-Interview.

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SIHH watch fair opens in Geneva

The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) has opened in Geneva with 35 watch brands showing off their wares. SIHHexternal link will run until Thursday, when it is open to the public, who must register and pay CHF70 ($71.20) in advance. It is the first watch fair of the year and important in terms of setting trends, particularly in the luxury segment.

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Former US interior secretary lands first job since stepping down

Former United States interior secretary Ryan Zinke has landed his first job since leaving the Trump administration two weeks ago. Zinke has joined investment company Artillery One as managing director, swissinfo.ch has learned.

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Lenders pay to lend money to Switzerland

On 28 December 2018, Italy issued government bonds maturing in 2028 at an effective interest rate of 2.7%1. Interest rates like this combined with the scale of Italian public debt (157% of GDP) mean Italian taxpayers spend more on public debt interest than they do on education. In 2015, Italy spent 4.1% of GDP on public debt interest and only 2.8% of GDP on education.

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Nestlé now Europe’s most valuable company

Volatile markets have been reshuffling the ranking of the world’s most valuable companies. Over the course of the last six months, Nestlé overtook Royal Dutch Shell to become Europe’s most valuable company. At the end of June 2018, Royal Dutch Shell had Europe’s highest market capitalisation (US$ 293 billion), making it the world’s 13th most valuable company, while Nestlé ranked 21st globally, with a market capitalisation of US$ 233 billion.

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Swiss government ups probe into Pilatus-Saudi deal

A Swiss aircraft manufacturer may have broken the law through part of a contract signed with Saudi Arabia. The foreign affairs ministry has begun a deeper investigation. Tasked with helping to maintain military training aircraft, 12 Pilatus employees are working in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Swiss companies are legally obliged to report any activity with foreign armies.

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Börsen-Talk vom 11. Januar 2019

Der Konjunkturabschwung wird sich durch Gewinnwarnungen von Firmen an den Börsen weiter bemerkbar machen, sagt Raiffeisen-Anlagechef Matthias Geissbühler im cash-Börsen-Talk. Er sieht aber noch Wege, wie man investiert.

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Samih Sawiris, VR-Präsident Orascom

Orascom will von VR-Präsident Samih Sawiris wieder die Mehrheit am Projekt in Andermatt übernehmen. Im cash-Interview erklärt Sawiris die Hintergründe dieses Deals und äussert sich zum Aktienkurs von Orascom.

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Question of the week: do we still need a standard retirement age?

Reaching the official retirement age1 is an important milestone for many people. Some look forward to it while others dread it. Some dreading it would prefer to continue working either because they enjoy their work or would like the extra income. Some feel they are being systematically and unfairly labelled too old to work.

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The Art of Hanging Art with Ruarc Peffers

Senior Art Specialist and Aspire Art Director Ruarc Peffers talks to Investec Private Banking about the best way to hang art in your home or office in a step-by-step video guide. Follow AspireArt @AspireArtSA, Investec Cape Town Art Fair @ICTArtFair, and @investec on Twitter and Instagram.

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Central bank faces loss of CHF15 billion

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) says it expects to report a loss of about CHF15 billion ($15.3 billion) for 2018, mainly because of a weak performance of foreign currency positions. In a report on provisional annual calculations, the SNB said on Wednesday that the federal and cantonal authorities would nonetheless still benefit a CHF2 billion payment – two-thirds of which will go to the 26 cantons.

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Mars products boycotted by Swiss supermarket chain

Swiss supermarket chain Coop is refusing to stock products from food producing giant Mars in a dispute over prices. The retailer is part of a European buying consortium whose other members will also boycott Mars, Twix and Bounty confectioneries. The dispute is over how much retailers must pay for the good they stock on their shelves.

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Swiss unemployment hit ten-year low in 2018

The unemployment rate in Switzerland averaged 2.6% in 2018, a ten-year low, after strong economic growth in the first six months of the year, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The department said just over 118,000 people were registered with regional job centres during 2018 - 17.5% fewer than the previous year.

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