Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Main Author 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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Global stocks at lowest levels since July

2016-10-14

by Investec

2016-10-14

The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week lower, but outperforming global stocks, thanks to a strong week of luxury good stocks. Global stocks fell to their lowest levels since July on Thursday as investors rushed to the safety of government bonds, yen and gold after renewed concerns over weakness in the Chinese economy and as the Federal Reserve considers raising interest rates.

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More Swiss visas for non-Europeans in 2017

2016-10-13

by Investec

2016-10-13

Visa quotas for non-EU workers will rise next year. The increased quotas will include 3,000 B-permits and 4,500 L-permits, 1,000 more than this year. These limits are still lower than in 2014, when Swiss politics turned against the free movement of workers from the EU.

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Forget ‘Great, Again’; Make America Switzerland?

2016-10-12

by Scott Adams

2016-10-12

talked to a Swiss local yesterday about American politics. He says everyone in Switzerland is following the race closely. He favors Trump because he thinks Trump would be better for the global economy. I asked if anyone he knows in Switzerland is worried about Trump’s “temperament” and having his finger on the nukes.

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Swiss central bank can cut rates further if needed, says bank president Jordan

2016-10-11

by Investec

2016-10-11

SNB Chairman Jordan speaks to media during a news conference in Bern

The Swiss National Bank can cut interest rates further into negative territory if needed, President Thomas Jordan said. “We have still some room to go further if necessary,” Jordan said Saturday in an interview in Washington with Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua. Jordan, who is attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, noted that the bank has already pushed rates quite far.

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Fragenkatalog für Privathaftpflichtversicherungen

Privathaftpflichtversicherungen in der Schweiz sind sehr intransparent. Oft steckt der Teufel im Detail, irgendwo in den AGB. Zum Abschluss einer neuen Versicherung sende ich diesen Fragebogen zu verschiedenen Anbietern.

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Weekly Swiss Markets: Stocks fluctuated on central bank statements

2016-10-07

by Investec

2016-10-07

The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week mainly unchanged, outperforming global stocks modestly while markets fluctuated on speculation that the US Fed will increase interest-rate later this year.

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Switzerland’s central bank offers a glimpse behind the curtain

2016-10-07

by Investec

2016-10-07

The Swiss National Bank is offering a rare look into how it sets monetary policy. A video of SNB President Thomas Jordan and fellow members of the governing board shows them beginning their quarterly policy assessment discussing the state of the economy with about 30 people.

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Vancouver tops list of cities at risk of housing bubble. Zurich 9, Geneva 11.

2016-10-02

by Investec

2016-10-02

Vancouver, London and Stockholm rank as the cities most at risk of a housing bubble after a surge in prices in the past five years, according to a UBS Group AG analysis of 18 financial centers. Sydney, Munich and Hong Kong are also facing stretched valuations, UBS said in its 2016 Global Real Estate Bubble Index report, released Tuesday. San Francisco ranked as the most overvalued housing market in the U.S., while not yet at bubble risk.

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Secret Alpine gold vaults are the new Swiss bank accounts

2016-10-02

by Investec

2016-10-02

Deep in the Swiss Alps, next to an old airstrip suitable for landing Gulfstream and Falcon jets, is a vast bunker that holds what may be one of the world’s largest stashes of gold. The entrance, protected by a guard in a bulletproof vest, is a small metal door set into a granite mountain face at the end of a narrow country lane. Behind two farther doors sits a 3.5-ton metal portal that opens only after a code is entered and an iris scan and a...

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Switzerland’s best paid bosses

2016-10-02

by Investec

2016-10-02

The Ethos Foundation recently published a list of Switzerland’s highest paid employees in 2015. The figures are striking and may leave some wondering what someone would do with such large sums. Ethos looks at the pay of the managers of the 204 largest companies listed on the Swiss stock exchange.

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Swiss stocks slump on Deutsche Bank trouble

2016-09-30

by Investec

2016-09-30

The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week notably lower, underperforming global stocks, as financial sector stocks sell off on questions over Deutsche Bank’s solvency.

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Switzerland stays most competitive nation as WEF warns on trade

2016-09-28

by Investec

2016-09-28

The World Economic Forum named Switzerland the most competitive nation for an eighth straight year as it warned less open trade was threatening economic growth globally. Switzerland was ahead of Singapore and the U.S. in the annual rankings of 138 countries, with Netherlands overtaking Germany to take the fourth spot.

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Juncker eyes Swiss-specific EU immigration deal despite Brexit

2016-09-25

by Investec

2016-09-25

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was aiming to solve a two-year-old dispute with Switzerland over immigration in a country-specific manner even in the wake of Brexit. The Swiss government has been at pains to implement restrictions on European Union newcomers decided upon in a 2014 referendum without annulling an economically important set of treaties with the 28-country bloc.

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European mobile roaming charges to be axed. Pity the Swiss (who just have a Swiss phone)

2016-09-25

by Investec

2016-09-25

On Friday the European Commission announced that EU residents should soon be able to make calls and use data without any additional charges while travelling in another EU country. Countries outside the EU, but within the European Economic Area (EEA), including Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland’s neighbour Liechtenstein, will be included in the deal.

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Un-Becoming American – One Man’s Painful Journey To Renouncing Citizenship

In April 2012, I returned to Switzerland – my country of birth – to commence a new phase of my adult life. Naturally, one of the first steps to undertake when establishing oneself in a new country is to open a bank account. I went down to the local Raiffeisen bank branch in the village of Aesch, Luzern, where my relatives and ancestors had lived and worked as farmers for over 10 generations.

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World markets rally as cheap money policy continues

2016-09-23

by Investec

2016-09-23

The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week notably higher, although under-performing global stocks amid optimism that central banks will continue to support equities by keeping interest rates at historic lows and providing markets with additional liquidity.

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Julius Baer CEO says Asia revenue may excede Europe’s in 5 years

2016-09-22

by Investec

2016-09-22

Julius Baer Group Ltd. said Asia may overtake Europe as its biggest revenue-generating region, as the Swiss wealth manager steps up hiring in Hong Kong and Singapore. “In the next five years, Asia could be the biggest region for us if we grow at double-digit” rates, Chief Executive Officer Boris Collardi said Wednesday in an interview in Singapore. More than half of about 200 new bankers that Julius Baer plans to hire this year will be based in...

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Swiss still the world’s wealthiest, says report

2016-09-22

by Investec

2016-09-22

Largely due to a flood of central bank liquidity, global private financial assets have grown by 61% over the seven years since the financial crisis, almost twice the growth rate of economic output, says a report from the German Insurance giant Allianz. This has boosted the wealth of those who own shares.

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Swiss economy slowly gains momentum but risks remain

2016-09-21

by Investec

2016-09-21

In a report published by SECO, a group of economy experts working for Switzerland’s federal government, says it anticipates an acceleration in economic growth in Switzerland from 0.8% in 2015 to 1.5% in 2016 and 1.9% in 2017. Along side this they expect unemployment to rise from 3.3% in 2015, to an annual average of 3.6% in 2016, before falling again to 3.4% in 2017. However, they also see risks.

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Swiss watch exports fall for fourteenth straight month

2016-09-21

by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou

2016-09-21

The Swiss watch industry is strongly correlated with the growth in Asia. While the chemical and pharmaceutical industry (the "Basel companies") export a lot into the United States. The firmer is currently weakening, while the latter profits on the stronger dollar and "Obamacare demand". As usual, the Swiss press only speaks about the weak industries, while the latter has new export records.

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