Category Archive: 3) 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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Swiss central bank keeps rates on hold as Brexit fallout clouds outlook

2016-09-17

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2016-09-17

The post contains the main-stream view on the Swiss National Bank. It is the "continued intervention pledge". But seven years post the financial we are in the second part of the business cycle. In the second part, the SNB must fear rising inflation more than the ECB. For us, Brexit has not influenced the main driver of global GDP growth, U.S. or European consumers.

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Swiss stocks drop on volatility spike

2016-09-16

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2016-09-16

SMI vs. MSCI World
The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week notably weaker along with global equity markets as fears around global monetary policy hit sentiment ahead of key meetings by the Bank of Japan and US Federal Reserve next week. The SMI did manage to outperform its European peers thanks to its heavy weighting towards more defensive pharmaceuticals and consumer staples sectors.

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Richemont, Hermes slump as gloom deepens for luxury-goods makers

2016-09-14

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2016-09-14

The crisis in the global luxury-goods industry deepened after Hermes International SCA abandoned a long-standing forecast and Richemont predicted a profit plunge that Chairman Johann Rupert deemed unacceptable.

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Seven years of inaction on SNB rates day won’t end this week

2016-09-14

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2016-09-14

Anyone feeling let down that the European Central Bank didn’t do much last week might just want to skip the Swiss rate decision on Thursday to avoid more disappointment. While the Swiss National Bank may be infamous for some seismic policy changes in the last few years, those bombshells weren’t dropped at scheduled meetings. In fact, the last time the institution altered interest rates at a decision in its public calendar was more than seven years...

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Swiss home vacancy rate climbs to 15-year high

2016-09-12

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2016-09-12

City-of-Basel
Switzerland has around 4.4 million homes. In 2000, 52,608 (1.49%) of them were vacant. By 2003, this number had dropped to 33,039, a vacancy rate of 0.91%. After fluctuating between this level and 1.07%, the rate started to climb in 2014 to its current rate of 1.30%, its highest level in 15 years.

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Swiss stocks fluctuate as central bank decisions dominate the landscape

2016-09-09

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2016-09-09

The Swiss Market Index, along with other European markets, fluctuated this week as central bank decisions dominated the landscape. Equity markets advanced at the beginning of the week as chances of the Federal Reserve raising US interest rates later this month declined after a surprisingly weak report on the US service-sector earlier this week.

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Basel to overtake Zurich as second-most attractive Swiss canton

2016-09-09

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2016-09-09

Basel City will leapfrog Zurich to become Switzerland’s second-most attractive location for businesses by 2020 as Swiss cantons cut corporate tax to bolster their appeal, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

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Swiss trains the most expensive in Europe

2016-09-09

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2016-09-09

A study by GoEuro, compares the cost of travelling 100km by train. Switzerland led the ranking with the most costly train trips in Europe. Travelling 100km in Switzerland cost CHF 52.

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Cash in a box catches on as Swiss negative rates bite

2016-09-07

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2016-09-07

It’s a sign the world is getting used to negative interest rates when what once seemed bizarre starts looking like the norm. Consider Switzerland, where more and more companies are taking out insurance policies to protect their cash hoards from theft or damage.

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UBS handed setback in $2 billion mortgage buy-back lawsuit

2016-09-07

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2016-09-07

UBS New York
A UBS Group AG unit was found by a federal judge to have violated some contracts with mortgage-backed securities trusts that hold loans, putting it at risk of having to buy back more loans or pay damages in a $2 billion lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel Tuesday ruled that UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. had breached warranties on 13 of 20 loans in the trusts that were introduced into evidence in a three-week trial in Manhattan in May.

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Europe Debates The Burkini: “We Will Colonize You With Your Democratic Laws”

2016-09-04

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2016-09-04

"We will colonize you with your democratic laws." — Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Egyptian Islamic cleric and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. "Beaches, like any public space, must be protected from religious claims. The burkini is an anti-social political project aimed in particular at subjugating women.

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European and Swiss stocks higher on bank rally

2016-09-03

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2016-09-03

SMI vs. MSCI World Week September 2
The Swiss Market Index, along with other European markets, is trading slightly higher this week after financials rallied on merger and acquisition rumors and hopes for improved growth. European banks, the industry group battered the most so far this year, lead gains after it emerged that Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG executives held talks about a potential merger in early August this year.

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Swiss banks cut 4.1 percent of local jobs in first half as profit falls

2016-09-03

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2016-09-03

Banks in Switzerland reduced their domestic workforce by 4.1 percent in the first half as companies combined and made cost cuts to stem declining profitability, a survey by the nation’s main bank association showed.

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Gold Withdrawals From The NY Fed Accelerate, Hit 388 Tons Since 2014

2016-08-31

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2016-08-31

First it was Germany who redeemed 120 tons of physical gold from the NY Fed in 2014; then it was the Netherlands who "secretly" redomiciled 122 tons of gold; then last May, we learned that Austria would be the third "core" European nation to repatriate most of its offshore gold, held primarily in the Bank of England, redepositing it in Vienna and Switzerland.

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Finland Unleashes Helicopter Money In “Greatest Societal Transformation Of Our Time”

2016-08-31

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2016-08-31

Finland is about to launch an experiment in which a randomly selected group of 2,000–3,000 citizens already on unemployment benefits will begin to receive a monthly basic income of 560 euros (approx. $600). That basic income will replace their existing benefits. The amount is the same as the current guaranteed minimum level of Finnish social security support.

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Market round up – all eyes on Jackson Hole

2016-08-26

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2016-08-26

The Swiss Market Index along with global stocks are trading flat this week ahead of Federal Reserve’s Janet Yellen’s Friday speech at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole Summit.

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Negative interest pushes Switzerland’s 2016 budget into positive territory

2016-08-25

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2016-08-25

Switzerland’s budget for 2016 is looking better than expected. Instead of a shortfall of CHF 0.5 billion, the latest figures forecast a surplus of CHF 1.7 billion. Overall income was up CHF 1.2 billion and costs were down CHF 1.0 billion. This CHF 2.2 billion shift took the annual forecast from CHF -0.5 billion to CHF 1.7 billion. The biggest driver of the change was the effect of negative interest rates.

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Britain’s Brexit binge on Swiss watches

2016-08-24

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2016-08-24

The pendulum for Britain has swung back to positive, and it’s tourists who’ve pushed it there.Britain was one of the few bright spots for Swiss watch exports in July, rising 13.4 percent from a year earlier and counteracting a massive 26 percent drop in June, according to data published by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry on Tuesday.

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Swiss market lower this week as US stocks reach new record highs

2016-08-20

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2016-08-20

The Swiss Market Index is set to close lower this week underperforming global equities as US stocks reached new record highs and emerging markets outperformed on a weaker dollar. Oil also made further gains this week as investors bet that talks between OPEC members and other producers may result in action to stabilise the market in the coming weeks.

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2 Men, 3 Women 6-Year-Old Kid Burned, Stabbed By 27-Year-Old Attacker On Swiss Train

2016-08-14

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2016-08-14

Seven people are in hospital with stab wounds and burns, police say, after an attack on a train near St.Gallen, Switzerland. The man set the train carriage on fire using a flammable liquid and also stabbed passengers, including a six-year-old child, police said. Details are sparse for now but The BBC reports, the suspected attacker, described as a Swiss man aged 27, was also taken to hospital after the incident near Salez in St Gallen Canton.

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