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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Credit Suisse’s Archegos Exposure Was Reportedly Over $20 Billion

2021-04-22

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2021-04-22

Just minutes after the SEC is reportedly "exploring how to increase transparency for the types of derivative bets that sank Archegos," The Wall Street Journal reports that Credit Suisse Group AG had somehow allowed a massive exposure to investments related to Archegos Capital Management or more than $20 billion.

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Swiss firms get international boost for exports

2021-04-21

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2021-04-21

The government has pledged CHF7.8 million ($8.5 million) over the next three years to help Swiss companies participate in major infrastructure projects abroad.

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How Credit Suisse rolled the dice on risk management — and lost

2021-04-20

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2021-04-20

Five months before Greensill Capital’s collapse, Credit Suisse invited a special guest to present to its top ranks in Asia. The visitor was hailed as the sort of bold entrepreneur the bank wanted to do business with: Lex Greensill. “The tone was this is the exact kind of client the bank wants, tell the MDs to go out and find more guys like Lex,” said one senior manager who watched the November video conference.

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Swiss digital asset trading network expands

2021-04-19

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2021-04-19

A blockchain-inspired trading infrastructure, which links banks, companies and investors to cryptocurrencies and a new breed of digital securities, is nearing fruition in Switzerland.

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Aviation industry demands action to get planes back in the air

2021-04-18

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2021-04-18

Business, tourism and trade union leaders have put forward an action plan to get Swiss air transport back in action as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.

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A big festival for small screens: Visions du Réel goes virtual again

2021-04-17

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2021-04-17

The pandemic looms over the Swiss documentary festival, but is far from being the main topic. Some films tackle the social effects of quarantine, such as Pacho Velez's "Searchers", which explores how social networks helped to compensate for the loneliness of isolation. Visions du Réel

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Swiss public institutions hit hard by white-collar crime

2021-04-17

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2021-04-17

Swiss courts dealt with 52 major cases of economic crime last year that amounted to CHF355 million ($384 million) in losses, the consultancy firm KPMG said on Thursday. Public institutions were especially targeted by fraudsters.

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Minimum wage hurting young people in Swiss canton

2021-04-16

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2021-04-16

Around three years ago, the Swiss canton of Jura introduced a minimum wage of CHF 20 an hour (US$ 21.65). Now there is political pressure relook at the move, according to RTS.

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Restaurants to re-open despite high Covid infection rate 

2021-04-15

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2021-04-15

The Swiss government has decided to allow outdoor tables in restaurants and bars again as of next Monday, following a four-month temporary closure. As part of its anti-Covid strategy, cultural and sports events will be open to the public under certain conditions, a government statement said. 

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Government approves accord with UK to ease trade for companies 

2021-04-14

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2021-04-14

The Swiss government has approved an agreement with Britain on mutual recognition of companies with “AEO” customs security approval, designed to facilitate trade. This agreement is “intended to reduce technical barriers to trade and facilitate trade with the United Kingdom for companies with AEO status”, according to a government press release on Wednesday. The accord has yet to be ratified by Britain. 

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Fighting the pandemic blues – S02E01

2021-04-13

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Last year, as the coronavirus pandemic hit Switzerland, and the rest of the world, we asked our readers and followers to look at the bright side of those dark times. With the pictures and videos they sent us we compiled a season made of six episodes, filled with tiny moments of joy.

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Credit Suisse Slashes Bonuses After $4.7 Billion Archegos Disaster

2021-04-13

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2021-04-13

While all of the banks playing "pass the hot potato" with Archegos Capital's now-dismantled equity book are undoubtedly still assessing the damage they incurred (or at least will report to shareholders), it looks like no one had it worse than Credit Suisse. The banking giant has now slashed its bonus pool by "hundreds of millions of dollars" according to FT, after the firm lost $4.7 billion in the Archegos implosion.

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Government faces growing pressure to relax Covid measures

2021-04-13

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2021-04-13

Pressure is building on the Swiss government to ease restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises on Monday called for a review of the current situation, saying the government was focusing too much on health while failing to consider the economic and financial impact of the restrictions.

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Study shows benefits of physical and cognitive play in dementia patients

2021-04-12

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2021-04-12

Elderly participants who trained regularly on a fitness device developed by a Swiss company showed improvements in cognitive skills, such as attention, concentration, memory and orientation. The study, carried out by an international team in two Belgian care homes, relied on a fitness game, known as “Exergame”, developed by a spin-off of the federal technology institute ETH Zurich.

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Lonza to create 1,200 new jobs at vaccine-production site

2021-04-12

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2021-04-12

The Swiss pharmaceutical company is recruiting workers to join its new plant in southern Switzerland, where three production lines have been set up to manufacture an active ingredient of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.

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Swiss bankruptcies fell by 7 percent in 2020

2021-04-11

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2021-04-11

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Swiss economy. GDP fell by 2.9% compared to 2019. However, despite the fall in economic output the number of bankruptcies fell by 6.7% compared to 2019.

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Foreign firms creating more jobs in Switzerland despite pandemic

2021-04-11

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2021-04-11

Switzerland has remained an attractive location for foreign firms, creating more jobs last year than in 2019 - despite the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Swiss public television SRF and RTS have reported.

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IMF praises Switzerland’s economic response to the pandemic

2021-04-10

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2021-04-10

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Switzerland has economically navigated the Covid-19 pandemic well so far. In 2020, the Swiss economy shrank by 2.9%, far less than many other advanced European economies. France (-8.2%), Germany (-4.9%), Italy (-8.9%) and the UK (-9.9%) all performed far worse.

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“They’re Just Chasing” – The Fed Has Put Distressed Investors Out Of Business… Again

2021-04-10

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2021-04-10

"People aren’t investing, they’re just chasing." That is the ominous, ponzi-like warning from Adam Cohen, Caspian Capital’s managing partner as the distressed debt investor has chosen to return some money to investors because the rewards don't justify the high risks anymore.

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France asks Switzerland for help with Covid patients

2021-04-09

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2021-04-09

The French region of Bourgogne-Franche Comté has contacted several Swiss cantons and asked them if they would take Covid patients, according to RTS. Jacques Gerber, the minister of health in the canton of Jura told RTS that there had been a request from France to prepare in case French hospitals become overloaded.

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