Tag Archive: Business

What Gives Cryptocurrencies Their Value

2017-12-05

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2017-12-05

Number of Bitcoin Transactions
The value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, just like any other kind of money, comes fundamentally from what you can do with it. As a follow up to What Backs Bitcoin, I want to dig into that value. The idea, which comes from Austrian economist Carl Menger, is that just as a shovel’s value comes from its ability to dig, a currency’s value comes from its ability to help you do two things: transactions and savings.

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UBS launches world’s first performance-based healthcare investment

2017-12-04

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2017-12-04

The Zurich-based UBS Optimus Foundation has announced the launch of the first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in the field of healthcare. If successful, it could save over 10,000 lives in India. The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the Swiss bank UBS, will invest a total of $3.5 million (CHF3.45 million) to help reduce mother and infant mortality rates in the state of Rajasthan in northwestern India.

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Beer sales slowly dry up in Switzerland

2017-12-03

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2017-12-03

Swiss beer fans can enjoy an increasingly diverse selection(Keystone/Angelika Warmuth) The amount of beer consumed in Switzerland declined last year, as it did for wine. Yet the number of specialist craft microbreweries continues to rise. Between October 2016 and September 2017, the Swiss drank 461 million litres of beer (54.5 litres per person) – down 0.2% on the previous reporting period, according to the Swiss Breweries...

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Bitcoin Tops $10,100 – Fed’s Powell Says “Cryptocurrencies Just Don’t Matter”

2017-12-03

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2017-12-03

LiteCoin Price in USD, Mar - Nov 2017
Update: Cryptocurrencies are widely bid tonight with Bitcoin over $10,150, Ether holding $475, and LiteCoin topping $100 for the first time. Bitcoin has now soared over 20% since Black Friday's close, topping $10,000 for the first time in history (rising from $9,000 in just 2 days)... now up over 950% year-to-date.

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Darwin Airline planes grounded

2017-12-02

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2017-12-02

Switzerland’s Darwin Airline, the Lugano-based regional carrier, was forced to halt all its flights on Tuesday after its licence was revoked by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) over financial problems.

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WEF founder flags need for solidarity

2017-11-29

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2017-11-29

In an interview with newspaper NZZamSonntag, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, says that WEF is more relevant than ever. “We’re the witnesses to a transformation from a unipolar to a multipolar world. In this situation, the attempt to build bridges and work together is more important than ever,” the 80-year-old German engineer and economist told the newspaper.

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Richest get richer – Switzerland’s top 300

2017-11-26

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2017-11-26

The wealthiest people in one of the world’s wealthiest nations - Switzerland, have increased their assets by CHF60 billion over the past year. According to the latest edition of the German-language business magazine, Bilanz, the 300 richest residents of the country have assets totalling CHF674 billion.

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Swiss Watchmaker Optimistic about Business Prospects

2017-11-23

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2017-11-23

The chief executive of the Swatch Group, a leading Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewelry, is upbeat about business prospects for the coming year. Nick Hayek says the Swatch Groupexternal link hopes to reach the ambitious target of a 7%-9% increase in sales this year.

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New Gold-Backed Debit Card Launched In Partnership With MasterCard

2017-11-23

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2017-11-23

Mobile Phone
In recent years, there has been a major debate about the respective merits of gold versus Bitcoin, even though many, not all, gold bulls are also supporters of the latter. Gold advocates generally view favourably Bitcoin’s inherent characteristics of decentralisation, finite supply and ability to operate (so far) outside of the usual interference by western central banks.

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What do the Swiss spend their money on?

2017-11-22

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2017-11-22

The Swiss had an average net household disposable income in 2015 of CHF6,957 ($7,007) a month, the Federal Statistical Office has reported. Every month, around CHF560 was spent on leisure and cultural activities – and CHF89 on cats and dogs.

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Oil Trader Slams “defamatory” NGO Teport

2017-11-21

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2017-11-21

Commodities trading company Vitol has taken legal action against “inaccurate and defamatory” allegations made by the Swiss NGO Public Eye in the wake of the Paradise Papers revelations. Public Eye issued a press release and report on November 10 accusing four Swiss-based commodities traders, including Vitol, of doing business “with dodgy individuals or politically exposed partners” and colluding with the Appleby law firm to conceal “business...

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SNB: It’s A Bonfire Of The Absurdities

2017-11-21

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2017-11-21

Fire
This week’s letter will take a look at the growing number of ridiculous, inane, and otherwise nonsensical absurdities that fill the daily economic headlines. I have gone from the occasional smile to scratching my head now and then to “WTF” moments several times a week.

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Stories making the Swiss Sunday papers

2017-11-20

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2017-11-20

Good news from the Swiss watchmaking industry, plans to ban under-18s from solariums because of health risks and a warning that the Swiss railway system could face chaos in December. The Swiss watchmaking industry has made a turnaround following a three-year dip. Nick Hayek, CEO of the Swatch Group, told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that his company recorded a massive increase in turnover over the past two months, resulting even in production...

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Swiss Government stays mum on EU Negotiations Strategy

2017-11-19

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2017-11-19

The seven-member Federal Council has refused to reveal its position on future negotiations with the European Union over CHF1 billion (little over $1 billion) in voluntary ‘cohesion’ payments destined for central and eastern European countries.

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Deepening Crisis In Hyper-inflationary Venezuela and Zimbabwe Show Why Physical Gold Is Ultimate Protection

2017-11-18

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2017-11-18

Zimbabwe Implied Annual Inflation, Aug 2015 - Oct 2017
Deepening Crisis In Hyper-inflationary Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Real inflation in Zimbabwe is 313 percent annually and 112 percent on a monthly basis. Venezuela's new 100,000-bolivar note is worth less oday thehan USD 2.50. Maduro announces plans to eliminate all physical cash. Gold rises in response to ongoing crises.

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Swiss HSBC settles French tax fraud dispute

2017-11-18

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2017-11-18

With a payment of €300 million (CHF350 million), the Swiss subsidiary of British bank HSBC has settled its tax fraud dispute with the French authorities. Investigations by the French government revealed that many French taxpayers had hidden their assets with help from HSBC’s private bank.

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Switzerland asked to aid Mauritian inquiry into Basel-based Dufry

2017-11-17

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2017-11-17

Switzerland’s federal prosecutor’s office is handling a request for mutual assistance in an investigation involving the Basel-based duty-free group Dufry. The request was sent by the government of Mauritius, which according to reports in two Swiss newspapers is looking into the details of an exclusive agreement reached between Dufry and two Mauritian airports.

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Swiss Top Global Wealth Ranking

2017-11-17

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2017-11-17

The average fortune of a Swiss adult is $537,600 (CHF528,000), according to the 2017 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report. Switzerland continues to top the Credit Suisse global list for wealth per adult, followed by Australia ($402,600), the United States ($388,600) and New Zealand ($337,400).

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Saudi Billionaires Scramble To Move Cash Offshore, Escape Asset Freeze

2017-11-16

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2017-11-16

Saudi Crackdown
Over the weekend, Saudi King Salman shocked the world by abruptly announcing the arrests of 11 senior princes and some 38 ministers, including Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the world’s sixty-first richest man and the largest shareholder in Citi, News Corp. and Twitter.

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Credit Suisse Fined $135 million for Malpractices

2017-11-15

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2017-11-15

Credit Suisse bank has been ordered to pay a fine of $135 million (CHF134.5 million) to the US authorities after an enquiry into the Swiss bank’s practices in setting foreign exchange rates. The figure was reached in a consultation between both parties.

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