Corporate

Nissan confirmed that it had initiated talks to acquire Mitsubishi Motors. The automaker is ready to invest 200 billion yen ($ 1.8 billion) for about a third of the capital which would give him control over his competitor. Mitsubishi had lost about 42% of its market value in a scandal related to the tests on the efficiency of rigged engines, hence the opportunity for Nissan.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan and Renault, have postponed a press conference today on the annual budget just to convoke another in order to announce the investment in Mitsubishi Motors.

Investors welcomed the news with some favor, making staple of purchase requisitions for the title of Mitsubishi Motors, back from a decline due to the scandal since April 20.

Zurich Insurance has achieved in the first quarter 2016 net profit attributable to shareholders of 875 million dollars (851 million francs), down 28% from a year ago.

Operating profit (Business Operating Profit, BOP) fell by 16% to 1.09 billion dollars. A decrease in the volume of premiums collected, decreased by 6% over one year to 17.59 billion dollars, the insurance group announced today. Own funds (-1%) fell below $ 31 billion, while the combined ratio, ie the ratio between costs and premiums, worsened slightly to stand at 97.7%.

The Swiss bank UBS is considering applying negative interest rates even private ultra-rich clients to face the expansive monetary policy of central banks. At present the bank’s customers already pay negative rates. Because of negative deposit rates Swiss banks, for their part, have to shell out to the central bank an annual rate of 0.75% in order to deposit money at the SNB.

"If the situation remains the current one, or if you were to deteriorate further, we will have to reflect upon the extension of this measure to our most wealthy clients. At the same time we will have to evaluate whether to recognize the receivable interest rates, "said Basel CEO Sergio Ermotti in today’s General Meeting.

Toyota has announced a record net profit for the full fiscal year ended March 31 rising by 6.4% to 2.31 trillion yen (18.7 billion euro). The first group global car, however, said he expected a for the first time in 5 years net profit down 35% in fiscal 2016, due to currency volatility.

Positive quarterly by Walt Disney but not quite: if the film division results appear satisfactory, sports channels and the decline of subscribers are felt on the accounts. The entertainment giant American ended the three months to April 2, with profits growing, thanks to the success of films such as "Star Wars" and "Zootopia", but less than market expectations, which had not happened for five years now. Also weighing on the results of the fall of the sports channel ESPN subscribers, the costs associated with Disneyland Paris and the opening of the amusement park in Shanghai, scheduled for next month.

The state of health of the industrial sector has recovered slightly, but still marked by "meltdown" of 2015, this was the statement by President Fabio Regazzi Industries Association of Ticino (AITI), a result of the abandonment by the SNB of the minimum exchange between franco euro. To confirm these first, tentative signs of growth in the coming years the group aims to increase labor productivity and the degree of innovation in enterprises, but also improve the dialogue with the institutions.

Regazzi spoke of a "conflict" often negative created by the state: one example of the connection fee or excessive bureaucracy.

Unicredit reports first quarter 2016 with a net profit of 406 million euro (-20.8% compared to the same period of 2015, + 165% on the fourth quarter 2015). The figure is above the expectations of analysts who had expected a profit of 379 million. "The realization of the strategic plan is on schedule: both are already tangible results related to reducing costs, both those related to the digital transformation of the bank".

"Never thought to leave, even in the most critical moments", so Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni said in an interview with the Italian newspaper L’Avvenire, regarding a possible abandonment of Libya.
"Eni provides 100% of the gas for electricity generation and 50% for domestic users," he added Descalzi. "We guarantee the energy to all parties, but especially to the entire population. If we left, we do a disservice to the country."