Europe

With an increase of more than 25% since the beginning of the year, gold has continued to climb and will probably not stop there.

Sky high valuations are abundant in equity markets however they are getting far less attention than during previous bubbles. Specifically, investors talk of potential cures brought about by startup biotech companies which is reminiscent to counting eyeballs during the internet bubble.

The Swiss people want more and more the 1000-franc note. In May they have been put into circulation with a value of 45 billion, twice 10 years ago. The director of the Cantonal Bank of Geneva, interviewed by Matin Dimanche, links the phenomenon to the fears associated with the introduction of negative interest rates on deposits. "Rather than seeing their savings erode, more and more customers prefer to dispose of their assets in bank notes that are kept in a safe or at home," explains Blaise Goetschin.

EFG International expects to pay 140 million francs less for the acquisition of BSI, compared to the 1.33 billion expected in February. The Zurich-based company announced the same active in the management of capital, following the publication of half-year results of the Ticino bank, destined to disappear for want of FINMA after the scandal of the fund Malaysian 1MDB.

Glencore still in the midst of the crisis: the Zug-based giant in fact restricted even further their mining activities in the first six months of the year. The own copper production fell by 4% to 703’000 tons for coal, the decline was 14% to 58.8 million tons and zinc decreased by 31% to 506’500 tons.

With regard to oil extraction, it was limited to 4.4 million barrels in order to preserve stocks ahead of a hydrocarbon of the price increase, it said in a note today; Glencore has thus postponed the new mining activities. In contrast however the extraction of nickel, grew during the review period by 17%

It is not obvious that the UK can enter EFTA, the club that brings together Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

According to Elizabeth Vik Aspaker, Minister for European Affairs of the Scandinavian country, in an interview with the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, UK could be a problem for the country: "It is not certain that men may bring to this organization a great country is a good idea, it would change the balance , which is not necessarily in the interests of Norway. "

Adecco in the first half has made a profit of 335 million euro (363.5 million francs), down 1% compared to the same period in 2015. Revenues for the world number one of temporary work are advanced by 3% , to 11 billion euro.

With constant exchange rates, the increase in sales is 5%, according to today’s statement from the Zurich group.
The EBITA Operating profit – before deducting interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of goodwill (goodwill) – was 510 million euro, an increase of 3%. In the second quarter, net income instead advanced by 7% to 190 million euro, and the turnover of 2%, to 5.7 billion. The organic growth was 4%, similar to that of the first quarter.

The EU Council will not give any sanction to Spain and Portugal for failure to meet the deficit. The Community body preferred to deal with the situation by giving more space to the two Iberian countries, which will still have to take corrective measures and present a new budget plan by October 2017.

The operations to be implemented in the fall will have to be aimed at reducing the budget deficit from 4.4% at end 2015 to 2.5% by the end of this year to Lisbon, and Madrid will have until 2018 to reach the target of 3% from 5.1% last year. Greater flexibility, and, for Spain, which will bring the 4.6% in December, 3.1% in 2017 and 2.2% by 2018, in the light of a more uncertain political situation given the lack of a permanent government by the end of 2015.