Fixed income

Sweden is the Best Country to be an Immigrant, according to new analysis from U.S. News & World Report. Canada, Switzerland, Australia and Germany round out the top five. Part of the Best Countries report, the new ranking assesses the international perceptions of 80 countries, their immigration policies and economic data.

Eric Gertler, co-chairman of U.S. News and the New York Daily News, said that the experience of creating the best countries ranking showed them that many people view immigration as the most important issue in the world.

Japan and the European Union agreed on a free trade pact on Thursday to create the world’s biggest open economic area and signal resistance to what they see as U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist turn.

Concluded in Brussels on the eve of meetings with Trump at a summit in Hamburg, the "political agreement" between two economies accounting for a third of global GDP is heavy with symbolism. The deal will rival the size of NAFTA, the free trade accord that the US has with Canada and Mexico – currently the largest one in the world.

UBS Group is overhauling its wealth management businesses in Europe and emerging markets by reducing its booking hubs to three from around 10 and has announced a senior management restructure.
According to a Bloomberg report, the bank aims to reduce the number of offshore booking centers from about ten to 3 – Switzerland, Germany and the UK – through consolidating cross-border operations with domestic businesses.

The chief executives of U.S. banks have been paid handsomely since 2004, with the average boss making three times as much as their counterparts around the globe, according to Bernstein report. The research examined chief executive pay across 25 banks in the US, Europe and Asia for the past 13 years and it shows that US banks have persistently paid more than rivals in the rest of the world based on 2016 data.

Microsoft is planning layoffs as it refocuses its sales force on making the software colossus a pivotal part of businesses relying on cloud computing, according to media reports.

While many reports forecast the changes would result in thousands of job cuts, Microsoft on Monday only confirmed to AFP that changes were on the way. "Microsoft is implementing changes to better serve our customers and partners," a Microsoft spokesperson told AFP.

The International Monetary Fund, a key creditor in Greece’s bailout, will not participate in any further rescues of the debt-wracked country, Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a Greek newspaper today.

“We have all acknowledged (eurozone and IMF) that the third Greek (bailout) payment will be the last with the participation of the IMF,” Schaeuble told Greek daily Ta Nea.

Cartier owner Richemont has sold its Chinese luxury brand Shanghai Tang to Cassia Investments, the Consumer-focused Private Equity fund, in partnership with Italian fashion entrepreneur, Alessandro Bastagli, the company said on Monday.

No value for the deal was given but Richemont, which also owns jewellers Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget, but "The transaction will have no material impact on Richemont’s balance sheet, cash flow or results for the year ending 31 March 2018," Richemont said in a statement. The Swiss luxury group first acquired a stake in the retailer in 1998 before taking full ownership a decade later.

Talks about a new treaty governing the European Union’s relationship with Switzerland have collapsed over the same issue bedevilling Brexit – the European Court of Justice.

Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, has more than 100 bilateral agreements with Brussels overseeing ties including transport, trade and education, but the EU is demanding a single framework treaty.

A new treaty could clear the way for closer ties in fields including financial services and power markets, but fear that any deal might upset Swiss voters under the country’s system of direct democracy has put the project on hold.