Governatives

China’s financial services sector will be almost entirely open to foreign players in the next five years, China’s deputy finance minister Zhu Guangyao said on Friday.

The new rules, unveiled at a government briefing on Friday, will give global financial companies unprecedented access to the world’s second-largest economy. Today’s announcement follows statements by Chinese authorities on Thursday that restrictions in the country’s banking and financial sector would soon be eased, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with US President Trump as part of Trump’s Asia visit.

Every company and organization has a never ending task – to reduce costs, to concur price volatility for the commodities and inputs. What do we do when presented with the free commodity? Are we ready to maximize the potential of the 21st Century commodity – data? Picking Alpha has started a search for answers from the European Commission, who generated the idea of free data to be available for the whole world, through it’s massive Space program – Copernicus.

The number of requests for asylum in Switzerland has fallen sharply after authorities in other European countries closed the Balkan land route used by thousands to flee conflicts, Swiss authorities said Thursday.
Requests for asylum in Switzerland fell by one-third in September compared to the corresponding period last year, the State Secretariat for Migration said.

Switzerland’s federal government said Wednesday it is prepared to pay almost 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.02 billion) toward Sion hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Swiss federal council voted to support the proposed candidature, which could still be stopped by public opposition. It was a rare signal of support for hosting the Games after voters in the Austrian city of Innsbruck gave a thumbs down to the idea on Sunday, joining around a dozen cities that have pulled out of the running.

British Euroskeptics now have a new watchword: Beware the “Swiss Trap.” Theresa May’s government is reportedly heading towards a Swiss-style model for its relationship with the European Union after Brexit. To the frustration of hardline Brexiteers within the Conservative Party, the deal Switzerland has with the EU is now being seriously considered within Whitehall and has not been ruled out by the prime minister, according to Politico.

Voters in Switzerland will decide whether to ban Muslim face veils including the burqa after a campaign by far-right groups to outlaw the garment which they say undermine the "dignity of women". The public will get a chance to have its say in a referendum expected to be rolled out next year in the country where less than 5 per cent are Islamic in the largely Christian nation.

Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Britain’s credit rating by a further notch, saying the government’s plans to fix the public finances had been knocked off course and Brexit would weigh on the economy.

Moody’s brought the UK’s credit rating down from an Aa1 rating to an Aa2 rating over the weekend amid fears its public finances were not going to do well as a result of Brexit.

US President Donald Trump forged a deal with Democrats in Congress on Wednesday to extend the nation’s debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 15, Reuters reports.

After meeting with congressional leaders from both parties at the White House, Mr Trump said he also agreed on a funding bill until mid-December that would avert a government shutdown, and disaster aid for Hurricane Harvey victims.