Switzerland

Switzerland’s economy expanded at a slightly faster pace in the first quarter, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed Thursday.

Quarter-on-quarter real growth of 0.3 percent surpassed the upwardly revised 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter but lagged the 0.4 percent expansion expected on average in a Reuters poll of five economists.
In the same period GDP performance recorded a 0.5 per cent expansion in the eurozone, 0.6 per cent in Germany and 0.2 per cent in the UK.

A measure reflecting the trends in the Swiss economy rose modestly in April, suggesting average private consumption growth, results of a survey by the UBS investment bank showed Wednesday.

The UBS consumption indicator rose to 1.48 points in April from 1.44 in March, which was revised from 1.50.

"The purpose of SFI was to build up finance expertise in Switzerland. The approach was to boost the strength of the Swiss banking and finance academia. Since 2006 SFI has built up one of the largest and most successful finance faculties worldwide. "

Switzerland’s Classic Factory has announced a sleek, limited-production four-door electric car that will provide exclusivity and ultra-performance to well-heeled EV customers.

The Elextra electric car will be exclusive, with plans for just 100 to be hand-built in Germany. It will also be powerful and quick, to match its Italian looks. Elextra’s two electric motors provide all-wheel drive, with torque independently distributed to the front and rear wheels for better traction. With a combined peak 680 horsepower, the car will sprint from a stop to 62 miles per hour in under 2.3 seconds. Top speed is limited, though, to 155 miles per hour.

Overnight stays in hostels were added to the overall number by the Federal Statistical Office last year. Without them, the number of overnight stays in the first quarter would have fallen by 0.6 percent. The decline in Swiss and foreign visitors was roughly the same.

The three largest source markets of Swiss hotels, have all suffered decline in terms of visitor numbers. Among German guests the decline was 6.2%, with the number of overnight stays falling below the million mark for the first time in many years. But the Germans are still by far the most numerous group of foreigners in Swiss hotels, though the decline is massive. Ten years ago, there were 1.6 million overnight stays by German guests in the first quarter of the year.

Ernst & Young’s (EY) Swiss arm has announced formal support and membership of the Bitcoin Association of Switzerland (BAS). An announcement posted by the BAS on Wednesday states the move is part of the global consultancy giant’s continued foray into cryptocurrency.

“Being the first of the Big 4 to get into Bitcoin, the next obvious step for EY was to support our local Bitcoin community by joining the Bitcoin Association as a corporate member,” BAS stated.

The association exists as a lobby group raising awareness and organizing events centered on Bitcoin and the decentralization of money.

According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Singapore’s stringent bank secrecy laws have attracted $1.1 trillion in foreign capital, and its growth rate is bypassing that of Switzerland. Singapore will become the world’s largest multinational financial center by 2028, according the report. For foreign capital, Singapore’s management is relatively lenient. Singapore immigration authorities only generally check "the first pot of gold" of the immigrant applicants.

Swiss watch exports resumed a losing streak in April, hurt by weakness in the key markets of Hong Kong and the U.S. and weighed down by fewer working days.

Exports slipped 5.7 percent to 1.53 billion francs ($1.57 billion), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday. For the first four months of the year, the variation is -3.6%. Analysts said shipments gained when adjusted for three fewer working days in April 2017, with Citigroup estimating a 10 percent gain. Exane BNP Paribas said shipments probably were up 7 percent to 8 percent, taking that into account.