The Franc continued to trade near 7 month highs against the dollar as retail sales figures for Switzerland were better than expected. The gains in the Franc, however, were pared later in the day as US production and output data favored the Dollar.
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Headlines:[/U][/B]
[B]Biotechs Flock to Join Drug Industry With Swiss Listing:
[/B]Biotechnology companies have been flocking to list on the Swiss exchange over the past year, giving further weight to the country’s reputation as the natural home of the drugs industry. At the end of 2006 there were 137 biotech companies and 81 biotech suppliers in Switzerland generating sales of SFr6bn ($4.99bn) according to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19794558/
Source: MSNBC
[B]Switzerland Supports Vietnam’s Market Economy:[/B]
Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard has signed four agreements with Hanoi aimed at trying to integrate Vietnam better into the global economy. The accords, which will cost Switzerland about $7.49 million are also intended to make the communist Southeast Asian nation more attractive for Swiss investors. Leuthard, who is in Vietnam after a visit to China, signed on Monday one key agreement on the protection of intellectual property with the Vietnamese minister of science and technology, Hoang Van Phong.
Source: Swissinfo
[B]Switzerland Ready To Return Mobutu Funds:[/B]
Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey has announced Switzerland is prepared to release funds belonging to the late dictator of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko. But non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say they are concerned the frozen assets will be returned to Mobutu’s family - which is what will happen at the end of 2008 unless its origin can be legally determined. Calmy-Rey made the comments on Monday in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, during a ten-day official visit to sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: Swissinfo
[B]Currency Market:[/B]
The Franc continued to trade near 7 month highs against the dollar as retail sales figures for Switzerland were better than expected. The gains in the Franc, however, were pared later in the day as US production and output data favored the Dollar. As of 12:00 EST the USDCHF pair was trading at 1.2025. The story was similar against other major currencies as well, but the gains against the dollar were the highest.
[B]Equity Market: Swiss Market Index[/B]:
Swiss equity market declined today led mostly by Novartis AG, which contributes 15 percent of the benchmark index, as the drug maker said sales growth will slow in the second half of the year. Novartis said that sales growth will be hurt by generic competition to the heart drug Lotrel and the withdrawal of Zelnorm for bowel disorders. At the close, the Swiss Market Index was down 80.48 points at 9,219.32.
[B]Fixed-Income Market: 10-Year Swiss Government Bonds:[/B]
Swiss government yields started off the trading session weak, but gradually gained throughout the day on stronger-than-expected economic data. The yield on the 10-year bond ended the session up 1 basis point at 3.323 percent.
