The Franc went through a bout of weakness today as it declined against most other currencies. The swissie fell against the greenback and euro, but lost the most ground against the sterling, reaching 2.4162.
UBS recently announced that its prediction for growth in the Swiss economy rose. Their original 1.8% growth figure received a hearty boost to 2.6%, attributing its optimism to broad-based business activity and foreign trade.
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/business/detail/UBS_predicts_strong_economic_growth.html?siteSect=161&sid=7944572&cKey=1182340141000Source: Swiss Info
UBS has agreed to advise Sallie Mae for a fee of $50.6 million dollars. Sallie Mae looked to the biggest bank in Europe for advice on the buyout which they agreed to in April
http://www.bloomberg.comSource: Bloomberg
Led by Julius Baer and Nestle, the Switzerland Stock Market closed higher today. The advance caps a five day losing streak.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/06/28/afx3867412.html
Source: Forbes
Currency
The Franc went through a bout of weakness today as it declined against most other currencies. The swissie fell against the greenback and euro, but lost the most ground against the sterling, reaching 2.4162. The Franc was most recently quoted down against the US dollar at 1.2312.
Equity
The Swiss?s benchmark equities index experienced relief today as it advanced for the first time in six days. Leading performers included Switzerland?s largest independent money manager Julius Baer Holding, up 3.15 francs on the day. Julius Baer shares had previously suffered after UBS sold parts of its 20.7% stake in the company on June 22nd. Nestle also helped carry the index higher as Deustche Bank advocated buying shares in the food company. The Swiss Market Index was most recently quoted up at 9138.91.
Fixed Income
Switzerland 10-yr government bonds carved out a rather inactive session today. However, the Swiss National Bank?s outlook remains a boon to inflation hawks as it policy officials refuse to rule out the possibility of a 50 basis point hike. Additionally, speculation that the SNB has considered intervention to boost the currency has helped hold the franc steady. If one or both of these were to occur, Swiss bond yields could experience high volatility. The government 10-yr bond was last quoted up at 108.891.
