Tag Archives: Switzerland

Famed Trader Joe Lewis Backs Bitcoin With Swiss Fund

Posted on by

“Joe Lewis, a billionaire foreign-exchange trader who teamed up with hedge-fund manager George Soros in 1992 to bet against the Bank of England, is the latest high-profile financier to throw his weight behind the virtual currency called bitcoin.  Mr. Lewis leads the Phoenix Fund, a Zurich-based private-equity fund that on Tuesday plans to invest $200 million in Avalon, a company that makes computer servers aimed at creating bitcoins, according to people familiar with the situation.  The Phoenix Fund’s investment in Avalon reflects the growing popularity of virtual currencies, which are also coming under scrutiny from regulators.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323997004578644491403250124.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

UBS to repay Swiss government bailout loan

Posted on by

“The move draws a line under the Swiss government’s rescue of UBS nearly five years ago.  At the time the country’s biggest bank faced collapse over more than $50 billion in losses on mortgage securities.  The central bank’s fund was set up to bail out UBS at the height of the financial crisis.  The government took a nine percent stake in UBS as part of the bailout comprising six billion francs of equity and a loan from the Swiss National Bank (SNB).  UBS spun off $38.7 billion of risky assets into the fund.  UBS last week announced its quarterly profit would exceed analysts’ expectations, even after paying $885 million to settle a lawsuit in the United States.”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130730/ubs-to-repay-government-bailout-loan

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Art Basel takes art world by storm

Posted on by

“With private jets filling the air and lines of luxury limousines on the ready, deep-pocketed collectors from around the world have flocked to Switzerland this week for Art Basel, the biggest contemporary art fair on the planet. An estimated 110 private jets landed and took off from the Basel-Mulhouse airport, after 83 flew through there on Tuesday despite a strike that reduced the airport’s capacity and forced some wealthy patrons of the arts to change their travel plans. The art world appears to have bucked the global economic crisis, with income from global auction sales more than doubling since it hit bottom in 2009, passing eight billion euros last year.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/13/art-basel-takes-art-world-by-storm/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

(Sm)art Investing: Rich Move Assets from Banks to Warehouses

Posted on by

“Not everything the banks are losing is actually leaving Switzerland. Partly as a result of the many uncertainties in the financial markets, a growing share of the money is being invested in tangible assets, such as art, wine and classic cars. A total of $4 trillion has reportedly been invested in ‘treasure assets.’  This requires warehouse space that satisfies the most stringent security requirements. Swiss military bunkers blasted deep into Alpine rock are in great demand. But the free ports in Geneva and Zurich are even more popular because they offer what Swiss banks used to: the freedoms of a tax haven and maximum discretion.”

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/art-as-alternative-investment-creates-storage-business-tax-haven-a-912798.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Paris tax hunt sends French to Switzerland

Posted on by

“France has made highly publicized efforts in recent months to crack down on tax evaders including French nationals who inherit from wealthy Swiss residents. However, some say the move will simply persuade French to up sticks and take their wealth with them.  The change still needs to be ratified by both the Swiss and French parliaments and which is not set to take effect until 2015 at the earliest. But when it does it will dramatically increase the tax burden on French heirs of estates in Switzerland, which caps its inheritance tax at 7.0 percent, compared to 45 percent in neighbouring France.”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130730/paris-tax-hunt-sends-french-to-switzerland

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

The Silver Lining as Banks Say “No More Americans”

Posted on by

“Independent asset managers are entrepreneurs at heart. Many have started their own businesses after gaining deep experience in private banks or large investment houses. They recognize that those two business models don’t properly serve those looking for lower account minimums with the superior service found at smaller firms. Most Swiss independent asset managers feature tight, professional teams of four to five deeply experienced members.  These managers are going about it the right way. They are registered with the SEC and they work with the very same private banks that decided to say good-bye to American clients.”

http://sovereign-investor.com/2013/07/26/the-silver-lining-as-banks-say-no-more-americans/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Switzerland pays billions to foreign governments in tax deal

Posted on by

“The Swiss finance ministry said that Britain had received a payment of 372 million francs, and Austria, 515 million. A ministry spokesman said the payments were just the first in a series of monthly instalments running until June 2014.  Under bilateral deals with Britain and Austria, Switzerland has offered two options to people who fail to declare money placed in Swiss banks.  They can either turn themselves in to their homeland’s revenue services, or have their accounts taxed by the Swiss, who then transfer the funds without naming the clients. It was under the latter system that Switzerland handed over the sums revealed on Thursday.”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130725/millions-transferred-to-britain-austria-in-tax-deal

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Swiss researchers make microchips that imitate the brain

Posted on by

“Scientists at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, together with colleagues in Germany and the United States, created electronic systems comparable to a human brain both in size, speed and energy consumption, the university said in a statement late Monday. Just like the brain, their so-called neuromorphic chips are capable of processing and reacting to information in real-time, it said.  Using neuromorphic chips as artificial neurons, the researchers built networks that can perform tasks requiring short-term memory and decision-making and analytical abilities, Indiveri said.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/23/swiss-researchers-make-microchips-that-imitate-the-brain/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

India Department of Post to stop gold coin sales

Posted on by

“Following the Centre’s decision to halt the import of gold coins and bars in the country, the department of post will stop their sales from its counters from August 1. So, if you want to buy 24-carat gold coins with India Post logo, better hurry up. Otherwise, you will miss the last chance – for the time being – to buy them. The department has so far been selling gold coins from 0.5gm to 50 gm in weight. India Post had entered into a tie-up with a private sector company to sell gold Suisse which were certified by the Switzerland-based International Gold Council.  The government has asked India post, banks and other financial institutions to stop the supply of gold.”

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-20/patna/40695276_1_gold-coins-india-post-gold-imports

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Wegelin chief takes blame for oldest Swiss bank’s collapse over U.S. taxes

Posted on by

“The last president of a 270-year-old Swiss bank that collapsed after helping rich Americans dodge taxes blames himself for the firm’s demise but hints the Holocaust contributed to Switzerland’s banking secrecy.  Konrad Hummler, in an interview published on Thursday, took full responsibility for the closure of Wegelin & Co., founded in 1741, after it paid US penalties of $57.8 million for helping clients avoid some $20 million in taxes. While stressing the bank had always respected Swiss law, he admitted exploiting ‘differences between the (legal systems) in Switzerland and the United States.'”

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130718/wegelin-chief-takes-blame-for-banks-collapse

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet