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The euro recently fell for the first time below the minimum limit of SFr1.20 ($1.31 ) set by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in September 2011.

However, currency experts agree that the temporary slip that occurred during Easter week does not require a change in exchange rate policy.

Thomas Jordan, vice-president and interim president of the SNB, defended his institution at the start of this week and said that doubts about the exchange rate policy were “unfounded”.

Jordan repeated the central bank’s willingness “to buy foreign currency in unlimited amounts” in order to keep the franc within the specified limits. He also confirmed that the Swiss currency “remained overvalued”.

His explanation came after a few financial transactions on April 5 jolted the Easter-time lack of currency movement, causing the euro to trade at SFr1.19. It was the first time the franc had fallen below the minimum limit established by the SNB seven months ago.

According to industry analysts, the volatility was caused partly by economic problems in Spain. Last weekend, Swiss publications such as the “Finanz und Wirtschaft” newspaper criticised the SNB for “going on holiday” when the going got tough.

While some consider the policy of the central bank insufficient, others consider it to be exaggerated.

Although the strong franc has not ruined Switzerland as an industrial centre, the situation is s...

Asia’s fast-rising economies set their sights on securing key IMF appointments under newly named chief Chistine Lagarde Wednesday, hopeful she would be the one to make good on oft-heard pledges to swing more power to emerging markets.



Lagarde said all the right things on her recent campaign-trail tour of Asia. She acknowledged that countries such as China and India deserve increased IMF voting power commensurate with their growing economic clout, and a fair shot at the emergency lending institution’s top decision-making posts.

“Lagarde is a friend of India,” a senior Indian government source said. “We can’t get the IMF managing director’s chair for now but at least India can get some high-level appointments in the IMF during her tenure and we will work toward that.”

Asia’s fast-rising economies set their sights on securing key IMF appointments under newly named chief Chistine Lagarde Wednesday, hopeful she would be the one to make good on oft-heard pledges to swing more power to emerging markets.



Lagarde said all the right things on her recent campaign-trail tour of Asia. She acknowledged that countries such as China and India deserve increased IMF voting power commensurate with their growing economic clout, and a fair shot at the emergency lending institution’s top decision-making posts.

“Lagarde is a friend of India,” a senior Indian government source said. “We can’t get the IMF managing director’s chair for now but at least India can get some high-level appointments in the IMF during her tenure and we will work toward that.”

Asia’s fast-rising economies set their sights on securing key IMF appointments under newly named chief Chistine Lagarde Wednesday, hopeful she would be the one to make good on oft-heard pledges to swing more power to emerging markets.



Lagarde said all the right things on her recent campaign-trail tour of Asia. She acknowledged that countries such as China and India deserve increased IMF voting power commensurate with their growing economic clout, and a fair shot at the emergency lending institution’s top decision-making posts.

“Lagarde is a friend of India,” a senior Indian government source said. “We can’t get the IMF managing director’s chair for now but at least India can get some high-level appointments in the IMF during her tenure and we will work toward that.

The euro recently fell for the first time below the minimum limit of SFr1.20 ($1.31 ) set by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in September 2011.

However, currency experts agree that the temporary slip that occurred during Easter week does not require a change in exchange rate policy.

Thomas Jordan, vice-president and interim president of the SNB, defended his institution at the start of this week and said that doubts about the exchange rate policy were “unfounded”.

Jordan repeated the central bank’s willingness “to buy foreign currency in unlimited amounts” in order to keep the franc within the specified limits. He also confirmed that the Swiss currency “remained overvalued”.

His explanation came after a few financial transactions on April 5 jolted the Easter-time lack of currency movement, causing the euro to trade at SFr1.19. It was the first time the franc had fallen below the minimum limit established by the SNB seven months ago.

According to industry analysts, the volatility was caused partly by economic problems in Spain. Last weekend, Swiss publications such as the “Finanz und Wirtschaft” newspaper criticised the SNB for “going on holiday” when the going got tough.

While some consider the policy of the central bank insufficient, others consider it to be exaggerated.

Although the strong franc has not ruined Switzerland as an industrial centre, the situation is s...

Asia’s fast-rising economies set their sights on securing key IMF appointments under newly named chief Chistine Lagarde Wednesday, hopeful she would be the one to make good on oft-heard pledges to swing more power to emerging markets.



Lagarde said all the right things on her recent campaign-trail tour of Asia. She acknowledged that countries such as China and India deserve increased IMF voting power commensurate with their growing economic clout, and a fair shot at the emergency lending institution’s top decision-making posts.

“Lagarde is a friend of India,” a senior Indian government source said. “We can’t get the IMF managing director’s chair for now but at least India can get some high-level appointments in the IMF during her tenure and we will work toward that.”

The pall of Europe’s debt crisis is obscuring evidence that the rest of the global economy is in decent shape. Stock markets slumped Friday after European finance ministers said the Greek government must take more steps to secure further aid, triggering the departure of six ministers from Prime Minister Lucas Papademos’s cabinet and fuelling violent street protests in Athens. But away from the noise and confusion of European capitals, and contrary to the outlooks of gloomy Wall Street forecasters, U.S. companies are steadily hiring and investing, generating momentum that will help offset whatever harm comes from Europe’s troubles. While Greece plunged deeper into chaos, the U.S. Commerce Department released data showing U.S. imports surged at the end of 2011, the latest signal that the world’s largest economy finally is on track for a lasting recovery. Canada, Mexico and China were among the beneficiaries, as the U.S. trade deficit with its largest trading partners widened. U.S. imports jumped 1.3 per cent in December, to $227.6-billion (U.S.), the biggest one-month increase since July, 2008. Consumption accounts for about 70 per cent of U.S. gross domestic product, making imports an important barometer of economic health. Demand was strong across industries, including capital equipment such as machinery and semiconductors, which climbed to a record. The trade numbers follow stronger-than-expected hiring figures, including a report earlier this week that showed...

The pall of Europe’s debt crisis is obscuring evidence that the rest of the global economy is in decent shape. Stock markets slumped Friday after European finance ministers said the Greek government must take more steps to secure further aid, triggering the departure of six ministers from Prime Minister Lucas Papademos’s cabinet and fuelling violent street protests in Athens. But away from the noise and confusion of European capitals, and contrary to the outlooks of gloomy Wall Street forecasters, U.S. companies are steadily hiring and investing, generating momentum that will help offset whatever harm comes from Europe’s troubles. While Greece plunged deeper into chaos, the U.S. Commerce Department released data showing U.S. imports surged at the end of 2011, the latest signal that the world’s largest economy finally is on track for a lasting recovery. Canada, Mexico and China were among the beneficiaries, as the U.S. trade deficit with its largest trading partners widened. U.S. imports jumped 1.3 per cent in December, to $227.6-billion (U.S.), the biggest one-month increase since July, 2008. Consumption accounts for about 70 per cent of U.S. gross domestic product, making imports an important barometer of economic health. Demand was strong across industries, including capital equipment such as machinery and semiconductors, which climbed to a record. The trade numbers follow stronger-than-expected hiring figures, including a report earlier this week that showed the fo...

Swiss stocks fell, with the country’s equity benchmark posting its longest streak of weekly losses since November, as China’s economy slowed more than forecast and concern about the euro-region debt crisis gained.

ABB Ltd. (ABBN), the world’s biggest power-grid supplier, led a drop in shares sensitive to economic growth. Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, the second-largest maker of luxury goods, also retreated. UBS AG (UBSN) and Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), the country’s two biggest banks, followed a gauge of European lenders lower.

The Swiss Market Index (SMI) slipped 0.9 percent to 6,072.12 at the close in Zurich. The measure of Switzerland’s biggest and most actively traded companies sank 1.5 percent this week, its fourth straight decline. The gauge has still gained 2.3 percent in 2012 as the euro area sought to contain its debt crisis and as U.S. economic reports surpassed estimates. The broader Swiss Performance Index decreased 0.8 percent today.

“We remain in a cycle that began in 2007, marked by periods of strong rebounds followed closely by market corrections,” Francois Moute, chairman of Neuflize Private Assets in Paris, and Chief Executive Officer Olivia Giscard d’Estaing wrote in a note. “In our opinion, this means it’s best to remain cautious.”

The volume of shares changing hands in the SMI was 8.3 percent higher today than the average of the last 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloombe...

The pall of Europe’s debt crisis is obscuring evidence that the rest of the global economy is in decent shape. Stock markets slumped Friday after European finance ministers said the Greek government must take more steps to secure further aid, triggering the departure of six ministers from Prime Minister Lucas Papademos’s cabinet and fuelling violent street protests in Athens. But away from the noise and confusion of European capitals, and contrary to the outlooks of gloomy Wall Street forecasters, U.S. companies are steadily hiring and investing, generating momentum that will help offset whatever harm comes from Europe’s troubles. While Greece plunged deeper into chaos, the U.S. Commerce Department released data showing U.S. imports surged at the end of 2011, the latest signal that the world’s largest economy finally is on track for a lasting recovery. Canada, Mexico and China were among the beneficiaries, as the U.S. trade deficit with its largest trading partners widened. U.S. imports jumped 1.3 per cent in December, to $227.6-billion (U.S.), the biggest one-month increase since July, 2008. Consumption accounts for about 70 per cent of U.S. gross domestic product, making imports an important barometer of economic health. Demand was strong across industries, including capital equipment such as machinery and semiconductors, which climbed to a record. The trade numbers follow stronger-than-expected hiring figures, including a report earlier this week that showed the fo...