Bloomberg The Swiss economy is expected to expand less quickly than previously anticipated, a knock-on effect of the trade war that’s weighing on demand across major economies. Gross domestic output is seen expanding 0.8 percent this year, compared with the Swiss government’s previous forecast of 1.2 percent. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs kept its 2020 prediction unchanged at 1.7 ...

Bloomberg Some of Europe’s top luxury brands are targeted in President Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvo, which could affect billions of dollars in exports of American-bound handbags and men’s suits, among other products. A panel of three World Trade Organization arbiters, as expected, said the US can legally impose tariffs on an array of European exports in retaliation for Europe’s ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc is once again defending Libra — this time against fears that the envisioned cryptocurrency could replace sovereign currencies from the US dollar to the Euro and threaten central banks’ control over money creation. David Marcus, the executive leading the project, posted a series of tweets the same day members of the Libra Association met with regulators convened ...

Bloomberg Sweden’s unemployment rate unexpectedly spiked to a four-year high in August, raising questions around the central bank’s plans to hike interest rates and driving the krona lower. The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate jumped to 7.4 percent, much worse than the 6.8 percent reading in a Bloomberg survey of economist estimates. The news, which resulted in a 0.8 percent decline in ...

Bloomberg Riksbank policy makers look intent on bringing an end to almost half a decade of negative interest rates, according to minutes from their most recent meeting. The central bank earlier this month delivered an upbeat assessment of the economy and signalled a plan to raise rates towards the end of the year or early next year. The move came ...

Bloomberg One of Europe’s most senior banking regulators is switching sides to represent the region’s biggest lenders on policy issues, drawing criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups. Adam Farkas, currently the executive director of the European Banking Authority (EBA), will become the head of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, the industry group said in a statement. The EBA ...

Bloomberg Bank of Japan (BOJ) officials think lowering the negative interest rate, if they chose to do so in the coming months, wouldn’t backfire in financial markets because investors are aware of the possibility, according to people familiar with the matter. While most officials wouldn’t be drawn on when the BOJ might act, some of the officials see little need ...

Bloomberg A plan to establish the world’s largest green-energy financing initiative is being threshed out in South Africa, which needs to reduce its environmental footprint and find innovative ways to fund debt-stricken state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. The plan being formulated by Meridian Economics, a Cape Town-based think tank, is under consideration by the government. It envisions the ...

Bloomberg Lebanon’s gas station owners will stage a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest the government’s failure to provide enough dollars to pay suppliers. The businesses say local banks lack hard currency they need, forcing them to buy dollars at exchange houses above the fixed rate of 1,507.5 Lebanese pounds to the greenback. The Energy Ministry prices gasoline and diesel ...

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who will retire this month, is that rare senior official in Donald Trump’s Washington whose career and reputation don’t seem to have been tarnished by his dealings with the president. The explanation is simple: The low-key, Boston-Irish Marine maintained the distance and discipline of a professional military officer. He ...