Switzerland

The Geneva watch fair opened on March 27 buoyed by booming growth in the watchmaking industry, but insiders warily eyed the banking sector turmoil, evoking painful memories of the 2008 financial crisis.

Although the tradition of Swiss neutrality dates back to the 16th century, the war in Ukraine and the country's insistence on not getting involved in the war that threatens the EU has irritated many.

The number of countries participating in the European Defense Agency (EDA) coordinated munitions collective purchase project announced a week ago has reached 24.

Among them are 23 countries from the European Union and Norway. Bulgaria does not participate.

At the end of last week, five more countries joined the original 18 countries:

The slowing pace of the Fed rate hikes and those that followed in Britain, Switzerland and Norway kept investors at bay on Thursday, though buyers edged out sellers at Athinon Avenue for price growth on low turnover. This time banks underperformed, but they are about to be joined soon by the new listing of Optima Bank in a rare injection of fresh blood in this section of the market.

Clean energy and technology can be exploited to avoid the growing climate disaster, the report says.
But at a meeting in Switzerland to agree their findings, climate scientists warned a key global temperature goal will likely be missed.
Their report lays out how rapid cuts to fossil fuels can avert the worst effects of climate change.

Maybe it was not necessary for the Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse debacles to come along for the winds of uncertainty to blow in the global economy.

They had already been stirred by the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and a rise in inflation in the eurozone.

UBS also took up to $5.4 billion (about 5.05 billion euros) in losses, based on a plan by Swiss authorities to avoid further turmoil in the banking market.
The agreement also includes 108 billion dollars of aid (about 101 billion euros) for the liquidity of UBS and Credit Suisse, which will be paid by the Swiss Central Bank.

Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said the government's decision to provide liquidity support to UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse was made with the aim of maintaining financial stability and not simply a desire to save a troubled institution.

Banking giant UBS is buying troubled rival Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion, in a deal orchestrated by regulators to stave off further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Mariupol, state media reported Sunday, his first to the city since it was captured after a lengthy siege at the start of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.