From Jan. 15 through Jan. 19, 2024, more than 60 world leaders will join hundreds of business executives and campaigners at the Swiss ski resort of Davos Monday for the five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, where they will discuss some of the biggest global challenges. Critics say the summit is a meeting of the super-rich and that it fails to tackle growing global inequality. The issues on the Davos agenda appear daunting: in the immediate term, worsening conflicts in many parts of the world along with Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea; and wider threats including potentially catastrophic climate change, a weak global economy and fears over the adverse impacts of artificial intelligence. In its Global Risks Report 2024, published Wednesday, summit organizers highlighted misinformation and disinformation as the biggest short-term risk. “The potential impact on elections worldwide over the next two years is significant, and that could lead to elected governments’ legitimacy being put in question. And this, in turn, could, of course, threaten democratic processes that lead to further social polarization, riots, strikes, or even intra-state violence,” report co-author Carolina Klint of the risk consultancy Marsh McLennan, told a London press conference Wednesday. The report labeled extreme weather events and climate change as the top long-term risks over a 10-year time frame. "Yes, it’s a very gloomy outlook, but by no means is it a hard, fast, set prediction of the future,” Saadia Zahidi, the economic forum’s managing director said. “The future is very much in our hands. Yes, there are structural shifts under way but most of these things are very much in the hands of decision-makers across different stakeholders and that’s where the effort really needs to be,” she told reporters. The Davos summit takes place against the backdrop of two major wars, in Ukraine and Gaza. Among those due at the Alpine ski resort are Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will attend, along with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron. Alongside the political leaders will be hundreds of the world’s most powerful chief executives, including the head of OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Microsoft’s chief executive officer, Satya Nadella. Critics say the wealth of the world’s super-rich has increased, while billions around the world have become poorer over the past decade – and Davos will do little to reverse that trend. “Across the world people are feeling extraordinary hardship. And at the same time there’s a few sprinting off at the very top into the distance. And some of them will be in Davos,” said Nabil Ahmed of aid agency Oxfam International. “It is, yes, a space for dialogue, for important discussions, even for holding political and business leaders to account. It’s why organizations like Oxfam take part. But it’s also not an international, democratic space in which transparent, accountable decisions are being made,” The summit organizers say it’s vital to bring together political and business leaders to find solutions to the world’s myriad challenges.
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The right-wing Swiss People's Party is projected to be the biggest winner of the general election after voters in Switzerland cast their ballots on Sunday to choose a new parliament for the 2023-2027 legislative period.
According to final projections published at 20:00 local time (2200 GMT), the Swiss People's Party has won 28.9 percent of the vote, 3.3 percentage points up compared with its result in the elections in 2019. It was followed by the left-wing Social Democrats with 18 percent of votes, while the left-wing Green Party garnered 9.2 percent of the votes, losing four percentage points from last election. Swiss media reported that the turnout for the Sunday election was 46.9 percent, up from 45.1 percent four years ago. The final results of the elections are expected by Monday. Since the 1970s, most seats of the Swiss legislative body usually go to the country's four largest political parties: the Swiss People's Party, the center-right Radical-Liberals Party, the center-right Centre Party and the left-wing Social Democratic Party. The Swiss People's Party made strong gains in 1999 and 2003, but in 2019 the Green Party massively expanded its voter base, ousting the Centre Party as the fourth most-represented party in the House of Representatives. Founded in 1971, the Swiss People's Party advocates a restrictive policy on immigrants and refugees, the principle of neutrality, no further political integration into Europe, and a restrictive taxation and financial policy. Klaus Schwab’s Daughter: ‘Permanent Climate Lockdowns Coming – Whether You Like It or Not’31/7/2023 According to Nicole Schwab, the COVID pandemic was a “tremendous opportunity” to test how the public would comply with the WEF’s plans to usher in their Great Reset agenda. The WEF’s promotion of the “climate emergency” narrative seeks to “create a change that is not incremental…to position nature at the core of the economy,” according to Schwab’s offspring.
Nicole Schwab made the admission in a newly unearthed video that was recorded during a WEF panel discussion back in 2020. The WEF lists Nicole Schwab as a “Member of the Executive Committee” of the WEF who is also the co-director of Platform to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions & 1t.org. The group of WEF attendees were discussing how the fake threat of an “immediate emergency” can be used to further advance the WEF’s “Great Reset” plan for humanity. “This [COVID] crisis has shown us that first of all, things can shift very rapidly when we put our minds to it and when we feel the immediate emergency to our livelihoods,” Nicole Schwab declares. “And second, that clearly the system, I mean, you mentioned it earlier, that we had before is not sustainable.” “So I see it as a tremendous opportunity to really have this Great Reset and to use this huge flows of money — to use the increased levers that policymakers have today — in a way that was not possible before to create a change that is not incremental but that we can look back and we can say this is the moment where we really started to position nature at the core of the economy.” “Taking the point of view of business and economy and looking at where are there opportunities to create jobs and regenerate nature?” “And there are plenty of opportunities and this is again a mindset of actually innovation technology and a business growth can happen with a positive impact of nature and kind of laying out some of these examples.” “Regenerative agriculture is, of course, a huge part of that as well,” Schwab continued. “And one of the key reflection points here is also around engaging youth, and for me, it’s again, I come back to this shift in the mindset of the restoration generation can we conceive of ourselves as humans?” “I mean, you talked about a new humanity, I think you mentioned it right?” “Can we conceive of ourselves as a restoration generation?” “I think that’s where we need to go.” “I’m also hopeful that it’s possible, but I think it will take a lot of will, both political will but also in terms of the business actors, to break with business as usual but in a very serious way and to say we need to make very difficult choices.” “There are trade-offs but this is our chance and other, and this is about risk, and it’s about resilience because the shocks are coming are going to be even worse if we don’t do it now.” The WEF has been pushing the idea of “climate lockdowns” since Covid first emerged.In an article published by the WEF, the organization lauds how “billions” of people complied with Covid “restrictions.” The unelected organization continues by arguing that the public would do the same under the guise of reducing “carbon emissions.” Titled “My Carbon: An approach for inclusive and sustainable cities,” the article suggests that the same fear tactics could be used to impose further “restrictions” on the general public. The subject of the piece is how to convince people to adopt “personal carbon allowance programs.” Schwab’s group notes that improvements in tracking and surveillance technology are helping to overcome “political resistance” against such programs. “COVID-19 was the test of social responsibility,” the article notes. It continues by commending how “a huge number of unimaginable restrictions for public health were adopted by billions of citizens across the world.” “There were numerous examples globally of maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, mass vaccinations, and acceptance of contact-tracing applications for public health, which demonstrated the core of individual social responsibility,” the WEF adds. The organization goes on to cite how so many people complied with lockdown mandates, despite overwhelming evidence of the harmful consequences such restrictions had on society. The WEF then implies that the public would behave in a similarly obsequious manner in other areas of life. The merger between Switzerland’s two largest lenders, the embattled Credit Suisse and UBS, could have a negative impact on the entire Western bond market, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing analysts.
UBS agreed on Sunday to acquire its rival, which was on the brink of insolvency due to the loss of investor and customer confidence, for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.24 billion) in stock. The deal, brokered by the Swiss authorities, came with a 9-billion-franc government guarantee for potential losses from Credit Suisse assets and 100 billion francs in liquidity assistance from Switzerland’s central bank. However, as part of the deal, Swiss financial market regulator FINMA ordered Credit Suisse to write down to zero some 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.24 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds, with the aim of bolstering the bank’s capital and resolving its liquidity problems. AT1 bonds are a riskier form of bank debt, which were created in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008, and represent a type of junior debt that allows banks to transfer risks to investors instead of taxpayers in cases of financial difficulties. Investors find them attractive as they pay higher interest due to the fact that they carry more risk than regular bonds. While bondholders will be left with nothing, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive $3.23 billion under the UBS deal, despite the fact that bonds traditionally stand above equities in the banking hierarchy. The situation has angered bondholders, Bloomberg reports, as they now fear the authorities in other countries may follow the Swiss government’s lead. “It’s stunning and hard to understand how they can reverse the hierarchy between AT1 holders and shareholders… Wiping out AT1 holders while paying substantial amounts to shareholders goes against all the resolution principles and rules that were agreed internationally after 2008,” Jerome Legras, the head of research at Axiom Alternative Investments, an investor in Credit Suisse’s AT1 debt, has said. “This just makes no sense… Shareholders should get zero… it’s crystal clear that AT1s are senior to stocks,” Patrik Kauffmann, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Aquila Asset Management, who also holds the bonds, said. Some analysts, however, argue that the write-off of the bonds is a logical step, as this is part of the reason they were created – as a way to impose losses on creditors instead of taxpayers in case of bank failures. Overall, experts predict that either the AT1 market will soon be closed for new issuance, or the bonds will surge in price because of the extra risk displayed by the Credit Suisse rescue merger. The distinctive triangular Swiss Toblerone chocolate is losing the Matterhorn mountain image from its branding as production will soon no longer be based exclusively in Switzerland. The new wrapping will feature a generic mountain design instead, the confectionery brand’s US owner Mondelez has revealed. The company had earlier decided to shift some of the Toblerone production to its plant in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava from the end of 2023, where it also produces the Milka chocolate brand.
“The packaging redesign introduces a modernized and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic,” a Mondelez spokesperson told Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung last week. The designation “Toblerone – of Switzerland” will be replaced with “Established in Switzerland,” the spokesperson stated. The new wrapping will reportedly also feature the signature of its founder, Theodor Tobler. Under “Swissness” legislation introduced by Switzerland in 2017, milk and milk-based products have to be entirely produced in the country in order to use national symbols in their marketing. An exception is for cocoa because it cannot be sourced locally. For other foodstuffs to market themselves as “made in Switzerland,” 80% of the raw ingredients must be sourced from the country and the majority of processing must take place there. The Toblerone chocolate bar, consisting of nougat, almonds and honey, has been produced in the Swiss capital Berne, also known as the ‘City of Bears’, since 1908. The fate of a bear, which is climbing the 4,478-meter-high (14,690ft) Matterhorn mountain in the current Toblerone logo, remains unknown. Audi has reached a milestone on the road to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, selecting Sauber as a strategic partner for the project and planning to acquire a stake in the Sauber Group. The partnership will see the traditional Swiss racing team competing as the Audi factory team from 2026 onwards, using the power unit developed by Audi for the pinnacle of motorsport. Following the announcement of its Formula 1 entry at the end of August, Audi’s confirmation of its strategic partner marks the next milestone in the company’s entry into the premier class of motorsport. While Audi will create the power unit at the Audi Motorsport Competence Center in Neuburg an der Donau, Sauber will develop and manufacture the race car at its site in Hinwil (Switzerland). Sauber will also be responsible for planning and executing the race operations. With around 30 years of competitive experience, Sauber is one of the most renowned and traditional teams in Formula 1.
“We are delighted to have gained such an experienced and competent partner for our ambitious Formula 1 project,” says Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board for Technical Development at AUDI AG. “We already know the Sauber Group with its state-of-the-art facility and experienced team from previous collaborations and are convinced that together we will form a strong team.” For example, Audi Sport has already regularly used the Sauber Group’s high-tech wind tunnel in Hinwil, just under four hours away by car, during the successful Le Mans era and the development of Class 1 touring car for the DTM. “Audi is the best partner for the Sauber Group,” says Finn Rausing, Chairman of Sauber Holding. “It is clear that both companies share the same values and vision. We are looking forward to achieving our common goals with a strong and successful partnership.” Development of the power unit, which consists of an electric motor, battery, control systems and a combustion engine, is already in full swing at the facility of the specially founded Audi Formula Racing GmbH in Neuburg an der Donau. More than 120 employees are already working on the project. “Sauber is a first-class partner for the use of the Audi Power Unit,” says Adam Baker, managing director of the company. “We are looking forward to working with an experienced team that has helped shape many eras of Formula 1 history. Together, we want to write the next chapter starting in 2026.” Credit Suisse, the investment bank whose shares plummeted to record lows this week over fears it could be on the brink of collapse, is selling the five-star Savoy hotel in the centre of Zurich for as much as 400m Swiss francs (£361m).
The bank, whose stock has fallen by more than 40% in the past six months, said on Thursday it had put the 184-year-old hotel on Paradeplatz in the heart of the city’s financial district on the market as part of a regular review of its global real estate assets. “As part of this process, the bank has decided to start a sales process for the Hotel Savoy,” a spokesperson said. “We will carefully assess all offers and potential investors and communicate any decision in due course.” The news was first reported by the financial news blog Inside Paradeplatz. It said the hotel, which is undergoing a major refurbishment and due to reopen in 2024 as Hotel Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich, was the bank’s last remaining “trophy asset” and described its sale as a “king-size distress signal”. “The intended sale of the Savoy shows how serious the situation at the big bank is. Despite the conversion and restart as Mandarin in 2024, [Credit Suisse] apparently wants to part with the noble building in a top location as an emergency,” said the blog, which is written by Lukas Hässig and has broken a string of market-moving stories in Switzerland. “The CS bosses feel compelled to throw everything that still has value on the market. You need liquidity to stay afloat – too many customers are running away.” Credit Suisse has had to urgently raise capital, stop share buybacks and cut its dividend after a serious of crises and scandals. The bank plunged from a profit of Sfr2.7bn in 2020 to a loss of Sfr1.6bn last year, driven mostly by big losses on its investments in the failed supply chain finance group Greensill and the hedge fund Archegos – where US authorities have charged founder Bill Hwang and three others with racketeering and fraud offences after its collapse. Credit Suisse has also paid large fines after admitting to fraud over bonds it issued that were supposed to be used to fund tuna fishing in Mozambique but where some of the proceeds were diverted by one of its contractors in the country to pay kickbacks, including to bankers at Credit Suisse. And its private banking division – traditionally a cornerstone of Swiss banking – has been put under pressure after Suisse secrets, an investigation conducted by a consortium including the Guardian that exposed the hidden wealth of clients involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption and other serious crimes. Credit Suisse shares, which were worth more than Sfr9 in January, collapsed to a record low of Sfr3.5 on Monday, but have since recovered slightly to Sfr4.2. Ex-Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was taken into police custody on Wednesday after he allegedly tried to take a gun with him to Switzerland on a private flight from Brazil. Local police confirmed that they found an un-documented LW Seecamp .32 gun in the 91-year-old's luggage during an X-ray screening, with Globo in Brazil saying that the item, which was not loaded, had been placed in a shirt pocket. After the discovery, Ecclestone was then apprehended and taken to a police facility at Campinas' Viracopos International Airport around 50 miles from the largest city in the country, Sao Paulo.
Ecclestone has a Brazilian wife, Fabiana Ecclestone, who is a member of the World Motor Sport Council and also motorsport global governing body the FIA's vice-president. The couple attended several events across her homeland this month, including a stock car race in the Sao Paulo state countryside, while also meeting with three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet in the capital Brasilia. Yet their time in South America's biggest country ended with a brush with the law. And while Ecclestone owned up to owning the gun, which he allegedly bought five years ago from an F1 mechanic to store in a rural property in Sao Paulo, he claimed to be unaware that it was in his luggage. After paying a R$6,060 ($1,250) bail, the Brit billionaire was freed to continue his trip to Switzerland. Spending 40 years as Formula One's chief, Ecclestone stepped down from his role in 2017. US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on Wednesday said it would sell its patented drugs on a not-for-profit basis to the world’s poorest countries, as part of a new initiative announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “The time is now to begin closing this gap” between people with access to the latest treatments and those going without, chief executive Albert Bourla told attendees at the exclusive Swiss mountain resort gathering.“An Accord for a Healthier World” focuses on five areas: infectious diseases, cancer, inflammation, rare diseases and women’s health-where Pfizer currently holds 23 patents, including the likes of Comirnaty and Paxlovid, its COVID vaccine and oral treatment. “This transformational commitment will increase access to Pfizer-patented medicines and vaccines available in the United States and the European Union to nearly 1.2 billion people,” Angela Hwang, group president of the Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group. Five countries: Rwanda, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda have committed to joining, with a further 40 countries — 27 low-income and 18 lower-middle-income-eligible to sign bilateral agreements to participate. “Pfizer’s commitment sets a new standard, which we hope to see emulated by others,” Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said. But he added that “additional investments and strengthening of Africa’s health systems and pharmaceutical regulators” would also be needed.
Seven years behind Developing countries experience 70 percent of the world’s disease burden but receive only 15 percent of global health spending, leading to devastating outcomes. Across sub-Saharan Africa, one child in 13 dies before their fifth birthday, compared to one in 199 in high-income countries. Cancer-related mortality rates are also far higher in low and middle-income countries-causing more fatalities in Africa every year than malaria. All this is set to a backdrop of limited access to the latest drugs. Essential medicines and vaccines typically take four to seven years longer to reach the poorest countries, and supply chain issues and poorly resourced health systems make it difficult for patients to receive them once approved. “The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the complexities of access to quality healthcare and the resulting inequities,” said Hwang. “We know there are a number of hurdles that countries have to overcome to gain access to our medicines. That is why we have initially selected five pilot countries to identify and come up with operational solutions and then share those learnings with the remaining countries.” ‘Very good model’ Specifically, the focus will be on overcoming regulatory and procurement challenges in the countries, while ensuring adequate levels of supply from Pfizer’s side. The “not-for-profit” price tag takes into account the cost to manufacture and transport of each product to an agreed upon port of entry, with Pfizer charging only manufacturing and minimum distribution costs. If a country already has access to a product at a lower price tier, for example vaccines supplied by GAVI, a public-private global partnership, that lower price will be maintained. Hwang acknowledged that even an at-cost approach could be challenging for the most cash-strapped countries, and “this is why we have reached out to financial institutions to brief them on the Accord and ask them to help support country level financing.” Pfizer will also reach out to other stakeholders-including governments, multilateral organizations, NGOs and even other pharmaceuticals-to ask them to join the Accord. It is also using funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance work on a vaccine against Group B Streptococcus (GBS), the leading cause of stillbirth and newborn mortality in low-income countries. “This type of accord is a very good model, it’s going to help get medicines out,” Gates told the Davos conference, adding that “partnerships with companies like Pfizer have been key to the progress we have made” on efforts like vaccines. The World Economic Forum (WEF), which has met at the Swiss ski resort of Davos every year since its creation in 1971 by German academic and entrepreneur Klaus Schwab, was forced to convert its annual schmooze fest into a virtual event this year due to COVID-19. Of note on the main agenda was a “stakeholder capitalism” panel, which included Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland. The former-journalist-turned-politician has been a fixture at the WEF for years. Rubbing shoulders at Davos with the world’s rich, famous and powerful was one of the inspirations for her 2012 book, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else.
Indeed, in her book, Freeland notes that an invitation to Davos “marks an aspiring plutocrat’s arrival on the international scene.” The global elite don’t especially enjoy the glare of publicity on their privileged lifestyles, so much so that Freeland wrote in a 2015 opinion piece in The Guardian: “After my book, Plutocrats, was published in 2012, I was even — and I know this will shock you — disinvited to a Davos dinner party!” If the doors of Davos were closing for Freeland, they swung wide open after her entry into politics in 2013. Indeed, the one-time critic has enjoyed an apotheosis of sorts and since 2019 has sat on the board of trustees of the WEF itself. Other members include Canada’s own Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England; Al Gore, former U.S. vice-president; Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest individual; Larry Fink, head of BlackRock, the world’s largest investment fund; and a slew of other bankers, CEOs, tycoons and celebrities. Notably, Freeland is the only government minister presently on the board. Israel has led a 10-country simulation of a major cyber attack on the global financial system in an attempt to increase cooperation that could help to minimise any potential damage to financial markets and banks. The simulated cyber attack evolved over 10 days, with sensitive data emerging on the dark web along with fake news reports that ultimately caused chaos in global markets and a run on banks.
Participants in the initiative, called “Collective Strength”, included treasury officials from Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Thailand, as well as representatives from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Bank of International Settlements. The simulation featured several types of attacks that impacted global foreign exchange and bond markets, liquidity, integrity of data and transactions between importers and exporters. "These events are creating havoc in the financial markets," said a narrator of a film shown to the participants as part of the simulation and seen by Reuters. Israeli government officials said that such threats are possible in the wake of the many high profile cyber attacks on large companies, and that the only way to contain any damage is through global cooperation since current cyber security is not always strong enough. The narrator of the film in the simulation said governments were under pressure to clarify the impact of the attack, which was paralysing the global financial system. “The banks are appealing for emergency liquidity assistance in a multitude of currencies to put a halt to the chaos as counterparties withdraw their funds and limit access to liquidity, leaving the banks in disarray and ruin,” the narrator said. The participants discussed multilateral policies to respond to the crisis, including a coordinated bank holiday, debt repayment grace periods, SWAP/REPO agreements and coordinated delinking from major currencies. "Attackers are 10 steps ahead of the defender," Micha Weis, financial cyber manager at Israel's Finance Ministry, told Reuters. Rahav Shalom-Revivo, head of Israel’s financial cyber engagements, said international collaboration between finance ministries and international organizations “is key for the resilience of the financial eco-system.” The simulation was originally scheduled to take place at the Dubai World Expo but it was moved to Jerusalem due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, with officials participating over video conference.
As the need for its reparations function ceases, the BIS takes up a role of a banker to the central banks and other international financial organizations, and provides a forum for promoting international cooperation, dialogue, as well as policy analysis among central banks and within the international financial community. Furthermore, it also acts as a centre for economic and monetary research
Its head office is in Basel, Switzerland and there are two representative offices: in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. 2. Main Functions The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international organization which fosters monetary and financial cooperation and serves exclusively as a bank for central banks. Therefore, it does not accept deposits from, or provide financial services to, private individuals or corporate entities. The BIS fulfils its mandate by acting as: 2.1 A forum to promote discussion and policy analysis among central banks and within the international financial community Bimonthly meetings of the Governors and other senior officials of the BIS member central banks to discuss monetary and financial matters are instrumental in pursuing this goal. The standing committees located at the BIS support central banks, and authorities in charge of financial stability more generally, by providing background analysis and policy recommendations. These committees also help formulate international standards and best practices on the relevant matters. The committees comprise:
2.2 A prime counterparty for central banks in their financial transactions and an agent or trustee in connection with international financial operations The BIS offers a wide range of financial services to assist central banks and other official monetary institutions in the management of their foreign reserves. BIS financial services are provided out of two linked trading rooms: one at its Basel head office and the other at its office in Hong Kong SAR. In addition to standard services such as sight/notice accounts and fixed-term deposits, the Bank has developed a range of more sophisticated financial products which central banks can actively trade with the BIS to increase the return on their foreign assets. The Bank also transacts foreign exchange and gold on behalf of its customers. The BIS also offers a range of asset management services in sovereign securities or high-grade assets. These may be either a specific portfolio mandate negotiated between the BIS and a central bank or an open-end fund structure. Furthermore, the BIS extends short-term credits to central banks, usually on a collateralized basis, and coordinates emergency short-term lending to countries in financial crisis. 2.3 A centre for economic and monetary research The economic, monetary, financial and legal research of the BIS supports its meetings and the activities of the Basel-based committees. The BIS is also a hub for sharing statistical information amongst central banks, and for publishing statistics on global banking, securities, foreign exchange and derivatives markets. 3. Organization Structure The three most important decision-making bodies within the Bank are: the General Meeting of member central banks, the Board of Directors and the Management of the Bank. Decisions taken at each of these levels concern the running of the Bank and as such are mainly of an administrative and financial nature, related to its banking operations, the policies governing internal management of the BIS and the allocation of budgetary resources to the different business areas. The BIS currently has 55 member central banks, all of which are entitled to be represented and vote in the General Meetings. Voting power is proportionate to the number of BIS shares issued to each country. 4. Relationship with Members The members can hold shares in the BIS since 2000. In total there are 547,125 shares of issued capital. The change in the BIS regulation requiring shares to be held only by central banks (CB's). As a shareholder, representatives from the CB's are invited to attend regular meetings of Governors held every two months in Basel. These gatherings provide an opportunity for participants to discuss the world economy and financial market developments, and to exchange views on topical issues of central bank interest or concern. The main result of these meetings is an improved understanding by participants of the developments, challenges and policies affecting various countries and markets. In addition, the BIS organizes frequent meetings of experts on monetary and financial stability issues as well as on more technical issues such as legal matters, reserve management, IT systems, internal audit and technical cooperation. Though targeted mostly at central banks, BIS meetings sometimes involve senior officials and experts from other financial market authorities, the academic community and market participants. 5. The Bottom Line The BIS is a global center for financial and economic interests. As such, it has been a principal architect in the development of the global financial market. Given the dynamic nature of social, political, and economic situations around the world, the BIS can be seen as a stabilizing force, encouraging financial stability and international prosperity in the face of global change. Lora Smith BERN, August 19 -- Two fighters from Switzerland’s Air Force escorted a plane belonging to the Rossiya Airlines special air carrier en route from Moscow to Marseille for several minutes. On board the Ilyushin-96 liner, were members of the Russian delegation going to France for talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French leader Emmanuel Macron, including Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, along with a group of journalists. When the plane entered Switzerland’s airspace, two fighters approached it, one on each side at an altitude of 10.6 kilometers. The fighters took turns to flying close to the airliner, at certain moments hovering just several meters away from the liner’s wings and escorted it across Swiss airspace for some time to the border with France, where they turned away. Swiss Air Force jets have approached and escorted Rossiya Airlines aircraft many times in the past. Lora Smith GENEVA, July 30 -- Swiss prosecutors said Monday they have been assisting Japanese investigations into former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who has been indicted over financial misconduct and breach of trust. Tokyo prosecutors requested Swiss assistance in investigations on Jan. 14, and the request was forwarded to the Canton of Zurich's prosecutors on March 8 following a summary probe, a spokesperson of the Swiss Federal Department of Justice. While Zurich prosecutors did not give details of the ongoing investigation, they are believed to be checking bank accounts associated with Ghosn as Tokyo prosecutors are apparently following the flow of money disbursed by Nissan and Renault SA in Europe and the Middle East. Many European and American financial institutions are based in Zurich, which is known for hosting many private banks and investment banks for the wealthy class. French media have reported Ghosn was making preparations since around last year to move his tax domicile to Switzerland, which offers preferential tax treatment to the rich. The former boss of the major Japanese automaker has been accused of underreporting his remuneration and redirecting company funds, allegations he categorically denies. Since his arrest last November, investigations into Ghosn have spilled over to other countries. Earlier this month, French authorities searched the head office of Renault in connection with a probe into Ghosn's lavish 2016 wedding party at the Palace of Versailles. The once-feted auto tycoon also served as Renault chairman. Ghosn has been free on bail since April and is now awaiting trial in Japan. GENEVA, July 9 -- China is tightening its grip on Hong Kong and the territory's autonomy and democratic freedoms are slipping away, a prominent Hong Kong activist told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday (July 8) in a plea for international action. Beijing's delegation twice interrupted the speech by Ms Denise Ho, a Hong Kong singer, producer and pro-democracy activist who is banned in mainland China. Mr Dai Demao, first secretary of China's mission to the UN in Geneva, accused Ms Ho of "slandering" and interfering with China's sovereignty and internal affairs. Hong Kong enjoyed a "high degree of autonomy" since the former British colony's 1997 handover, but protesters used extreme violence to attack the Legislative Council building a week ago, Mr Dai said. Tens of thousands of protesters marched through one of Hong Kong's most popular tourist areas on Sunday, trying to gain support from mainland Chinese visitors for the city's opposition to an extradition Bill which has caused political turmoil. Ms Ho urged the Council to speak up in defence of the territory's autonomy by holding a special session and consider suspending China's membership in the 47-member forum. "This anger of Hong Kongers follows years of deceitful promises. Since the handover, we saw our autonomy slowly eroded," she told the council. "Disqualification of six lawmakers, cross-border kidnappings of booksellers, and activists jailed are proof of China's tightening grip. Real universal suffrage is still non-existent. "With a Chief Executive Officer appointed and controlled by Beijing, China is preventing our democracy at all costs," she said. Ms Ho, popularly known as HOCC, was referring to Beijing-backed Mrs Carrie Lam who is clinging to her job after suspending the Bill in the face of public protests. "The 'One Country, Two Systems' is nearing its death", Ms Ho said, referring to the model under which Hong Kong has been ruled for 22 years. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet last month urged the authorities in Hong Kong to "consult broadly" before passing or amending the Bill, or any other legislation. No state has brought a resolution on China at the session that ends on Friday. "We are all in danger in Hong Kong because we are on the edge of becoming just another China city where we would lose all our freedom of speech, freedom of protest and this is really that tipping point where either we can safeguard our city, or no, it goes the other way," Ms Ho told reporters. But she said the pro-democracy movement had a good chance of regaining seats in district council elections set for November, in what she called the "next battleground" against Chinese rule. Author: Linda Lim |
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