#Gold decoupling from rates

https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/ON-CM968_crysta_G_20180426114124jpg

#Geneva’s place among the top #FinancialCenters falls 10 spots to 26th place, behind, Vancouver, Cayman Islands and even Osaka! Bilan

Geneva's place among the top financial centers falls 10 spots to 26th place, behind, Vancouver, Cayman Islands and even Osaka! («Global Financial Centers Index» (GFCI), compiled by the Z/Yen Partners think-thank.) 

"Swiss banks are suffering this setback due to poor performance in the categories of reputation, human capital and infrastructure."

"With the good years of banking secrecy behind them, Swiss Private Bankers are now faced with much more demanding market conditions. Because now, with the clients' assets declared, customers are much more demanding in terms of yields and expenses. As a result, banks continue to shed  employees, who are regularly let go in small, discrete numbers."

Switzerland's Bilan magazine reports 

Read the article here: 

http://www.bilan.ch/economie-plus-de-redaction/places-financieres-geneve-saffaiblit?utm_source=Bilan.ch&utm_campaign=61aefc4af2-Bilan_manuel+23.04.2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_13557690c7-61aefc4af2-309198185&mc_cid=61aefc4af2&mc_eid=146eb2e08e

Places financières: Genève s'affaiblit

Laurent Guiraud/TDG

Quartier des banques à Genève. Aucune  place suisse ne figure plus dans le top 15 mondial.

La Cité de Calvin chute de 10 rangs au classement mondial de l'influent «Global Financial Centers Index» et pointe à la 26e place. Zurich, également moins bien notée, fait à peine mieux.

Quelle dégringolade. En une année, la place financière genevoise a perdu 10  rangs pour terminer à la 26e place de l'influent «Global Financial Centers Index» (GFCI), compilé par le think thank Z/Yen Partners basé à Londres. La Cité de Calvin se retrouve ainsi derrière Vancouver, les îles Caïmans ou Osaka.

Lire aussi: Pour l'ASB, fintech et futur de la place financière sont liés

Zurich ne fait guère mieux. Figurant à la 16e  place, la ville de la Limmat cède 7 marches d'un classement dont les vainqueurs sont, dans l'ordre, Londres, New York, Hongkong et Singapour. Ejectées du top 15 des premiers centres financiers mondiaux, les places helvétiques essuient ce revers en raison de contre-performances dans les catégories de la réputation, du capital humain et des infrastructures.

La fin du secret bancaire en cause

«La principale raison de ce recul est clairement la fin du secret bancaire, sanctionne Tobias Straumann, professeur à l'Université de Zurich. La crise financière de 2007 a parallèlement montré qu'UBS et Credit Suisse n'étaient pas en mesure de rivaliser avec les leaders mondiaux de la finance de New York et Londres. Les établissements nationaux se sont alors fait sortir du métier de la banque d'investissement, dans lequel les établissements anglo-saxons l'emportent haut la main.»

Le professeur d'histoire économique estime cependant que la place helvétique ne devrait pas tomber encore beaucoup plus bas à l'avenir. «En Suisse, le rôle de la place financière reste surreprésenté dans le PIB helvétique, par rapport à l'ensemble des activités économiques. C'est un signe d'excellence. Mais les établissements suisses appartiennent à la seconde ligue, loin derrière ceux de la City de Londres.»

Lire aussi: La création de valeur de la place financière suisse diminue

Avocat et fin connaisseur de la place financière, Douglas Hornung se montre plus pessimiste. «La Suisse est loin d'avoir touché le fond. Le pays a sacrifié l'avantage du secret bancaire sans rien obtenir en échange. L'accès au marché européen est une négociation remise aux calendes grecques par Bruxelles qui doit d'abord gérer les conditions du Brexit avec Londres.» Les banques suisses en sont ainsi réduites à voir leurs clients étrangers aujourd'hui régularisés leur préférer des établissements sur leur lieu de domicile, sans pouvoir leur proposer des services à l'extérieur des frontières helvétiques. Pire, les conseillers bancaires actifs dans le pays d'origine de la clientèle déploient une expertise au sujet des produits fiscalement intéressants à l'échelle locale que les instituts suisses n'ont pas les moyens de garantir. 

Le traumatisme des amendes

L'avocat genevois reprend: «Ce recul dans le classement résulte aussi du traumatisme des amendes en milliards de dollars assénées par les Etats-Unis. Face aux pressions internationales, les banques suisses n'osent plus se montrer offensives et se cantonnent dans l'ultralégalisme, en surrespectant les normes de conformité.»

Passé les belles années du secret bancaire, les banquiers suisses se trouvent aujourd'hui face à des conditions de marché beaucoup plus exigeantes. Car une fois déclarée, la clientèle se montre plus sourcilleuse au niveau des rendements et des charges. Conséquence, les banques continuent à se séparer de collaborateurs qui partent en petit nombre dans de discrètes mais régulières charrettes. Douglas Hornung soupire: «Beaucoup de petits établissements vont encore disparaître.»

Lire aussi: La place financière suisse pourrait profiter du Brexit

#Malta's Cabinet Approves #Cryptocurrency Bill - #Bitcoin News

Virtual Financial Assets Bill  provides the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs)
https://news.bitcoin.com/maltas-cabinet-approves-cryptocurrency-bill/

The Cabinet of Malta has approved three bills related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. One bill in particular, the Virtual Financial Assets Bill, provides a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings.

Crypto Bill Approved by Cabinet

Apr 26, 2018

The Cabinet of Malta approved three bills on Tuesday, one of which is the Virtual Financial Assets Bill that provides the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs), according to local media. The other two bills are the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Bill and the Technology Arrangements and Services Bill.

All three were also presented to the Parliament of Malta for its first reading on Tuesday. The next stage is a debate between both sides of the House before they are passed into law, the Malta Independent explained. The news outlet noted that Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Silvio Schembri, "strongly believes" that:

Once new laws surrounding blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are enacted in Malta, banks would be less reluctant to welcome companies working in the industry, presumably due to the legal certainty it would provide.

He was also quoted by Malta Winds, saying, "As a government, we think that by regulating this market, it will ensure that the three main principles of financial regulation are adhered to and will be a market that protects the investor and provides market integrity and financial soundness."

About the Three Bills

The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Bill establishes a new department named the Malta Digital Innovation Authority along with its duties and responsibilities. It also focuses on internal governance arrangements, explained Mamo TCV Advocates law firm. One of the key roles of the Authority is "the certification of DLT [Distributed Ledger Technology] platforms to ensure credibility and provide legal certainty to users wishing to make use of a DLT platform."

The second piece of legislation, entitled the Technology Arrangements and Services Bill, deals with the registration of technology service providers and the certification of technology arrangements, such as concerning system administrators and auditors.

The Virtual Financial Assets Bill, the law firm described, focuses on ICOs "and the regulation in respect of certain service providers which will be involved in activities related to ICOs." The firm added that "The bill will also outline the regulatory regime which will be applicable to cryptocurrency exchanges," noting:

Malta has witnessed an exponential worldwide interest from exchanges seeking to relocate to Malta and issuers of ICOs wishing to launch from Malta. The proposed bill will further strengthen Malta's position on the DLT front and solidify its reputation as a blockchain island.

Moreover, the bill empowers the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) "with the necessary regulatory and investigatory powers" such as "the powers to issue directives, to adopt and publish rules, to require information…[and] to suspend either an ICO or the trading of a VC on an exchange."

Do you think Malta will become a crypto island? Let us know in the comments section below.

---

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Malta Independent.

---

Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space

“We see a massive base building in #gold. Massive” #Bond King Jeff #Gundlach Says Gold Could Rally $1,000

"We see a massive base building in gold. Massive. It's a four-year, five-year base in gold. If we break above this resistance line, one can expect gold to go up by, like, a $1,000"

http://www.kitco.com/news/2018-04-11/Are-Gold-Prices-Ready-To-Break-Out-Bond-King-Jeff-Gundlach-Thinks-So.html

Bond King Jeff Gundlach Says Gold Could Rally $1,000

(Kitco News) - Famed investor Jeffrey Gundlach remains optimistic that it is only a matter of time before the gold prices break their chains, which could push prices close to $1,500 an ounce.

The CEO of Doubleline, also known as the "bond king," is once again attracting the attention of gold investors as he sees the yellow metal at a critical juncture.

"We see a massive base building in gold. Massive. It's a four-year, five-year base in gold. If we break above this resistance line, one can expect gold to go up by, like, a $1,000" he said during the 2018 Mauldin Economics Strategic Investment Conference, according to recent recap from Steve Blumenthal, chief investment officer at CMG.

His bullish comments have been highlighted at an opportune time as the gold market trades at the top of its well-established range, hitting a seven-week high. June gold futures last traded at $1,362.70 an ounce, up more than 1% on the day.

In his presentation, Gundlach said that he recommends investors look at straddle trading strategies in the marketplace. "Because one way or the other this baby's got to break in a big way," he said.

The most prominent factor behind Gundlach's bullish gold outlook is a weaker U.S. dollar. In his presentation, he said that he sees the U.S. dollar continue to push lower in 2018.

"When you get a lousy year in the dollar, like last year, it's very typically followed up by another year that's bad just after," Gundlach said.

While gold is holding near its highest level since the start of the year, the U.S. dollar is trading near a two-week low against a basket of global currencies. The U.S. dollar index has dropped 3% since the start of the year; meanwhile while gold prices have rallied more than 4%.

For many technical analysts, gold prices need to push above initial resistance at $1,360 an ounce as it ultimately targets the January high of $1,375.50 an ounce.

Increasingly #Canada is simply not competitive or even hospitable to #business. What’s happening? Confidence & #Investment Collapsing—Fraser Institute

#Trudeau's government seems increasingly clueless. 

"We are now four years into plummeting investment in Canada's energy sector, while the same industry is booming in the United States. Now our federal government wants to "study" why. It's pretty simple: when a country or jurisdiction fails to offer a competitive investment environment or when the rules & policies are uncertain and unstable, business owners, entrepreneurs and investors look elsewhere."

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/confidence-and-investment-collapsing-in-canada-trans-mountain-is-just-the-latest-example

Confidence and investment collapsing in Canada—Trans Mountain is just the latest example

Contrary to the announcement that Ottawa will spend almost $300,000 to discern the reason behind the lack of investment in Canada's energy sector, there's actually no great mystery.

Kinder Morgan's recent suspension of non-essential spending on its $7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline project is the just the latest example of business investment collapsing in Canada. We are now four years into plummeting investment in Canada's energy sector, while the same industry is booming in the United States. Now our federal government wants to "study" why. It's pretty simple: when a country or jurisdiction fails to offer a competitive investment environment or when the rules and policies are uncertain and unstable, business owners, entrepreneurs and investors look elsewhere.

Increasingly Canada is simply not competitive or even hospitable to business investment. Steve Williams, president and CEO of Suncor, one of the planet's largest energy companies, recently said that his company was pulling back investment in Canada because we're not competitive enough and made note of our challenging regulatory environment. David McKay, president and CEO of Royal Bank, one of the country's largest banks, recently urged Ottawa to act to stem the outflow of capital, which he described as leaving the country in "real time."

These business leaders were in part responding to a number of high-profile projects that have been either cancelled or not approved by government, including Petronas' $36 billion LNG project in British Columbia, TransCanada's $15.7 billion Energy East project, and the most recent suspension of non-essential spending on Kinder Morgan's $7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline, to name but a few.

And unfortunately investment data bears out these anecdotes. Since peaking in the fourth quarter of 2014, total business investment—excluding residential housing and adjusted for inflation—is down almost 17 per cent. Private-sector investment in factories and other structures is down 23.3 per cent. And investment in intellectual property is down 13.3 per cent.

Investment by foreigners has collapsed. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada was $31.5 billion in 2017, down 56.0 per cent since 2013 when it totalled $71.5 billion.

A 2017 study by Philip Cross, former chief analyst at Statistics Canada, ranked Canada 16th of 17 countries for business investment between 2015 and 2017 compared to 8th place for the 2009 to 2014 period. And don't expect things to improve. Statistics Canada's survey of the investment intentions of private businesses shows further declines in 2018, the fourth straight year of decline.

While governments in Alberta, Ontario, Ottawa and now British Columbia may not want to hear this, their policies have made Canada and their particular provinces less competitive and thus less attractive for business owners, entrepreneurs and investors.

Actions by our federal and many provincial governments to increase business and personal taxes, introduce carbon taxes, run budget deficits (which risk future tax increases), and add significantly to the regulatory burden (including labour, carbon and environmental) as well as ongoing uncertainty over NAFTA negotiations and thus access to the U.S. and Mexican markets, and pronounced anti-business rhetoric from many of our political leaders, have materially harmed the country's business and investment climate.

More specifically on the energy front, Ottawa is creating a new agency, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), to review major energy projects. The agency will inject significant subjective criteria into project analysis including "social" impact, gender implications, and potential climate effects that mean a continued politicized process that takes an unreasonable amount of time to complete.

Making matters worse, as Canada takes backward steps in terms of our attractiveness to business owners, entrepreneurs and investors, the U.S. has leaped forward with sweeping tax reforms and large-scale reductions in business regulations.

The unfortunate reality is that Canada has become a more expensive, less hospitable place to do business while the United States has become more business-friendly. It shouldn't, therefore, be surprising that the U.S. is enjoying a surge in investment (and all the benefits that it provides) while Canada suffers from a collapse in investment.

Perhaps an upside of the disappointing announcement from Kinder Morgan on the Trans Mountain pipeline is that it will focus the attention of Canadians on our dismal and declining competitiveness and investment performance. Even if the already-approved Kinder Morgan project moves ahead, Canada has an uphill climb to reform its investment climate.

See the article online here:  https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/confidence-and-investment-collapsing-in-canada-trans-mountain-is-just-the-latest-example