#swissforextrading

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Newsletter No 366 (01.11.2018)

You could be interested by new pages which have been published on the OFCOM website between 15.10.2018 and 31.10.2018. https://www.bakom.admin.ch/bakom/en/homepage/ofcom/ofcom-s-information/newsletter-ofcom.html (Source of the original content)

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World Bank calls for investment in education and health

Disruptive technologies are changing the the world of work globally. In its flagship World Development Report 2019, presented in Bern on 1. November 2018, the World Bank calls on governments to invest in education and health. https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-72757.html (Source of the original content)

[swissforextrading]

No. 54/2018, 01.11.2018

Changes to Price Step Group as of 8 November 2018 - Equity market http://www.six-group.com/exchanges/swx_messages/online/swx_message_201811011404_en.pdf (Source of the original content)

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Free trade agreement between EFTA and Indonesia concluded in substance

On 1 November, negotiations on a free trade agreement between EFTA and Indonesia were concluded in substance, with Switzerland acting as lead negotiator. This followed an intensive last round of negotiations and meetings as well as telephone calls between Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann and the president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, and trade minister Enggartiasto Lukita. The agreement means that 98% of Swiss goods will be exempt from customs duties in the medium term. https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-72761.html (Source of the original content)

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Sponsored Funds – Helvetische Bank Becomes New Sponsor

From 1 November 2018, Helvetische Bank will become a new sponsor for traditional investment funds and will start with two funds. As a new sponsor and market maker, Helvetische Bank is admitting two new products for trading on the Swiss stock exchange. This means there are now two sponsors represented in the trading segment for Sponsored Funds, in which traditional investment funds are traded like equity funds: Together with the products offered by Bank Julius Baer, from 1 November 2018, 445 Sponsored Funds will be traded. Thomas Maag, Head Product Solutions, Helvetische Bank, is pleased about the decision to admit the products for trading: "With this step, Helvetische Bank is taking the opportunity to participate in the SIX Sponsored Funds segment. We are certain that this will help contribute to greater transparency, while increasing investors flexibility and meeting their demand for more liquidity." Helvetische Bank was founded in January 2011 and focuses on providing services in the areas of advisory services, asset management and corporate finance. Its services are aimed at companies, private investors and external asset managers. Attractive stock exchange services with many advantages Danielle Reischuk, Senior ETFs & ETPs Sales Manager, SIX, explains: "SIX supports the Swiss financial center and thus the entire Swiss economy. As a central marketplace for securities, we help ensure that securities are efficiently valued and fairly traded. We are pleased that Helvetische Bank is entering the trading segment for traditional investment funds from 1 November 2018 and that as a sponsor, it will be able to offer investors increased diversification." Contact https://www.six-group.com/exchanges/exchanges/news/overview_en.html?id=helvetische_bank_new_sponsor (Source of the original content)

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On the trail of the weasel

A team of researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW in Wädenswil is working on a new camera trap. They want to use it to ... A team of researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW in Wädenswil is working on a new camera trap. They want to use it to record the weasel population – which has been very difficult up to now, as the animals are swift and barely visible. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2fCVF8F5qc (Source of the original content)

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Walking again after spinal cord injury (2) - longer video with patients' tesimonies

Three patients with chronic paraplegia were able to walk over ground thanks to precise electrical stimulation of their spinal cords via a wireless implant. In a double study published in Nature and Nature Neuroscience, Swiss scientists Grégoire Courtine (EPFL and CHUV/Unil) and Jocelyne Bloch (CHUV/Unil) show that, after a few months of training, the patients were able to control previously paralyzed leg muscles even in the absence of electrical stimulation. www.epfl.ch www.chuv.ch See also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFXWR4b9iVA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pvutIZ1iTU (Source of the original content)

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Crypto bond catapults Swiss franc onto blockchain

A new bond has been launched in Switzerland to help investors and blockchain start-ups escape the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Issued by Swiss Crypto Tokens, the bond is a representation of the safe haven currency on the blockchain. The first 10 million units of the bond, each worth a franc and pegged to the Swiss currency, are sold out and will be issued on Thursday. Investors have snapped up the digital XCHF token units, which are linked to the bond with digital smart contracts. XCHF joins a growing legion of so-called stable coins that are designed to mitigate the massive fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin (see box below). Earlier this week, crypto trading platform Smart Valor said it plans to launch a franc-pegged CHFt token. Both stable coins have the ambition of encouraging more people to invest in the blockchain industry, thus increasing liquidity in the growing market. Blockchain start-ups have raised billions of dollars worldwide in the ... http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/stable-coin_crypto-bond-catapults-swiss-franc-onto-blockchain/44512880?utm_source=multiple&utm_campaign=swi-rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=o (Source of the original content)

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Top finance ministry official to step down

The State Secretary for International Finance, Jörg Gasser, is to step down in February after three years in office.  It was Gasser’s decision to leave the post, according to a statement by the finance ministry on Wednesday.  Among his most important tasks was the development of bilateral relations and cooperation with new and emerging markets, notably in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.  “He made an important contribution to developments in the fintech and blockchain areas in term of framework conditions and regulations,” the statement said.  Gasser, 49, also played a key role in international financial and monetary policy matters, including the introduction of the automatic exchange of tax information.  The State Secretariat for International Finance was set up in 2009 in the wake of an international banking crisis and disputes over tax issues between Switzerland and other countries. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/career-change-_top-finance-ministry-official-to-step-down/44512428?utm_source=multiple&utm_campaign=swi-rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=o (Source of the original content)

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Where did all the water go?

The Rhine Falls are one of Europe's biggest waterfalls but this summer's drought has had a big impact on them... just see for yourself! Nouvo brings you short videos about Switzerland, Swiss current affairs and the wider world. Keep up to date and watch the videos wherever you are, whenever you like. --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX9BvJW9fMI (Source of the original content)

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Federal Council decides not to amend the War Material Ordinance

The Federal Council decided on 31 October not to amend the War Material Ordinance. On 15 June it had taken a decision based on security policy and economic considerations to align the authorisation criteria in the War Material Ordinance with those of comparable European countries in cases where a recipient state is involved in a conflict on its own territory. https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-72742.html (Source of the original content)

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With or without horns?

The Swiss will soon vote on the cow-horns initiative, which asks for money to be given to farmers that don't dehorn their cows. Not familiar with the issue? See how different people react to it. Nouvo brings you short videos about Switzerland, Swiss current affairs and the wider world. Keep up to date and watch the videos wherever you are, whenever you like. --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website: http://www.swissinfo.ch Channel: http://www.youtube.com/swissinfovideos Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=swissinfovideos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shJkkZXJF4Q (Source of the original content)

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State Secretary Jörg Gasser to leave SIF

State Secretary Jörg Gasser will leave the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) at the end of February 2019. After 10 years in the service of the Confederation, Gasser who is 49 years old, would like to pursue a new career path. https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-72740.html (Source of the original content)

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Happy Dark Matter Day

Letizia Diamante All what we see: stars, planets, pumpkins, spiders, and webs, are made of matter. However, matter forms only 5% of the Universe. But what about the remaining invisible part of the Universe? On 31 October, research institutes around the world will be delving into the invisible as they celebrate Dark Matter Day. Dark matter is one of physics most vexing mysteries. It is estimated to constitute about a quarter of the invisible Universe, the rest being something even more baffling, known as dark energy. Physicists haven’t yet directly observed it, though it leaves its trace by the way galaxies are held together instead of flying off in different directions. In other words, dark matter seems to “hide” before our eyes. Visit darkmatterday.com to find out how scientists in research institutes around the world are hunting for the unseen. CERN will take part in the worldwide online and offline activities. At CERN, dark matter is on the hunting list of several experiments, including AMS, ATLAS, CAST, CMS, and Osqar. For Dark Matter Day, CERN is organising a Facebook live at 1pm (CET) with Mercedes Paniccia, a scientist from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) collaboration and Piotr Traczyk from the CMS experiment to answer your questions in real-time. AMS is installed on the International Space Station, looking for signs of dark matter at 400 km orbit around the Earth, with its control centre based at CERN. Then at 8pm (CET), Marco Cirelli, CNRS Research Director at the Laboratory for Theoretical and High Energy Physics at Sorbonne University in Paris, will reveal more secrets about dark matter at CERN’s Globe of Science and Innovation, join in person or via webcast. Celebrate Dark Matter Day, and don’t be afraid of the dark… https://home.cern/about/updates/2018/10/happy-dark-matter-day (Source of the original content)

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Divona – Agroscope’s New Disease-Resistant White Grape Variety

Agroscope, the Swiss federal centre of excellence for agricultural research, is launching the first multiresistant white grape variety, Divona. The fruit of twenty years of research, Divona is resistant to fungal diseases, and well-suited for the production of high-quality wines – two characteristics that make it a popular variety for viticulture and winemaking. https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-72720.html (Source of the original content)

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Medical X-ray imaging made affordable

29.10.18 - The GlobalDiagnostiX X-ray system is about to go into production. This robust machine – initially designed for the challenging conditions of countries in the Global South – has also turned out to be an attractive solution for industrialized nations owing to its low cost. The GlobalDiagnostiX consortium unveiled its second prototype on 29 October at an event that included Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann. More than 120 years after X-ray technology was invented by Wilhelm Röntgen, medical radiography remains beyond the reach of two-thirds of the world's population. Yet it is an essential tool for diagnosing such things as car-accident injuries and infectious diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia – the latter of which accounts for 20% of infant mortality. Developing countries in particular are unable to afford the high purchase and maintenance costs of X-ray equipment. What’s more, this equipment is ill-suited for operating environments marked by high temperatures and humidity levels and frequent power outages. GlobalDiagnostiX aims to overcome these obstacles. The project was launched in 2012 as part of the EssentialTech program at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, and brings together a large number of European and African universities and university hospitals. The result of their joint effort was unveiled on Monday in Yverdon-les-Bains, in Vaud Canton, before a small group of guests that included Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, who heads Switzerland’s Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. A whole set of tailor-made solutions The GlobalDiagnostiX X-ray system boasts an impressive array of innovations that were developed at EPFL in conjunction with the Universities of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO). It was designed to stand up to demanding climate conditions without compromising on the quality of the X-ray images, and it offers a simple and intuitive interface. The project engineers were guided by two principles – simplicity and robustness – to ensure the system could be maintained by relatively unskilled workers. The team also aimed at keeping the manufacturing and operating costs very low. “Even small hospitals – including in industrialized countries – will be able to afford this sophisticated X-ray equipment,” says Klaus Schönenberger, who runs the EssentialTech program. "Several teams of engineers, designers and medical radiology technicians of the HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts collaborated to realize this high-tech prototype" says Olivier Naef, Head of the HES-SO Faculty of Engineering and Architecture . First sales in 2020 With the research and development phase now complete, local startup Pristem SA will be in charge of manufacturing and marketing the machine. In August, this EPFL spin-off announced that it had raised 14 million francs in funding from a group of Swiss and African investors. “We’re now prepared to tackle the challenges of this global, highly diversified market by combining Switzerland’s time-tested manufacturing expertise with cutting-edge digital technology,” says Bertrand Klaiber, Pristem’s CEO, who expects to deliver the first machines already in late 2020. In his remarks, Schneider-Ammann underscored the “excellent synergies between EPFL and the other specialized universities. Thanks to their agile teamwork, they were able to overcome significant hurdles and come up with a solution that will meet the needs of billions of people around the world.” Emmanuel Barraud http://actu.epfl.ch/news/medical-x-ray-imaging-made-affordable (Source of the original content)