Graubündner Kantonalbank acquires majority stake in BZ Bank
The main building of the Bündner Kantonalbank in Chur.
no. Graubündner Kantonalbank (GKB) has acquired a 70 percent stake in BZ Bank. The bank announced this in a communiqué on Monday morning. GKB did not provide any information on the price of the transaction. The transaction will be financed with equity and is expected to come into effect on July 1, subject to official approval. The investment increases the customer assets under management in the group to over 50 billion francs.
“The expertise of BZ Bank ideally complements our existing investment know-how and opens up further growth opportunities,” says GKB CEO Daniel Fust, explaining the investment. At the same time, GKB is strengthening its income and risk diversification.
BZ Bank was founded in 1985 by Martin Ebner, who previously held 100 percent of the shares together with his wife Rosmarie. The bank advises customers on share investments and participations. In addition to listed stocks, she is also active in the private equity sector.
According to media reports, Credit Suisse is being monitored by the British financial regulator
The Creit Suisse branch in Geneva.
no. Credit Suisse has apparently ended up on a watch list from the financial regulator FCA in the UK. As the Financial Times reported on Sunday, the FCA expressed concern in a May letter that the big bank had not sufficiently improved its corporate culture, governance and risk controls.
Around twenty of the roughly 60,000 institutions it regulates are on the FCA’s watch list. This indicates that the authority has serious concerns about Credit Suisse, writes the “FT” with reference to a person familiar with the meaning of the list.
Bitcoin price falls to lowest level since late 2020
(dpa) At the start of the week, the Bitcoin price temporarily fell to its lowest level since December 2020. Recently, the value of the most important digital currency was able to recover somewhat, but was still well below the level on Sunday. Most recently, a bitcoin cost just under $26,000, around two and a half percent less than at the weekend, when the price had already dropped significantly. Bitcoin temporarily fell below the $25,000 mark on Monday, its lowest level since the end of 2020.
The most important reason for the price drop in the past few days was the inflation data from the USA published on Friday. These fueled expectations of an accelerated turnaround in interest rates in the United States. Since then, the US dollar has appreciated sharply, bond yields have risen and stock prices have plummeted worldwide.
Until November of last year, digital currencies had increased despite already high inflation. Bitcoin has fallen more than 60 percent since hitting a record high of $69,000 in November.
Discrimination lawsuit by women: Google is aiming for a million-dollar deal
A group of women had sued Google because they earned less than the men in the company.
(dpa) Google plans to pay $118 million to settle employee discrimination lawsuit in California The equivalent of 112.6 million euros should go to the employees who have joined the class action lawsuit. The settlement also provides for an outside expert to review Google’s employment practices, according to a statement from plaintiffs’ attorneys over the weekend.
The agreement will not come into effect until the competent judge approves it. In a statement to the Financial Times, Google emphasized that the settlement was not an admission of guilt. However, after five years of litigation, both sides were of the opinion that this was the best way. The trial for the lawsuit was scheduled for January next year.
The lawsuit, which dates back to 2017, is primarily about the allegation that women in the same positions earn less than men – a violation of California law. The case was given class-action status on behalf of over 15,000 women.
Chanel brothers together now worth $90 billion
A Chanel handbag from the latest collection.
(Bloomberg) The family behind Chanel received a $5 billion (EUR 4.8 billion) windfall last year. The increasing demand for the luxury products drives the fortunes of the Wertheimer family to new heights.
The Wertheimers made two dividend payments of $2.5 billion each in 2021, UK filings show. Her net worth is up 37 percent this year to $90 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This is the company’s largest annual payout since it began publishing financial reports. Thanks to price hikes, the company even managed to surpass its pre-pandemic profit levels last year.
Global demand for Chanel branded products has increased over the past two years, as have their prices. The small, classic “Flap Bag” cost $8,200 in the US in December, an increase of 60 percent compared to November 2019. In Paris, the rule applies: only one bag per customer, and you can only buy another one after two months. In Seoul, customers camped outside a Chanel boutique from 5 a.m. to snag a $9,500 bag.
The Wertheimer family founded the Société des Parfums Chanel in 1924 to produce and sell the fragrance N°5 by fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who was born in 1883. Brothers Alain, 73, and Gerard, 7.1, have been credited with owning the empire since the death of their father Jacques in 1996, but prefer to stay out of the spotlight.