The Financial Authority of Switzerland (FINMA) has issued banking licenses to two blockchain-related companies - SEBA Crypto and Sygnum. The regulator said that this is the first time when such licenses are issued to companies specializing exclusively in the blockchain. The lcenses will allow SEBA Crypto and Sygnum to provide services to institutional and professional clients. FINMA has also...

The fungus that affects the planet’s most popular banana sort, the Cavendish, has reached Latin America. The region accounts for two-thirds of global banana exports, the Financial Times (FT) reports. Two years ago, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote that a dangerous fungal disease that was spreading around the planet and systematically killing plants had already affected more than 30% of Asian...

Australian immigration authorities report a significantly increased number of applications for investment visas from Hong Kong after the protests have started. The Australian New South Wales State Immigration Authority has noted a significant increase in investment visa applications from Hong Kong residents, Reuters reports. Under Australian laws, investments in local businesses worth at least...

U.S. watchdog eased trading rules for Wall Street banks, which brought them one of the biggest victories in the Trump administration, but sparked criticism from consumer advocates who warned of potential taxpayer risks. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have approved an updated version of the so-called Volcker Rule, which aims...

The growth rate of world trade in the third quarter of 2019 will remain below the trend line, as evidenced by the Trade Barometer indicator calculated by the World Trade Organization (WTO). In August, the index was 95.7 points (the figure less than 100 points indicates a decrease, more than 100 points means an increase). The level of all components of the index turned out to be below 100 points:...

US stock indexes closed trading on Wednesday with a fall of about 3%, showing the worst dynamics since the beginning of the year due to fears of a recession in the United States, as well as weak statistics from Germany and China. During the Wednesday trading, the yield on two-year US government bonds rose above the yield on the standard 10-year US Treasuries for the first time since 2007. This...

The monthly economic sentiment index in Germany, published by the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), in August dropped to minus 44.1 points, losing another 19.6 points compared to July. This is the minimum value of the index since December 2011. At the same time, the ZEW economic situation assessment index deepened into the negative zone by 12.4 points for the month, to minus 13.5...

In 2019, global oil demand this year will grow by only 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) as the growth in January-May has been minimal since 2008, follows from the August forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA). While the market is not in danger of oversupply, the OPEC + participants in July fulfilled its conditions by 134%. Moreover, the potential demand for cartel oil in the coming...

The largest US pharmacy chain CVS has announced that it will open significantly fewer pharmacies in 2019 compared to 2018. The second largest network, Walgreens, announced imminent closure of about 200 pharmacies. Experts note that pharmacy chains are following the clothing retail chains, which have closed hundreds of stores in the USA under the increasing pressure of online commerce. On...