Why Switzerland is not handing over Russian assets to Ukraine, Switzerland tackles its racism issues, and more in our roundup of news from October 1 – 4.
Why #DebitSuisse is trending on Twitter
Hysteria on social media over Credit Suisse’s plummeting stock prices has been influencing investors to sell off their Credit Suisse shares and bonds – prices of which hit a record low on Monday. The most influential forums appear to be Reddit, Twitter, where #DebitSuisse is trending, and Wall Street Oasis, an online investing forum. Meanwhile, the price of the bank’s credit default swaps (CDS), which act as insurance to prevent the bank from defaulting on debt, are skyrocketing as the odds of bankruptcy increase. “With Credit Suisse’s credit default swap curve inverting this morning, I guess we now have an answer to the question: ‘can people on Reddit and Twitter move CDS prices?’” tweeted financial journalist Robert Smith of the Financial Times. Despite fears that Credit Suisse is another Lehman brothers collapse, financial journalists are quick to point out that Lehman folded because it ran out of assets to support its CDS, while that is not likely to be a problem for the Swiss bank. Read more.
Russian assets in Switzerland: Still frozen, but not up for grabs
Switzerland will not heed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s request for the country to hand over frozen Russian assets, according to Fabian Maienfisch, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. “For the Swiss government, the confiscation of assets only on the basis of belonging to a state or being included in the sanctions list and using them to rebuild Ukraine is currently not an option of showing support for Ukraine,” Maienfisch told Russian media RIA Novosti Monday. Zelensky first asked Switzerland to transfer Russian assets to Kyiv in May during the World Economic Forum in Davos, and then implored the Alpine nation again last week. Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said in July that Switzerland upholds protecting individuals against the power of the state and would wait until there is a legal basis for confiscating funds. Read more.
Switzerland addresses racism at UN Human Rights Council
Switzerland has a long and systematic problem with racism against people of African descent, according to report presented this week at the UN Human Rights Council. The offenses range from popular children’s games to police brutality and profiling. Although the group that wrote the report noted that Switzerland has made strides in combatting its long-entrenched racism, it is still failing in many areas. The country’s ambassador to the UN, Jurg Lauber, overall accepted the findings, but did question the report’s use of examples to paint a broader picture of a country that never engaged in colonialism (but did benefit from colonialism). In addressing some “shocking” examples of police brutality that ended in several deaths, Lauber said new measures had been implemented including the creation of an office for victims of racial discrimination. Read more.
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