A Russian oligarch has sued Credit Suisse for 500 million Swiss francs in compensation for losses allegedly caused by a financial advisor. As reported by the Swiss "Sonntagszeitung," Monaco-based Russian millionaire Vitaly Malkin hired a U.S. law firm to represent him in the legal dispute with Credit Suisse. The bank denied all allegations when asked by the AFP news agency. A Credit Suisse financial advisor had been sentenced to five years in prison in 2018 for embezzling client funds and committed suicide two years later. One of the aggrieved clients is Malkin, according to the newspaper report. The oligarch is a business partner of former Georgian head of government Bidsina Ivanishvili. Ivanishvili had recently been awarded millions in compensation by a Bermuda court for losses related to the Credit Suisse financial advisor. The bank announced it would appeal. All investigations conducted into the case since 2015 have shown that the financial advisor acted alone and had no support within the bank in his "criminal activities," Credit Suisse stressed on Sunday.

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The Swiss stock market ended Friday's trading session just under par. The SMI lost 0.2 per cent to 10,451 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were twelve price losers and eight price winners. 109.09 (previously: 56.2) million shares were traded. The high turnover volume was due to the decline. Corporate news was scarce. Geberit improved 1.3 per cent after the sanitary products manufacturer announced a new share buyback. On the winning side were Credit Suisse (+2.0 per cent), whose shares were unimpressed by the issuance of a near double-digit bond. The Financial Times reported, citing informed sources, that the bank is paying 9.75 per cent interest on a bond issued late Thursday. Credit Suisse wants to raise at least 1.5 billion dollars on the capital market, the newspaper said. Banks and insurers are actually seen as beneficiaries of rising interest rates. However, in the event of an economic downturn, the industries' business would suffer from presumed declining credit volumes. UBS shares fell 0.6 per cent.

European equity indices closed mixed on Friday and are down nearly 5% for the week as a whole, as investors fear that monetary tightening by major central banks could lead to a recession. The Stoxx Europe 600 index climbed 0.1% on Friday to 403.3 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 was down 0.1% while the SBF 120 gained 0.1%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 gained 0.7% and the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.4%. For the week as a whole, the Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 4.6%. Banco Santander SA named its head of Mexico and North America operations as its new chief executive, as the Spanish bank braces for a period of economic uncertainty in many of its markets. Héctor Grisi joined Santander in 2015 as head of its Mexico unit, and in 2019 added the role of North American head. In those jobs he has cut costs and increased customers in Mexico, and he turned a struggling unit in the U.S. into the largest contributor to profit in the group last year. The head of Germany’s influential metalworker trade union urged Volkswagen AG to reconsider its presence in western China, where leaders of Western countries and human-rights groups say Beijing is persecuting the Uyghur Muslim minority. The call is the latest salvo in a growing campaign to force the world’s second-largest car maker to shut down a factory in Xinjiang, which has become the central focus for critics of the company’s heavy reliance on China as a market and manufacturing base.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday wrapped up their worst weeks since 2020, with the major indexes extending whipsaw moves that have injected fresh volatility into markets. The S&P 500 rose 8.07 points for the day, or 0.2%, to 3674.84, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 152.25 points, or 1.4%, to 10798.35. The Dow fell 38.29 points, or 0.1%, to 29888.78. All three finished the week with sharp losses. The S&P 500 fell 5.8% for the week, its largest decline since the Covid pandemic roiled markets in March 2020. The Dow fell 4.8% for the week, its biggest drop since October 2020. Hani Redha, a portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments, said it is possible that inflation could still climb further in the coming months as energy prices remain elevated. Tech stocks rose. Twitter added 42 cents, or 1.1%, to $37.78; Meta Platforms gained $2.87, or 1.8%, to $163.74; and Microsoft advanced $2.68, or 1.1%, to $247.65. Writer and producer Danny Strong was unaccustomed to high-ranking television executives calling him at odd hours for in-depth discussions about a project. That changed when he began making shows for Dana Walden, who last week was thrust into the role of chairman of Walt Disney Co. ’s General Entertainment Content unit, a job that comes with oversight of more than 300 shows and an annual budget of around $10 billion. Already one of the highest-ranking executives at Disney, Ms. Walden is quickly taking on more responsibility in the wake of Peter Rice’s abrupt dismissal as head of the unit after clashes with Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek and other members of senior management.

The stock exchanges in East Asia are divided in the course of trading on Monday. While the indices in Shanghai and Hong Kong hardly move, in Tokyo, after a friendly start, they are now down by 1.0 per cent to 25,691 points and in Seoul the Kospi is even losing 2 per cent. Concerns about a further sharp rise in global interest rates and thus the danger of a slide into recession are depressing sentiment. On the Chinese stock markets, some support was provided by the fact that the Chinese central bank left the one-year and five-year reference rates for bank loans, the so-called loan prime rate, unchanged, as expected.

In U.S. bond markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury ticked down to 3.238%. Yields fall as prices rise.

Citi reinstates CRH with Buy – Target EUR 47

Citi raises Aumann to Buy (Neutral) – Target EUR 18.50 (17.40)

Deutsche Bank lowers Knorr-Bremse target to EUR 70 (80) – Hold

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