The UBS Board of Directors will nominate Beatrice Weder di Mauro and Isabelle Romy for election as new members of the Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 3 May 2012. Bruno Gehrig, along with Kaspar Villiger, will not stand for reelection. Link: Click Here

EFG International appoints a new CEO for Singapore and South East Asia. EFG Bank, EFG International’s business in Asia, has appointed Kong Eng Huat to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Singapore and South East Asia, with immediate effect. Based in Singapore, he will also be a member of the management committee of EFG Bank in Asia. Link: Click Here

Autoneum sales in local currencies rose 15% in 2011, outperforming the 2.9% growth in global automobile production, while sales in Swiss francs grew modestly to 1’722.4 million CHF. Despite numerous adverse impacts, Autoneum expects a small improvement of the EBIT margin for 2011 compared with prior year and a slightly positive net result – as already announced last summer. Furthermore, the Autoneum Group Executive Board will be strengthened per March 1, 2012. Link: Click Here

Nationale Suisse financial statement 2011: Result benefits from a reserve release, and disclosure of the future impact of IAS 19 (revised). Nationale Suisse anticipates a profit for the financial year 2011 that significantly exceeds the previous year's figure of CHF 92.1 million. This is a result of a reserve release of CHF 85 million (before tax) in the Non-Life Switzerland segment. Link: Click Here



Economy
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New Year Heralds A Soft Landing For Chinese Economic Dragon, Says Article. The world appears to be in store for more turmoil and trouble, according to the Chinese astrological calendar. Indeed, this may not seem remote, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said in a report titled, "Credit Outlook: Chinese Dragon To Fly In To A Soft Landing In 2012", published today. Link: Click Here

The ECB data on lending rates charged by banks showed that, at the euro area level, interest rates up to December were remaining steady, though with some divergences across the major countries. Lending rates by German banks have been tending still to edge lower, whereas lending rates to non-financial corporations by Italian and Spanish banks have been moving up significantly. Link: Click Here