Comments for New US Study Shows Brazil as Agressive Foreign Investor at http://www.brazzilmag.com , comment 0 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.brazzilmag.com Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:24:24 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/8940/54/#pc_12252 That your foreign assets came from mostly criminal sources, starting at the WWII all the way to just a few weeks ago with the money laundry scandal in Brazil. So yessss its easy to see how can somebody (or nobody) like you could be so proud of a country that institutionalizes such criminal activities as part of their main economy structure. By the way I went to your site and didn’t see any information supporting your delusions. Source : 2005 annual report of the Swiss Central Bank. Swiss banks and World War II Several inquiries have been made into the conduct of Swiss banks during the National Socialist (Nazi) regime in Germany (1933–1945), especially regarding funds deposited by or stolen from victims of the Holocaust. In October of 1996, as inquiries into the banks' activities during the Holocaust were ongoing, Swiss ambassador to the United States Carlo Jagmetti admitted that some banks prevented Holocaust survivors from accessing their funds, although he disputed the amounts claimed in lawsuits by survivors. Among those leading inquiries into the banks' conduct during the war was Alfonse D'Amato, a United States Senator from New York.[33] United Bank of Switzerland security guard Christoph Meili became a prominent whistleblower when he prevented the destruction of Holocaust-era records and brought attention to their existence. Due to his actions, Meili lost his job and received death threats; he became the first Swiss citizen ever granted political asylum in the United States. After settling in southern California, he was honored by the Los Angeles Jewish community.[34] Meili was supported financially by several Jewish organizations, and was offered a full scholarship at Chapman University in California.[35][36] In 1998, an international panel of historians released a study that claimed a significant amount of gold had been stolen from Holocaust victims, as well as the treasuries of conquered countries, and deposited in the Swiss National Bank. The panel found that, despite evidence of theft and wrongful acquisition of the gold, the SNB continued to accept the deposits.[37] In 2000, a United States District Court judge approved a US$1.85 billion settlement between several Swiss banks and Holocaust victims. An estimated 50,000 accounts in Switzerland were opened by victims during the Nazi regime; some banks refused to make payments to victims' families because of the lack of death certificates.[38] However, an article published on October 13, 2001 in The Times of London claimed that the tribunal entrusted with tracing Holocaust era accounts found that only 200 of the 5,570 abandoned foreign accounts in question, containing about 12 million dollars, could be traced back to Holocaust survivors; most of the abandoned accounts were owned by wealthy gentiles, and half the accounts contained less than 1,000 francs. [edit] Swiss Banks to return Abacha Funds to Nigeria The Swiss foreign ministry says it has done all it can to ensure that funds stolen by the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha were used properly in his homeland. The authorities were responding to allegations that $200 million (SFr240 million) of $700 million handed back by the Swiss Banks to Nigeria had been misappropriated.[1] - swiss pride Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:17:02 +0100 http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/8940/54/#pc_12247 Loosing ground...Remenber that South Corea..it was nothing 30 years ago. Just waiting !! Enjoyy - Eduardo Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:11:37 +0100 http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/8940/54/#pc_12245 "indicating that Brazilian multinationals still have a considerable way to go to catch up with the average of their (especially Asian) competitors" To put things in perspective, the "small" FIRMS of my little country, at the end of 2005, had US$ 510 billion of foreign assets, generating US$ 45 billion of....YEARLY PROFITS (not sales).......and 2'000'000 (yesssss 2 millions) of direct jobs in the countries the investments were made. Source : 2005 annual report of the Swiss Central Bank. Long long way to go, and many many more decades not years, before you even come close. And many generations away before you even come close if based on a per capita basis. Enjoy !!!!! - ch:c. Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:52:56 +0100