Bluestone eyes unicorn status with secondary deals ahead of planned IPO
Bengaluru-based jewellery business Bluestone is undertaking secondary share deals as it prepares to launch an initial public offering. Valued at between Rs 300 crore to Rs 350 crore, the deals could push Bluestone's valuation into unicorn territory.
Bluestone is part of discussions with the private wealth management segments of 360 One and Centrum Wealth to carry out secondary deals which would see both platforms sell the stakes to their clients, ET Retail reported. This transaction will give Bluestone a valuation of around Rs 10,500 crore, a significant increase compared to its valuation at Rs 8,100 crore in August last year.
"The round took place because there was interest from certain investor classes to pick a stake prior to the IPO," an anonymous source close to the development told ET Tech. "Bluestone is soon expected to finalise the pricing for the IPO."
The secondary deals are expected to see Bluestone's Singapore-based investor RS Investments exit the business. Bluestone filed its draft red herring prospectus for its IPO at the Securities and Exchange Board of India in December last year and was granted approval this April. The IPO will raise fresh capital and include an offer for sale.
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Fashion Network
an hour ago
- Fashion Network
LA sunglasses market: Who are the major retail players?
The star city of sunglasses, Los Angeles is home to more than a dozen specialist players. From luxury to budget brands, who are the players who have made their mark? Brands born and raised in Los Angeles Ahlem opens its second boutique in Los Angeles, the 5th in the world Founded in 2014 in the Venice neighborhood on Abbot Kinney, the luxury eyewear brand imagined by Franco-Tunisian Ahlem Manai-Platt, has become one of Los Angeles' benchmark brands in 10 years. After opening her first boutique in Abbot Kinney, the designer successively opened San Francisco, New York and Paris. In five years, the brand has seen its sales double and now boasts 900 retailers worldwide. This spectacular international success encouraged its founder to open up her capital last February to 1686 Partners, the Luxembourg-based private equity firm headed by David Wertheimer. Now led by CEO Enrico Sanavia, the Ahlem brand continues to grow, with the scheduled opening of a fifth boutique in Los Angeles. The city where it all began for Manai-Platt, and where the designer lived for several years. 'Hiroshi Sugimoto's work has profoundly shaped my vision, and deeply influenced the design of our Los Angeles boutique and, even more so, the one we are currently creating on Melrose Place,' said Manai-Platt. 'His is a language of time, silence and the invisible – one I've sought to translate into space'. Manai-Platt also cites Richard Serra's work at LACMA as inspiration for the new space on Melrose Place. "His work imposes a rhythm, a quiet gravity. It acts on the body like a threshold, slowing you down, drawing you inward, inviting you to pass through. Between these two experiences, I understood that a space can hold the infinite, that it can both suspend time and summon the essential. It's this lesson that I've tried to translate into the experience of our boutique". Oliver Peoples, a global brand born in Los Angeles Founded in 1986 in Los Angeles by Kenny Schwartz, Larry Leight and his brother Dennis, the Oliver Peoples brand was revealed to the public a year later with the opening of its first boutique in the West Hollywood district, at 8642 W Sunset Boulevard. Bought out in 2006 by the Oakley group, the brand finally passed into the hands of the Luxottica Group a year later, which bought Oakley. A retro aesthetic blended with the unique culture of Los Angeles - fashion, cinema, art, music and the Southern California lifestyle - that seems to appeal to thousands of consumers around the world. Today, the brand distributes its creations in over 60 countries worldwide and operates 43 stores, with new openings in Amsterdam, Milan, Nashville and even Paris this year. "Oliver People's global appeal lies in our timeless design, enduring quality, and connection to the cultural allure of Los Angeles," said Rocco Basilico, president of Oliver Peoples. "Our frames transcend trends, often work and kept for decades, which gives them lasting appeal across regions and generations. Combined with the global fascination of L.A's creativity and lifestyle, our eyewear resonates universally through both style and story." About the U.S, market, "our retail strategy is highly intentional—focused on locations where there's both an existing clientele and strong potential for growth. Each boutique is the result of careful research and a commitment to opening only where the brand can thrive authentically," added Basilico. For summer, the brand has just unveiled its new campaign 'The eyes of Oliver', directed by photographer and director Guy Aroch, noted for his collaborations with Hugo Boss, Coca-Cola and Montblanc. The campaign film plunges us into the world of Oliver, played by Brandon Sklenar, as he contemplates the grandeur of the Beverly Estate, a place imbued with the mystery and charm of silent cinema. Spectators catch a glimpse of Oliver, but as soon as they lower their mounts, he magically disappears. Through this game, the film explores how glasses not only alter our vision, but also transform our perception. This season celebrates distinctive models in acetate and titanium heritage, including some from the house's archives, such as the iconic 2000s pilot frame, Aero. Garrett Leight, a foothold in California Son of Larry Leight, one of the founders and creative director of Oliver Peoples, Garrett Leight founded Garrett Leight California Optical in 2010 in Venice Beach. At the time, the brand wanted to bring 'a new perspective to classic eyewear by blending the old and the new, the iconic and the innovative." Fifteen years later, the brand has a total of nine flagship stores, including three in Los Angeles at La Brea, Venice and Silver Lake, San Francisco, two in New York, Brooklyn, Austin, Toronto, and is distributed in over 25 countries on six continents. 'Eventually, we'd like to open international stores like Sydney, Tokyo, London and Paris,' said Leight in an interview with "We already have a very large number of wholesalers in Europe, with over 1,600 to 1,800 retailers, with Germany being our top market. We're not yet ready for the Asian market, but it's part of our overall strategy." In addition to the usual collections and its Sun Clips collection, Garrett Leight has been rolling out the Mr Leight eyewear and sunglasses label since 2018. A label born of a collaboration with his father, Larry, which has been inspired since its beginnings by the golden age of Hollywood, the madness of the 70s and the extravagance of the 80s. The brand has also forged numerous collaborations, notably with Canadian leather goods brand Want Les Essentiels, golf apparel brand Malbon, ready-to-wear brand Clare V., Rimowa and most recently with the brand of legendary street artist and founder of Hotel Amour, André Saraiva. Dita, a historic store since 2005 Founded in 1995 by childhood friends Jeff Solorio and John Juniper in Los Angeles, the Dita eyewear brand was created to combine vintage aesthetics inspired by classic frames from the 1950s and 1960s with modern design. The first brand to focus on Japanese manufacturing, Dita chose to relocate its production to Japan in the late 1990s and to upscale its collection made from premium acetate, titanium, and 18K gold. The result is bold collections with a sleek design and multiple prestigious collaborations with Thom Browne, Dita von Teese, and Alexander Wang. Thirty years after its foundation, Dita has now 12 boutiques worldwide, 'all designed to reflect Dita's commitment to craftmanship and design excellence.' In Los Angeles, the brand has a historic boutique opened in 2005 at 7625 Melrose Avenue. Three other stores are located on Rodeo Drive, in San Francisco and Newport Beach. The rest are spread across Tokyo, Sydney, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and New York. For summer, Dita Eyewear is launching two limited-edition with Elvis Presley "Grand Decade" and Marilyn Monroe "M.M. 100" sunglasses. Frames are celebrating 90's Elvis and 100th Marilyn's birthdays with collectible design that fuse Hollywood heritage and Japanese craftsmanship. Jacques Marie Mage, the ultra luxury sunglasses Based in the United States for some twenty years, Jérôme Mage began his career designing accessories and clothing for brands in Southern California. He created his Jacques Marie Mage brand in 2015, focusing on thick, sculpted frames, all made in Japan. Representing luxury eyewear, the Jacques Marie Mage brand will open its first boutique-gallery in November 2021 at 2324 Abbot Kinney Boulevard in the Venice district. Designed by Jérôme Mage in collaboration with Hervet Manufacturier, a Parisian furniture and cabinet-making atelier, the space blends artisanal heritage with Mage's luxury vision and showcases custom wood displays handmade in Normandy. A second boutique opens in 2023 in the Hollywood Sycamore District. Courted by celebrities from Daniel Craig to Beyoncé, as well as Jeff Goldblum and Isabelle Adjani, the brand has been multiplying its collaborations in recent years with multi-brand store Union, fashion label Enfants Riches Déprimés, Elvis Presley Estate, designer Umit Benan and actor Jeff Goldblum for Chateau Marmont. The brand now has seven retail galleries worldwide, including 4 in California, one in Paris, one in London and one in Milan. Two further openings in New York and Tokyo are scheduled for the end of the year. Akila, the new challenger Founded in 2018 by Los Angeles-based designer Chris Mart, a former streetwear specialist and former creative director of an eyewear company located in Spain, the Akila brand is quickly making a name for itself with its collections of boldly designed sunglasses, all offered in limited editions and around an accessible price range of $145 to $240. It all began with the opening of a first space in Downtown LA, in the historic LA Flower District Gift Shop, in the Fashion District of DTLA, featuring Akila's sunglasses alongside curated goods from other indie brands. Following this success, the brand opens a new address in New York in 2022, followed by a new boutique in Los Angeles in September 2024 in the Silver Lake district. Occupying a lofty unit on a fully restored Art Deco-style car body shop built in 1932, and now baptised Sunset Row, the first Akila store was imagined by Los Angeles design studio 22RE, noted for having created the new Departamento boutique in the Arts District. The light wood decor is reminiscent of Japanese ryokan style. The brand is also interested in the Mexican market, and last March opened its first pop-up, which is still open, in the creative district of Roma Norte. Moscot, from New York to LA and Paris In 2019, New York-based brand Moscot chose Los Angeles as the first city for its American expansion. This was followed last year by a second boutique in Santa Monica and another in Miami. Founded by Hyman Moscot, an Eastern European immigrant who arrived on Ellis Island in 1899 and began selling ready-made eyeglasses from a pushcart on Orchard Street, Lower East Side, over the years the Moscot brand has become a New York City institution 'that infuses its unmistakable refined, downtown aesthetic with over 100 years of eyewear expertise and unparalleled craftsmanship to create its timeless eyewear," according to the brand. Moscot now has 35 boutiques worldwide. Of these, 13 are in the US, the first market for the brand, and eight are in Asia and the rest in Europe. The latter is a continent where the brand is undergoing constant expansion. Launched in 2015 on the European market with its first boutique in London, Moscot has also opened in Munich, Rome and Milan, and last May opend its third boutique in Paris, the first on the Left Bank. 'The Left Bank has long been the heart of Parisian intellectual, artistic, and literary life, where great thinkers, writers, and creatives have gathered for generations,' said Zack Moscot, chief design officer. 'Much like the Lower East Side in New York, the Left Bank is a place where history and creativity intersect, and we're honored to bring Moscot's timeless eyewear and craftsmanship to such a storied neighborhood. We're excited to contribute to its culture of design, artistry, and individuality.' This expansion is set to continue in the coming weeks, with a scheduled opening in Forte dei Marmi, a seaside town in Tuscany, Italy, and soon in Cannes, one of the star towns of the French Riviera. Illesteva, two stores in LA Illesteva was founded in 2010 by Daniel Silberman and Jus Ske, New Yorkers by birth and descent, with the aim of 'bringing a modern twist to timeless forms, exploring new designs through the integration of contemporary materials." After opening its first boutique in Soho, New York, in 2014, Illesteva opened its first West Coast store in 2015 at 1329 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice. The 650 square-foot store, located in a historic 1950s building, offered a selection of Illesteva's eyewear collections, as well as a 'Build Your Own' section for customized fralmes. After the Venice boutique, Illesteva continued its expansion in Los Angeles by opening a second boutique at The Grove, in the Beverly Grove neighborhood, in 2016. A favorite with celebrities, in recent years the brand has multiplied collaborations of all kinds with, among others, the Met Museum, New York designer Cynthia Rowley, Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios and art photographer Gray Malin. Today, the brand has 14 stores worldwide, with a strong predominance on the American market in LA, New York, Miami, Dallas and Washington D.C. Since 2018, the brand has also ventured into the South American continent with the opening of boutiques in Sao Paulo and Rio. Warby Parker, the affordable sunglasses specialist Present in Los Angeles with no fewer than eight physical stores, Warby Parker - named after characters in the novels of Jack Kerouac - has become a benchmark in the Los Angeles optical and sunwear market. Founded in 2010 in Philadelphia by Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, David Gilboa and Jeffrey Raider, Warby Parker has made a name for itself in the accessible eyewear market with prices starting at $95, a price unchanged since its inception and offset by the release of new, more upscale collections at $195 and $295. Now based in New York and led by two CEOs, David Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal, the Warby Parker brand currently boasts a market value of $2.5 billion. Originally an online-only retailer, it has 287 physical retail stores worldwide, 283 of which are in the U.S. and five of which are in Canada, and is betting on opening 900 stores in the US. Earlier this month, Warby Parker saw its share price reach a record $22 after announcing its partnership with Google to design glasses powered by artificial intelligence, and designed to be worn all day long. After an initial investment of $75 million, Google plans to invest a further $75 million in Warby Parker, becoming its minority shareholder. Both companies hope to become major players in the connected objects sector. According to the Invezz website, Warby Parker's sales will reach $224 million in 2024. The European sunglasses brands in Los Angeles Mykita, a German brand in Downtown LA The German brand founded in Berlin in 2003 by Harald Gottschling, Daniel Haffmans, Philipp Haffmans and Moritz Krüger opened its first store in Los Angeles in 2016 at 847 South Broadway, Downtown LA, inside an iconic building, the Eastern Columbia Building and its turquoise and blue façade. 'The rare and compelling character of Downtown really drew us in," said Mykita creative director and co-founder Moritz Krüger. "The authenticity of this area connected with so much history and controversy resonates with Mykita. Preserving the original character of the location and becoming part of its buzzing transformation is equally inspiring." Like its other stores, the architecture of this store features the all-white Mykita wall using perforated steel angle beads reinvented from their traditional function as heavy-duty shelving supports. Out of service flight attendant trolleys are also repurposed as a storage facility for additional glasses. In addition to traditional collections, the store also showcases the various collaborations between Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm, Damir Doma and Maison Margiela. The Berlin-based brand now has 17 stores worldwide. Its latest store opened in Fukuoka, Japan, last March. The brand has also been present in the United States since 2013, when it opened its New York store. A second boutique also opened in 2016 in Washington D.C. before opening in Los Angeles in September of the same year. Ray-Ban, three locations in Los Angeles Founded in the United States in 1937 by Bausch & Lomb, and conceived to create aviation sunglasses that would reduce the distraction for pilots caused by the intense blue and white hues of the sky, the Ray-Ban was sold in 1999 to the Italian group Luxottica for $460 million. According to national data, Los Angeles ranks among the cities with the highest number of Ray-Ban locations with three official boutiques. Ray-Ban's first permanent standalone store in Los Angeles opened in April 2018 at The Grove, following a successful pop-up in 2017. Two years later, the brand opened its second permanent boutique in the Venice neighborhood at 1420 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, followed by a final location at Brand at Americana in Glendale. A few months ago, the brand made headlines again by organizing an immersive pop-up on Melrose Avenue in collaboration with Meta (formerly Facebook). Hosted in an 8,000-square-foot space, the pop-up allowed visitors to try on Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, exploring their features with camera, audio, Meta AI, and designing custom laser-engraved cases on-site. Meta described this as an experiential retail lab to shape future brick-and-mortar strategies. According to parent company EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban currently has nearly 265 retail location worldwide. Asian brands in Los Angeles Gentle Monster, the Koreans in Downtown LA The Korean brand of creative optical and sunglasses now boasts 78 flagship stores across 13 countries. Founded in 2011 by Jay Oh and Hankook Kim, the brand from Seoul, South Korea, entered the American market in 2016 with the opening of its first boutique in Soho, New York City, designed by Rafael de Cárdenas and featuring avant-garde installations and a gallery-style layout. The brand chose Los Angeles a year later to open its second boutique in Downtown LA at 816 S. Broadway. The spacious 4,800 square-foot interior features immersive art installations – kinetic sculptures, rotating "harvest" themes, and a museum-like presentation of eyewear. Last March, the Korean brand formalized its entry into the European market with the opening of its first boutique in Milan during Milan Fashion Week at 10 Corso Como. The new space presented cybercore aesthetics and a silver color palette mixing classics with futuristic features. The brand also offered a first look at its new collaboration with Maison Margiela. A collaboration started in 2024 which was celebrated by a temporary abstract human-shaped installation placed in the center of the store. Jins, a new Japanese challenger on affordable glasses Jins Eyewear US Inc., a member of Jins Holdings Inc., has just opened its first store in Los Angeles at 1227 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, offering optical glasses and sunglasses starting at $90. A household name across Japan since 2001 with 765 stores worldwide and more than 500 stores across Japan, Jins is bringing its designed-in-Tokyo range of inclusive frame styles and functional, design-forward eyewear to the Los Angeles community, offering their core collection of prescription eyewear, limited-edition frames, and technologically advanced lenses. Customers can experience a new, digital-first experience that begins with scanning displayed products outfitted with RFID tags and QR codes, followed by an on-site consultation with trained staff to select the preferred lens style and receive personalized fitting and adjusting services. After processing, customers can pick up their custom prescription frames at an in-store locker in 30 minutes or choose to have it shipped to their homes. The Jins' store also offers exclusive customization service and showcases a new collaboration with Killspencer, a luxury handmade leather brand based in Los Angeles, which includes an eyewear case and a multi-frame travel case that can store up to four eyewear frames. Jins' debut Venice store interior concept includes a Japanese-inspired design, 'reflecting the intimate scale of traditional tea houses' explains the brand. 'We made use of the existing architecture to create a space that has the essence and philosophy of Japanese design, such as a tea ceremony room, by paying close attention to the size and height of the fixtures to express a cozy Japanese sense of scale,' said Fumiko Takahama and Tomohiko Komatsu, in a statement. Present in China since 2010, the Jins brand was established in the United States and Taiwan in 2015, before expanding to the Philippines and Hong Kong in 2018. 'The opening of its latest concept store in Los Angeles sees Jins accelerating its global expansion, with plans to open a new store in Vietnam this summer as it aims to become a truly global brand', explained the brand. 'The new Jins Abbot Kinney Store will be used to test new technology-led experiences, which will be implemented in other stores around the world."
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
How the Israel-Iran conflict is developing in cyberspace
As the conflict between Israel and Iran approaches the first-week mark, both countries are leaning into cyberspace to launch attacks. A possible Israeli-linked hacking group has claimed responsibility for disrupting operations at an Iranian bank and flooding the crypto market with approximately $90 million (€77 million) in stolen funds. Meanwhile, Israeli officials reported fake messages sent to the public alerting them of terrorist attacks against bomb shelters to sow panic. Both countries are also known for having a long history of cyberattacks against each other, according to US-based cybersecurity firm Radware. 'In the days since the fighting began, government-backed hackers, patriotic hacktivists, online propagandists, and opportunistic cybercriminals have all been active,' the company said in its threat alert dated June 18. The anti-Iranian hacking group with possible ties to Israel,Gonjeshke Darande, or 'Predatory Sparrow,' claimed an attack on one of Iran's most prominent banks, Bank Sepah, this week, according to a statement they published on X. Iranian media reported at the time that people had difficulties accessing their accounts, withdrawing cash or using their bank cards. The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Bank Sepah in 2018 for supporting Iran's military. The hacking group then went after Nobitex, one of Iran's main cryptocurrency exchanges. The group claimed they burned $90 million from accounts that belong to the Israeli regime and, by Thursday morning, had posted the source code for the platform. In a statement on X posted on Wednesday, Nobitex claimed that the assets were transferred to a wallet 'composed of arbitrary characters,' an approach they say 'deviates significantly from conventional crypto exchange hacks'. 'It is clear the intention behind this attack was to harm the peace of mind and assets of our fellow citizens under false pretences,' Nobitex wrote. Nobitex estimates the amount stolen is closer to $100 million (€87 million) The Iranian government has asked people to delete the social messaging app WhatsApp and has begun internet blackouts that have taken the country offline for 'over 12 hours' due to 'Israel's alleged 'misuse' of the network for military purposes,' according to internet monitoring companies Netblocks and Censys. Iran's Tasnim News Agency, a news service associated with the Iranian military, claimed the Internet blackouts are 'temporary' due to the 'special conditions of the country,' and that it will come back when the 'situation returns to normal'. Gonjeshke Darande has been linked to other cyber attacks in Iran, like the 2010 Stuxnet attack. Stuxnet was a computer virus that damaged or destroyed the centrifuges, a key component used to enrich uranium, at Iran's uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz, one of the facilities targeted in the recent missile fire from Israel. US media reports believe Stuxnet was carried out by Israel with support from the United States, who built the program. It's also believed that Israel's Defence Forces Unit 8200 was involved in the attack, according to Reuters. Gonjeshke Darande has also taken credit for other cyber attacks against Iran, such as the 2022 attack on Iran's steel plants and the 2023 attack on gas stations. At the time of the steel plant cyber attacks, Gonjeshke Darande released on social media what they called 'top secret documents and tens of thousands of emails' from Iran's three leading companies to show how the firms were working with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a primary branch of Iran's military. Israeli media reported people receiving fraudulent text messages claiming to come from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Home Front Command that warned of attacks onbomb shelters. The messages from OREFAlert were identified as fake by the Israeli authorities, who claim pro-Iranian groups are behind it as a way to sow panic during the operation against the Iranian military, called Operation Rising Lion. Another fake message circulated that said fuel supplies would be suspended for 24 hours, according to the Jerusalem Post. Ron Meyran, the VP of Cyber Threat Intelligence at US-based cybersecurity firm Radware, told the newspaper that there was a 700 per cent increase in cyberattacks against Israel in the first two days of the conflict with Iran, which comes from cyber retaliation from Iranian state actors. Those actions include infiltration attempts targeting critical infrastructure, data theft and malware distribution, Meyran added. Euronews Next reached out to Radware to independently confirm these numbers but did not hear back at the time of publication. A report from Radware says it expects Iran to make use of 'its well-developed network of fake social media personas to shape perceptions of the conflict.' 'During this crisis, observers have seen pro-Iran bot accounts amplifying hashtags about alleged Israeli atrocities and portraying Iran's actions as defensive,' the report said. The bots 'frequently pose as ordinary citizens to make the messaging more persuasive,' it added. Radware also noted in its report that at least 60 of the 100 hacktivist groups that have sprung up since the start of the conflict last week are pro-Iran and are either from the Middle East or Asia. These groups have launched 30 denial of service (DDos) attacks per day against Israel that disrupt normal traffic to a website, Radware found. Some of these groups have also threatened cyber attacks against the United Kingdom and the United States if leadership there decides to 'join the war against Iran'. Iran has a 'considerable number' of state-sponsored threat groups that have targeted Israel in the past, like Muddy Water, APT35 (OilRig), APT35 (Charming Kitten) and APT39 (Remix Kitten), the Radware report continued. These groups, with the help of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have targeted Israeli infrastructure, conducted malware campaigns and cyberespionage according to local media. These cyber attacks increased following the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in 2023, according to a 2024 report by Microsoft. A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company said the Starship 'experienced a major anomaly' at about 11 pm local time while on the test stand preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase, SpaceX's launch site at the southern tip of Texas. 'A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,' SpaceX said in a statement on the social platform X. Elon Musk's company SpaceX said there were no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site. The company said it is working with local officials to respond to the explosion.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Swiss central bank cuts interest rates to zero percent
The SNB, however, held off a decision to return to its era of negative rates -- a policy that helped to curb the Swiss franc's rise but was unpopular among pension funds and other investors. The franc's movement is also under scrutiny in the United States, as the US Treasury Department added Switzerland to its watch list of countries likely to manipulate their currencies earlier this month. The SNB says its interventions in the foreign exchange market aim to ensure price stability, not unduly increase the Swiss economy's competitiveness. The Swiss currency is a safe haven investment that has climbed against the dollar since US President Donald Trump launched his tariff blitz in April. In Thursday's statement, the SNB -- which has denied manipulating the franc -- said it "remains willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary". The SNB cited easing inflationary pressure in its decision to cut rates by a quarter point, but it also pointed to a gloomy economic forecast. "The global economic outlook for the coming quarters has deteriorated due to the increase in trade tensions," the central bank said, adding that the outlook for Switzerland remained uncertain. "Developments abroad continue to represent the main risk," it said, expecting growth in the global economy to weaken over the coming quarters. Cooling inflation The SNB said Swiss gross domestic product growth was strong in the first quarter of the year -- largely due to exports to the United States being brought forward ahead of Trump's tariff manoeuvres. But stripping that factor out, growth was more moderate, and is likely to slow again and remain subdued for the rest of the year, the SNB said. The SNB expects GDP growth of one percent to 1.5 percent for 2025, and for 2026 too. It said Swiss unemployment was likely to continue to rise slightly. The bank lowered its inflation forecast for 2025 from 0.4 percent to 0.2 percent, and for 2026 from 0.8 percent to 0.5 percent. The consumer price index even fell into negative territory in May, at minus 0.1 percent. Negative rates Between 2015 and 2022, the SNB's monetary policy was based on a negative interest rate of minus 0.75 percent -- which increased the cost of deposits held by banks and financial institutions relative to the amounts they were required to entrust to the central bank. Those seven years left a bitter memory for major savers, who bore the brunt in fees, while pension funds were forced into riskier investments. Negative rates make the Swiss franc less attractive to investors as it reduces returns on investments. Thursday's decision was widely expected by analysts. Adrian Prettejohn, Europe economist at the London-based research group Capital Economics, said the SNB is expected to move rates to negative 0.25 percent at its September meeting due to deflation. "There are also significant downside risks to inflation from trade tensions as well as heightened geopolitical uncertainty, which could push up the value of the franc further," he said. He said the central bank's language on currency interventions "supports our view that the SNB is not planning to use foreign exchange interventions as its main tool for loosening monetary policy anytime soon".
