Policy shifts to hit luxury goods

The stronger franc will cut sales in China of two well-known symbols of luxury from Switzerland - watches and chocolates, analysts say.

The Swiss National Bank surprised the world on Thursday by announcing the abandonment of its minimum exchange rate policy, which kept the euro from falling below 1.2 Swiss francs.

The SNB said in a statement that the policy, introduced in 2011, "protected the Swiss economy from serious harm" but was no longer justified because the franc had fallen sharply against the dollar due to the recent depreciation of the euro.