Stocks Close Higher After Mubarak Departure

Stocks ended higher Friday, reaching fresh multi-year highs, after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned in response to demonstrations against his rule, helping lift investor sentiment and uncertainties surrounding the country.



In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned and handed over control of the country to the military, ending 30-years of rule, announced Vice President Omar Suleiman.

The president "has decided to give up his position as president of the republic," Suleiman said on national TV and added that the president had charged the higher military council to run affairs in the "tough circumstances that the country is passing through."

After refusing to step down until the September elections, Mubarak finally bowed to a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands.


Stocks Close Higher After Mubarak Departure

Mubarak assets frozen by Swiss government

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Switzerland's government moved Friday to freeze any assets in the country's banks that might belong to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak or his family, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

Mubarak ended his 30-year reign Friday, stepping down following 18 days of protests against his rule. (CNN.com - Egypt's Mubarak resigns after 30-year rule)
An official statement from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said the Swiss cabinet had frozen all funds belong to Mubarak or "his circles."

"The [government] intends in doing so to avoid any risk of embezzlement of Egyptian state property," the statement read. "At the same time, the cabinet calls on responsible authorities in Egypt to comply with the justified demands of the Egyptian people in a quick, credible, participatory and transparent manner."


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