Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Investec is a distinctive Specialist Bank and Asset Manager. We provide a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, as well as certain other geographies. Investec’s strategic goals are motivated by the desire to develop an efficient and integrated business on an international scale through the active pursuit of clearly established core competencies in the group’s principal business areas.
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Pandemic drives Swiss Post parcel deliveries

2022-01-20

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2022-01-20

The state-owned Swiss Post processed a record number of parcels last year, but the downward letter mail continued. Parcel deliveries increased by 9.6% to 202 million in 2021, according to the state-owned company.“

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Is the luxury watch market facing a democratic revolution?

2022-01-20

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2022-01-20

Entrepreneur Thomas Baillod has just launched a “Swiss Made” tourbillon watch for under CHF5,000 ($5,450), a marketing coup which shows that mid-range watches still have a place in a watch industry increasingly focused on ultra-luxury.

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Electric car sales pass ‘tipping point’ in Switzerland

2022-01-19

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2022-01-19

The number of new electric cars sold in Switzerland continues to accelerate – even faster than predicted, according to the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) car association.

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Victims of CHF800 million fraud scheme feel short-changed

2022-01-18

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2022-01-18

Administrators clearing up a CHF800 million ($877 million) collapsed pyramid scheme have managed to recover just CHF12.7 million from one of Switzerland’s largest fraud cases.

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Swiss cantons mull lower taxes for wealthy executives

2022-01-17

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2022-01-17

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has hinted that cantons might lower income taxes for well-heeled executives as the country braces for the impact of a minimum corporate tax rate.

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Why governments need to tackle the impact of trade on climate change

2022-01-16

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2022-01-16

In 2021, global carbon pollution returned almost to 2019 levels, after a drop during the lockdowns of the pandemic year 2020. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved The production and trade of goods is at the heart of the globalised market and has a significant environmental impact. Yet there was little discussion at COP26 on how to make it more sustainable, the former director of the World Trade Institute (WTI) tells SWI...

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Finance minister says global corporate tax to come into force in 2024

2022-01-14

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2022-01-14

The Swiss government has pledged to implement from 2024 the minimum tax rate for large multinational companies under a global tax deal.

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Cost of Swiss postage hiked for first time in 18 years

2022-01-12

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2022-01-12

From 1 January 2022, the cost of posting a standard letter for next day delivery (A-class) is 10% higher and a B-class letter 6% higher. These price hikes are the first of their kind in 18 years, reported RTS.

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Internet campaigner fights for more data awareness

2022-01-11

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Nikki Böhler is a young Swiss internet campaigner who is part of a growing community seeking to shape the digital transformation of society. The 29-year-old wants people to become more aware of the importance of their personal online data and of the traces they leave behind on the internet. But she also wants to improve data transparency so that existing, anonymised data can be used for the common good. Her video portrait is the first in the...

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Banks risk becoming new fossil fuel villains in 2022

2022-01-11

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2022-01-11

As businesses were gearing up for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last year, one of Europe’s larger banks released an update on how it planned to do its bit to combat global warming.

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Swiss central bank forecasts CHF26bn annual profit

2022-01-11

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2022-01-11

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) expects to post a profit of CHF26 billion ($28 billion) for 2021, a windfall made exclusively from its growing foreign currency holdings.

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No weakening expected in Swiss house prices

2022-01-10

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2022-01-10

The Swiss housing market continues to rise with no signs of weakening, reported RTS this week. According to the real estate platform immoscout24, the average price per m2 for a family home in Switzerland has risen from CHF 6,700 to CHF 7,200 over the last 12 months, a rise of 7%. Apartment prices have risen even further in some places.

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Switzerland writes off small portion of flight repatriation bill

2022-01-09

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2022-01-09

The majority of stranded Swiss people repatriated during the first pandemic wave have paid back their share of flight bills. But the foreign ministry has been forced to write off CHF210,000 ($230,000) and is still haggling over another CHF360,000.

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Zurich court rules Uber drivers are not ‘independent workers’

2022-01-08

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2022-01-08

The latest cantonal ruling on the US ride-hailing firm comes as a national framework to determine the status of gig economy workers in Switzerland is still lacking.

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Shared e-bikes and e-scooters ‘do climate more harm than good’

2022-01-07

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2022-01-07

Shared e-scooters and e-bikes can have a negative effect on the climate, a Swiss study has found. This is because such services generally replace trips with normal bicycles, rather than cars.

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Pandemic pushes Swiss house prices higher

2022-01-06

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2022-01-06

The value of residential property in Switzerland continued to rise strongly in 2021 in the wake of Covid-19. Property prices are likely to rise further this year, according to an analysis.

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Annual consumer price inflation hits 0.6 percent

2022-01-05

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2022-01-05

Consumer prices in Switzerland increased by 0.6% on average last year, according to the Federal Statistics Office. and +0.4% respectively.The consumer price index fell by 0.1% in December

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Zurich Airport faces another loss for 2021

2022-01-04

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2022-01-04

The Covid pandemic has hit Zurich Airport, one of the biggest employers in the region, hard. But CEO Stephan Widrig says there are sufficient financial resources to get through the crisis, including the Omicron variant.

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Watchmaking workforce remains stable despite pandemic

2021-12-28

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2021-12-28

The annual census of the Swiss watch industry labour force found that partial unemployment helped the industry weather the pandemic over the last year. The number of employees in the industry remained stable in 2021 while the share of high skilled staff increased.

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In global supply chain crisis, even Swiss skis are counting the cost

2021-12-27

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2021-12-27

Shortages of raw materials and logistics bottlenecks have made 2021 a tough year for Swiss manufacturers, and contributed to a downgrade in the government’s GDP growth forecast for the economy next year. 

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