Category Archive: 3.) Investec

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Nearly 1 in 20 in Switzerland are millionaires, according wealth to report

2018-06-26

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2018-06-26

The 2017, a wealth report, published by Capgemini, shows there were 389,000 US$ millionaires in Switzerland, around 4.5% of the population, or close to 1 in 20. If children under the age of 15 are excluded, Switzerland’s millionaire percentage rises to 7.3%. In addition, these figures include only investable wealth, which does not include the value of family homes.

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Swiss residential property risks growing in buy to let, according to Swiss National Bank

2018-06-22

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2018-06-22

On 21 June 2018, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced its decision on interest rates, which it left unchanged. Switzerland’s economy has been sailing into the headwinds of a strong currency since the SNB scrapped its exchange rate cap in January 2015 and the Swiss franc briefly went beyond parity with the euro.

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The price of solidarity – Switzerland’s inter-cantonal payments for 2019

2018-06-20

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2018-06-20

Switzerland - inter cantonal transfers in 2019 - CHF 000s
In Switzerland, much in life revolves around the canton. Cantons have their own health, social and education systems, parliaments and tax rates. Federal government, based in Bern, is a layer that sits over the top, bringing the cantons together as Switzerland.

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Swiss Offshore Wealth Management Sector still World’s Largest by far

2018-06-18

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2018-06-18

Wealth-management-Switzerland
A report by The Boston Consulting Group highlights the size of Switzerland’s personal offshore wealth management sector. Total personal offshore wealth grew by 6% to reach US$8.2 trillion in 2017. US$2.3 trillion (28%) of this was managed in Switzerland. The top three offshore centres: Switzerland ($2.3 trillion), Hong Kong ($1.1 trillion) and Singapore ($0.9 trillion) made up more than half (52%) of the total.

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Swiss Unemployment Continues to Fall

2018-06-16

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2018-06-16

Swiss-unemployment
The number of registered unemployed in Switzerland dropped by 9% in May 2018 to a rate of 2.4%, down from 2.7% in April, according to a report by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The rate in May 2018 was 22% lower than in May 2017.

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Switzerland’s parliament narrowly votes for women’s quotas on company boards

2018-06-16

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2018-06-16

Yesterday, Switzerland’s National Council, or parliament, voted 95 to 94, with 3 abstentions, to introduce quotas for the management and boards of quoted companies. Boards will be required to have 30% women and management teams 20%. The rules could affect 250 companies.

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Vaud Plans Tax Cuts

2018-06-13

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2018-06-13

Lausanne
The residents of Vaud are among the highest taxed in Switzerland. In 2016, a single person in Lausanne earning CHF 100,000 paid CHF 16,050 in cantonal and communal tax on top of CHF 1,840 of federal tax. This was the fourth highest across all of Switzerland’s 26 cantonal capitals, and almost triple Zug, the lowest, where the figure was CHF 5,750 – see chart below.

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Swiss pensions – lump sum withdrawal restrictions rejected by Council of States

2018-06-12

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2018-06-12

Against the wishes of the Federal Council, Switzerland’s upper house, the Council of States, rejected a plan to prevent people from withdrawing lump sums from their 2nd Pillar pensions, according to the newspaper Tribune de Genève. Last week, the Council of States voted 25 to 15 to reject the plan.

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Nestlé plans to move 580 jobs out of Switzerland

2018-06-10

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2018-06-10

Last week, Nestlé announced plans to cut its Swiss workforce by 580. The plans involve restructuring its IT department, with a focus on extending its technology hub in Spain. Over the next 18 months, this re-organization could lead to a reduction of up to 500 IT positions in Switzerland, said the company. A source close to Nestlé told Le News that around two thirds of the cuts will occur in Vevey and the remaining third in Lausanne and at the...

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No relief for Swiss renters

2018-06-06

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2018-06-06

Every three months the rate of interest used to set Swiss rents is reviewed. If it goes down some renters have the right to request a decrease in rent. This time it remained at 1.50%. The last time it dropped was 1 June 2017 when it fell to its lowest level since 2008.

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House Prices Down in Verbier but Up in Some other Swiss resorts

2018-06-04

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2018-06-04

Verbier
A recent report published by UBS shows real estate price changes in european mountain resorts. Over the last year, Verbier (-3.2%) and Crans Montana (-3.0%) experienced the largest price declines, while Saas Fee (+14.3%) and St. Moritz (+7.4%) climbed the most.

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Pay in Zurich and Geneva highest in the world

2018-06-03

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2018-06-03

Days of pay to buy an iPhone X
A survey of the cost of living in 77 cities, by UBS, ranks Zurich (1st) and Geneva (2nd) as the most expensive. But while these cities are the most expensive, their workers are also the highest paid. In Zurich, less than five days pay affords an iPhone X. In Geneva, the same device requires less than six days of labour.

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Switzerland second hardest working nation in Europe

2018-05-29

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2018-05-29

Recent statistics show that the average full-time employee in Switzerland worked 42.6 hours a week. This is slightly less than an average Icelander (42.9) – the longest working – but 13% longer than the average in leisurely France (37.4), the european nation putting in the fewest hours.

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High Swiss Drug Prices – Campaign Presents a Solution to Swiss government

2018-05-27

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2018-05-27

Generic-drugs-Switzerland
This week, the Swiss NGO Public Eye, launched a campaign for more affordable medicine in Switzerland under the slogan: protect patients, not patents. The NGO says high prices, of cancer drugs in particular, is not only an issue affecting developing nations but wealthy ones too. It says that cancer treatments in Switzerland often cost over CHF 100,000 a year.

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Switzerland Drops in Economic Competitiveness Ranking

2018-05-26

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2018-05-26

Swiss-business
While Switzerland remains in the top five with the same other four countries in this year’s IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, it slipped from second to fifth place. The United States rose from fourth to first, second and third places went to Hong Kong and Singapore, and fourth place to the Netherlands.

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Fribourg – moves to axe government pensions for life

2018-05-22

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2018-05-22

Fribourg
Switzerland’s government is working hard to find ways to fix a looming state pension shortfall. Two politicians in the canton of Fribourg have decided to seek savings by attempting to cut lifetime government pensions granted after short stints in the job, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes.

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Switzerland’s vote to change its monetary system – sensible or silly?

2018-05-21

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2018-05-21

Swiss franc
Sometimes Swiss voters are presented with questions that only specialists are equipped to answer. The vote on 10 June 2018 to change their monetary system appears to be one of these. On the surface it appears simple. Upon closer inspection it contains much complexity and uncertainty, compounded by a widespread misunderstanding of how the financial system works – banks do not act simply as intermediaries, lending out the deposits that savers place...

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Swiss Rail drops plan to put Wi-Fi in trains

2018-05-20

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2018-05-20

Swiss Rail wifi
Swiss Rail has dropped plans to install Wi-Fi in its trains, according to the newspaper Le Matin. After a survey revealed that customers would only use on-board Wi-Fi it was free, the company decided there was no justifiable way to cover the cost, according the the newspaper. Swiss Rail is not prepared to bear the costs the mobile operators would charge them for the service and cannot not justify adding the cost to ticket prices.

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Disability welfare – fraud investigations expected to save 170 million

2018-05-19

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2018-05-19

By January 2018, the number receiving disability welfare in Switzerland had dropped to 217,200, 40,300 fewer than in 2006 when the number reached a record 257,500. Switzerland’s Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) attributes the reduction to an occupational rehabilitation programme started in 2008, and disability welfare fraud investigations.

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Median Swiss salary rises

2018-05-18

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2018-05-18

Swiss salaries have risen according to a recently published report by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. The median gross monthly salary was CHF 6,5021 in 2016, CHF 313 higher than in 2014. 50% of Swiss workers earned more than this and 50% earned less.

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