Category Archive: 3.) Investec

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Income inequality in Switzerland remains stable after redistribution

2018-01-26

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2018-01-26

Inequality
Income inequality in Switzerland has remained stable according to a report published by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. A key measure of inequality involves dividing the income share of the top 20% by that of the bottom 20%, a measure known as S80/S20. 1 is complete equality.

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New poll on vote to axe Swiss broadcast fee suggests rejection

2018-01-25

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2018-01-25

TVs
A poll run by the media group Tamedia shows a clear majority in favour of rejecting the initiative, dubbed “No Billag”, which aims to end Switzerland’s broadcasting fee. This poll follows one done in December 2017, which showed a majority in favour of the initiative.

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Budget busting burgers – Swiss franc still the most overvalued

2018-01-23

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2018-01-23

McDonalds
The Economist has just published its January 2018 Big Mac index, a light-hearted measure of whether currencies are under or overvalued. The underlying assumption is that a Big Mac is the same whether bought in Kiev or Chur, so any price difference must be due to the exchange rate.

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Swiss fact: health insurance premiums cover only 37percent of Swiss healthcare costs

2018-01-23

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2018-01-23

Switzerland
Figures published in 2017 show that only 37% of Swiss healthcare costs were covered by basic compulsory health insurance premiums. The remaining cost was covered by the government (20%), accident and social insurance (10%), private complementary health insurance (7%), charity (1%) and out-of-pocket spending by individuals (26%).

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Swiss fact: nearly 50 percent of Swiss GDP comes from 4 cantons

2018-01-16

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2018-01-16

Switzerland is made up of 26 cantons – technically six are half cantons1 – each with its own distinct taxes, education system, hospitals and government. Land area varies significantly, from 37 sq/km Basel-Stadt to 7,105 sq/km Graubünden.

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Swiss franc could hit 1.22 by year end, according to economists

2018-01-15

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2018-01-15

According to Le Matin, economists at Swiss Life think the rise of the Swiss franc could be over and predict it will weaken to 1.22 to the euro by the end of the year. At the same time they point to risks that could send the currency in the opposite direction, such as the election in Italy, Brexit negotiations and uncertainty surrounding government in Germany.

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The number of people on welfare continues to rise in Switzerland

2018-01-14

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2018-01-14

Street
In 2016, around 273,000 people, 3.3% of the population, received welfare in Switzerland. The number (not the rate) was 2.9% higher than the year before and 15.7% higher than 5 years earlier when the rate was 3.0%. Rates of those receiving government aid varied significantly by canton, ranging from 0.8% in Appenzell Innerrhoden to 7.4% in Neuchâtel.

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Switzerland has more job vacancies than jobseekers

2018-01-12

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2018-01-12

Speaking to Tages-Anzeiger, Cornel Müller, director of marketing at x28, Switzerland’s largest job search aggregator, said there was a large jump in the number of jobs available in Switzerland compared to one year ago.

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Swiss tourism – sharp rises and falls from some countries over the summer

2017-12-22

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2017-12-22

Selfie
The number of visitors to Switzerland rose 6% this summer, but this headline figure hides some steep rises and falls. From May to October 2017, 11 million people holidayed in Switzerland, 644,000 more than the over same period in 2016.

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Switzerland’s “harmful tax regime” gets it on EU grey list

2017-12-09

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2017-12-09

This week EU Finance ministers came out with a list of countries it thinks don’t measure up to its definition of good tax behaviour. There are two categories: blacklist and so-called “grey list”. Black is bad and grey is heading toward good, but not yet there. Switzerland is on the “grey list”.

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Switzerland’s 1.3 billion franc payment to EU proves divisive

2017-11-27

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2017-11-27

EU Switzerland
Switzerland’s deal with the EU involves a financial contribution. The sum announced by the Federal Council is CHF 1.3 billion over the next 10 years.The arrangement, announced on Thursday to coincide with a visit by european commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, extends a previous 10 year deal.

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Stress rises among Swiss workers

2017-11-26

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2017-11-26

Luis Pablo Escoto Hernandez
A recent report by Travail.Suisse shows around 40% of Swiss workers report feeling often or very often stressed by their work.Stress and emotional exhaustion is a daily reality for many says Travail.Suisse. Between 2015 and 2017, the percentage suffering work related stress or emotional exhaustion has risen from 38% to 48%.

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Switzerland moves closer to female board quotas

2017-11-10

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2017-11-10

Seats
This week, Switzerland moved closer to requiring minimum percentages of women on company boards and management teams. A parliamentary commission came out in support of the Federal Council’s plan to require greater gender balance in the boardrooms of Switzerland’s large listed companies.

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One billion franc Swiss winter Olympic bid sparks backlash

2017-10-22

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2017-10-22

Mountain
On Wednesday, Switzerland’s Federal Council said it would stand behind the country’s winter Olympic bid to the tune of nearly one billion francs, according to newspaper 20 Minutes. The town of Sion, in Valais, is throwing its Olympic hat into the ring as the centerpiece for the 2026 winter games. Other cantons would also host certain events. In autumn 2019, a choice will be made between Sion, and other possible contenders, including Innsbruck...

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Swiss mobile roaming charges – a glimmer of hope

2017-09-14

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2017-09-14

Switzerland’s federal council, the country’s seven-person executive or cabinet, has come up with a plan to cut those exorbitant mobile roaming phone bills that many of us return home to after trips abroad, an experience which hurts even more now roaming charges have been eliminated for EU residents.

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The number of Swiss brewers continues to rise despite declining beer consumption

2017-09-09

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2017-09-09

Beer
A recent report shows a 2% drop in average Swiss beer consumption in 2016. Over the last 20 years it has dropped 4% to 54.9 litres per person. On its own this would be no cause for alarm, however in 2016, the number of breweries in Switzerland rose by 21% to 753. Since 2011, the number is up 118% from 345. The website bov.ch lists 794 breweries in Switzerland so it is possible that the number has grown further since government statistics were...

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Swiss retailers called on to remove palm oil from their products

2017-09-07

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2017-09-07

Factory
Two Swiss NGOs have started a petition calling for Swiss retailers to reduce or remove palm oil from their products. Present in many processed foods, cosmetics and detergents, the ingredient has a bad reputation. The NGOs Bread for All and the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund want to see a reduction in palm oil consumption. They believe voluntary initiatives by the palm oil sector to clean up the industry have done nothing to address the real problems...

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Swiss employee associations not opposed to a 60 hour week

2017-09-04

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2017-09-04

Swiss employee associations are not opposed to a 60 hour week. Several parliamentary initiatives aim to loosen Swiss labour rules. The first aims to allow staff and employers more flexibility regarding hours worked and time off. The second aims to loosen rules on recording hours of work by managers and specialists. Another initiative aims to extend this to include employees with shareholdings in start-ups.

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Swiss gender pay gap only 2 percent, says study

2017-08-25

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2017-08-25

Genders
The report says that while it is true that, as a group, women get paid less than men, it is not because they receive less for the same work. It is because they don’t get the highest-paying jobs in the highest-paid industries.

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Swiss Rail advert triggers accusation of sexism

2017-08-15

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2017-08-15

According to various newspapers, Swiss Rail placed an advert on a job portal at ETH, a university in Zurich, offering work to cunning vixens, “schlaue Füchsinnen” in German. Successful applicants need to dress up as foxes, including fox tails, and run around train stations with posters informing travellers of alternative train connections.

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