Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Main Author Investec
Investec
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.
My articlesMy siteAbout meMy books
Follow on:LinkedINTwitterAmazon
Filter archive by: Show All Show only Articles Show only Videos

Switzerland braces for 100% US medicine tariff

2025-09-26

by

2025-09-26

United States President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on medicines, lorries and furniture produced outside the US. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox From October 1, "we will apply a 100% tax on all branded and patented pharmaceutical products, unless a company BUILDS its pharmaceutical plant in America", Trump wrote …

Read More »

Swiss parliament demands greater transparency in pricing of food

2025-09-25

by

2025-09-25

The Swiss Senate on Thursday approved a parliamentary initiative to monitor precisely who makes what margin in the food value chain and where various costs are incurred. The House of Representatives had previously also voted in favour of such an initiative. The Senate reached its decision by 21 votes to 18, with no abstentions. The …

Read More »

Starbucks announces store closures in Switzerland

2025-09-25

by

2025-09-25

The US coffee chain Starbucks has announced store closures in Switzerland as part of its global cost-cutting measures. Locations with insufficient customer footfall or no economic prospects are affected. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The company announced on Thursday that the aim is to focus its offering more strongly on …

Read More »

Swiss National Bank keeps key interest rate at zero

2025-09-25

by

2025-09-25

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is taking a break from interest rates. After six consecutive interest rate cuts, the key interest rate will remain at 0.00%, the SNB announced on Thursday. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Inflationary pressure is practically unchanged compared to the previous quarter, the SNB wrote in …

Read More »

Two Swiss parties face dilemma on agreements with EU

2025-09-25

by

2025-09-25

The Centre Party and the Radical-Liberal Party are struggling to define their stance on new agreements between Switzerland and the European Union. Much is at stake for both, including their influence. The debate offers significant potential for them to make political gains, our analysis shows. It is the middle of the legislative term. Since June, …

Read More »

UBS ‘boosts bonuses’ to keep top wealth staff

2025-09-24

by

2025-09-24

UBS bank is raising the payouts earned by its wealth advisers in the United States, with the aim of retaining and hiring personnel at a time of intense competition for talent. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Earlier this month, the Swiss bank announced internally that it would increase rewards for …

Read More »

Swiss Senate backs foreign investment controls

2025-09-24

by

2025-09-24

Switzerland's Senate has backed plans to control foreign investment in Swiss companies. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox After the House of Representatives, the Senate adopted the government bill to this effect on Wednesday by 27 votes to 11, against the advice of its committee. The project aims to introduce a …

Read More »

Tariffs dampen Swiss economic growth prospects

2025-09-24

by

2025-09-24

The Swiss economy is likely to grow much more slowly in the coming year than was assumed in the summer, according to experts from the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The US tariff hammer of early August and the various uncertainties are to … Continue...

Read More »

Swiss realtor optimism at all-time high

2025-09-24

by

2025-09-24

Despite a cautious assessment of the economic situation, the Swiss property sector is looking to the next 12 months with optimism, according to a study by consultancy giant KPMG. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This is due to significantly higher price expectations, which for the first time also apply to …

Read More »

US tariffs force Switzerland to rethink trade ties

2025-09-24

by

2025-09-24

United States trade policy is rattling countries worldwide and prompting them to redirect trade flows at record speed. This is also how Switzerland is responding. US tariffs have put many countries in a tight spot. Persistent uncertainty is only making matters worse: will the US president suddenly slap on further tariffs, despite all concessions, as …

Read More »

Swisscom to relocate jobs to Holland and Latvia

2025-09-24

by

2025-09-24

Swisscom intends to relocate certain IT development tasks from Switzerland to Rotterdam and Riga. This was confirmed by the telecoms provider on Wednesday at the request of the news agency AWP. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox According to a report by CH Media, 1,000 to 1,400 employees will be working …

Read More »

France: UBS pays €835 million to settle tax dispute

2025-09-23

by

2025-09-23

UBS has settled an old tax dispute in France and will pay a total of 835 million euros (CHF780.7 million) to put an end to this case dating from 2004 to 2012, it announced on Tuesday. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The €835 million to be paid breaks down into … Continue reading »

Read More »

Thyssenkrupp Presta cuts 570 jobs in Switzerland and Liechtenstein

2025-09-22

by

2025-09-22

The crisis in the automotive industry is also hitting Switzerland hard. Thyssenkrupp Presta, a group specialising in the production of steering systems for cars, will cut up to 570 jobs in Liechtenstein and the Swiss canton of Appenzell Inner Rhodes. Over the next 12 months, the workforce will be reduced by a quarter, the subsidiary …

Read More »

Switzerland halts work on futuristic underground freight transport facility

2025-09-22

by

2025-09-22

The federal government, the local cantons and the city of Zurich are suspending further work on the Cargo Sous Terrain project for an underground freight transport facility for the time being. The reason for this is that the requirements have not been met. According to a statement issued by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) …

Read More »

Is Swiss Neutrality Still a Thing? | Your Questions Answered

2025-09-21

by

Neutrality in Switzerland: still relevant today? 🇨🇭🧀 And what does Swiss cheese have to do with it? Watch this video to find out and head over to SWI swissinfo.ch for more answers to your questions. --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch...

Read More »

Americans turn to Swiss banks in search of a safe haven

2025-09-20

by

2025-09-20

Americans are knocking more and more insistently on the doors of Swiss banks, although few institutions now cater to this type of clientele. The attraction is Switzerland's reputation as one of the most stable countries, with a prosperous economy and a tradition of neutrality, a sort of safe haven in the storm of Washington's tariffs. …

Read More »

Swiss firm suspected of violating gold sanctions against Russia

2025-09-20

by

2025-09-20

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) has launched an investigation into Open Mineral, a commodities trader based in Baar. The company is suspected of violating sanctions against Russia in relation to gold, Reuters reported on Friday. Open Mineral allegedly traded the precious metal from Russia, violating sanctions against Moscow after the start of the …

Read More »

Swiss government wants a new law to secure gas supplies

2025-09-20

by

2025-09-20

The supply of gas in Switzerland is to be regulated by means of a new special law (Gas Supply Act). On Friday, the government launched a consultation until December 19 on a draft. The aim is to increase the security of gas supply and to define clear rules for market access by end consumers, a … Continue reading...

Read More »

Novartis CEO wants to end higher pricing for drugs sold in the US

2025-09-20

by

2025-09-20

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis wants to eliminate the price difference between medicines in the US and other industrialised countries. Group CEO Vasant Narasimhan believes that countries outside the US have a duty to contribute more to innovation. "It is a fact that American patients pay for a large part of the innovations," said Narasimhan …

Read More »

How a clash with Roche exposed cracks in Switzerland’s drug pricing system

2025-09-19

by

2025-09-19

Switzerland’s new fast-track process to speed up patient access to the latest drugs has hit its first major hurdle, with a stand-off between the regulator and pharma giant Roche over the price of its cancer treatment Lunsumio. The dispute risks setting a dangerous precedent. Pharma multinational Roche has sent shockwaves through Switzerland’s healthcare system, deploying …

Read More »