Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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The family heirlooms becoming worthless

2018-11-26

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In Switzerland, whether it’s for stamps or walnut cabinets, demand for thrift shops seems to be decreasing. Only extremely rare pieces still get … Everything is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. This also applies to antiques at auctions or in thrift shops. At these places, sellers of old … Continue...

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Bern corporate tax cuts flop at ballot box

2018-11-26

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2018-11-26

Voters in canton Bern have rejected a proposal to lower corporate taxes, dealing a surprise blow to the government and parliament trying to give the canton a competitive edge. Nearly 54% of voters on Sunday came out against a planned lowering of tax rates for companies headquartered in the canton meeting certain criteria.

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Swiss Post Office appoints CEO to steer clear of controversy

2018-11-25

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2018-11-25

The Swiss Post Office has appointed a new chief executive to lead the state-owned company out of a troubled few months following a subsidies scandal that came to light earlier this year. Roberto Cirillo will take over at the helm next April, replacing interim boss Ulrich Hurni, the Swiss Post announced on Thursday. Hurni has been minding the fort since Susanne Ruoff was forced to quit as CEO in June.

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Switzerland’s electronic motorway vignette to be optional

2018-11-24

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2018-11-24

Swiss-vignette
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided the planned electronic motorway vignette will be optional. Drivers will be able to choose. Anyone wanting to drive on Switzerland’s motorway network must first buy a vignette, a road tax sticker introduced in 1985, which must be displayed on the windscreen. It currently costs CHF 40.

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Swiss Unemployment Benefits Cut for a one-day filing delay

2018-11-24

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2018-11-24

Swiss-unemployment-benefits
Switzerland’s unemployment benefits might be generous but they are strictly policed, as one recipient recently discovered. For a period of up to approximately two years after losing a job, most workers in Switzerland receive 70% of their former salary up to a maximum of CHF 88,200 a year – the amount paid varies depending on circumstances1.

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Börsen-Talk vom 23. November 2018

2018-11-23

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Cash-Guru Alfred Herbert ist keineswegs zuversichtlich, dass die Aktienmärkte mittelfristig wieder steigen werden. Im cash-Börsen-Talk sagt er, welche Aktie er dennoch zugekauft hat.

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Börsen-Talk vom 23. November 2018

2018-11-23

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cash-Guru Alfred Herbert ist keineswegs zuversichtlich, dass die Aktienmärkte mittelfristig wieder steigen werden. Im cash-Börsen-Talk sagt er, welche Aktie er dennoch zugekauft hat.

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Two-thirds of Swiss see artificial intelligence as job threat

2018-11-23

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2018-11-23

Only 34% of Swiss people believe their jobs are not at risk from automation and machine learning, according to a survey commissioned by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Almost half of the 2,092 people surveyed by the Link Institute for SBC felt that some of their daily tasks could be done by machines and algorithms, while 15% were convinced that robots could do much of their work.

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Switzerland: home to one of Europe’s oldest monasteries

2018-11-22

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In the east of Switzerland, in Val Müstair, is one of the oldest churches in Europe. Here, in the Middle Ages, Charlemagne was venerated as a saint. — 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. …

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Hackers wanted

2018-11-22

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The federal government hopes to allow Swiss citizens to vote online in the 2019 federal elections. A new platform has been developed but before launching it, any weaknesses need to be found out: that’s why a hacker position has just been opened. Nouvo brings you short videos about Switzerland, Swiss current affairs and the wider … Continue reading...

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Skills Shortage on the Rise in Key Professions

2018-11-22

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2018-11-22

Switzerland’s talent shortage is more pronounced in 2018, a new survey has found. Technical, financial, and medical professions are most affected, while job seekers in the hospitality, retail, and administrative sectors face the greatest competition.

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Taxes and insurance eat up almost 30percent of Swiss household income

2018-11-21

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2018-11-21

Swiss households spend an average of 29% on mandatory payments like taxes, social contributions and health insurance. Figures released by the Swiss Statistical Office on Monday reveal that, based on 2016 data, a Swiss household had an average income of CHF7,124 ($7,140), of which CHF2,910 was eaten up by unavoidable expenses.

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Swiss investigate cause of deadly bridge collapse

2018-11-20

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Scientists at a lab near Zurich are investigating why a bridge collapsed in Genoa in August, killing 43 people. Scientists at a specialist lab in Switzerland are trying to determine why a bridge collapsed in the Italian port of Genoa in August this year, killing 43 people. The Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology, …

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How CERN’s rotting photos were restored

2018-11-20

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Mouldy slides captured in the 80s at the CERN particle physics laboratory in Geneva and left to rot have been made into artwork. Mouldy slides captured in the 1980s at the CERN particle physics laboratory in Geneva and left to rot, have been made into artwork. The slides were mostly copies of negatives dating from … Continue...

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Bankers are no longer Switzerland’s top earners

2018-11-20

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2018-11-20

The pharmaceutical industry and insurance companies have overtaken banking as the best paid sectors in Switzerland, according to the NZZ am Sonntag. In 2016, bank executives took home an average gross salary of CHF220,000 ($220,394) per year, which is CHF 40,000 less than ten years ago.

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Börsen-Talk vom 16. November 2018

2018-11-19

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Die Finanzmärkte werden kaum in ruhigere Fahrwasser kommen, sagt Janet Mui. Im cash-Börsen-Talk sagt die Ökonomin des Vermögensverwalters Schroders, welche Sektoren sich für Aktienanleger eignen, und welcher nicht.

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Markus Bernhard, CEO Mobilezone

2018-11-19

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Mobilezone erhielt immer wieder Übernahme-Anfragen, möchte aber in erster Linie selber Firmen kaufen, sagt Markus Bernhard im cash-Interview. Er verrät Details zur Dividende und den Abräumer bei den Smartphones 2018.

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Swiss civil servants incur CHF121 million in expenses

2018-11-19

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2018-11-19

The expenses of Swiss civil servants added up to CHF 121.7 million ($122 million) last year, according to the SonntagsBlick newspaper. Counting the 34,800 full-time positions in the federal administration in 2016, that level of spending amounts to almost CHF3,500 per civil servant.

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Minimum return on Swiss pensions unchanged

2018-11-18

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2018-11-18

A government commission looking at the rate, called for a reduction to 0.75%, while unions demanded a rise to 1.25%. In the end the Federal Council decided to take the middle road and leave the rate at 1% for 2019. The rate is the minimum pension funds must apply to employment related 2nd pillar pension assets in 2019.

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Home-care services increase, nursing home stays stagnate

2018-11-17

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2018-11-17

Better at home than in a home: almost 350,000 people made use of assistance and home-care services (Spitex) last year, 10,000 more than in 2016. In contrast, the number of residents of old-age and nursing homes remained constant at 149,000, 15% of them for a short stay. Spitex, a Swiss non-profit organisation that provides in-home nursing services like changing bandages and administering medicine, chalked up nearly 16 million hours of home care and...

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