Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Nearly 1 in 6 lives in a household with outstanding debts in Switzerland

Even before high inflation hit people’s pockets many Swiss households were over extended. In 2020, almost one in six residents lived in a household with debt arrears, according to data released this week by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

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Gas industry head warns winter supplies could be tight

The president of the Swissgas industry platform says Switzerland is not aware of how fragile the situation is and that “it would not take much” to lead to a winter shortage. André Dosé told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper on Thursday that looming gas shortages elsewhere in Europe and exploding prices amounted to a “huge problem” for Swiss supplies.

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Swiss inflation up again in June 2022

On 4 July 2022, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) published June inflation data, which show prices 3.4% higher than one year ago, well above the Swiss National Bank target of 2.0%. Switzerland’s consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.5% in June 2022, less than the 0.7% rise in May 2022.

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Swiss to double aid to Ukraine

Switzerland will double its aid to Ukraine to CHF100 million ($104 million) by the end of 2023, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in the Swiss city of Lugano.

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Large Hadron Collider restart at CERN

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is back. Scientists are again firing proton beams at nearly the speed of light around its 27-kilometre loop as they resume their search for clues to the origins of the universe. After three years of maintenance work, the world’s biggest particle accelerator, located at the CERN particle physics laboratory near Geneva, has started its third operational cycle, officials said this week. The increased amount of energy...

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Swiss debt enforcement offices aiding money laundering

In Switzerland, it is possible to pay delinquent debts with large sums of cash. Some criminals are using the loophole to launder money, reports Le Matin.

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Inflation ‘back with a vengeance’ in Switzerland

The price of household goods for Swiss consumers rose 3.4% in June compared to the same month last year, led by the surging cost of fuel and heating oil. “Inflation, which has de facto been absent for more than a decade, is back with a vengeance,” said economic forecast group BAK Economics.

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Large Hadron Collider primed to hit record energy levels

Ten years after it discovered the Higgs boson, the world’s biggest particle accelerator is poised to smash together protons at record energy levels at the CERN particle physics laboratory near Geneva, as scientists resume their search for clues to the origins of the universe.

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As interest rates climb and the economy cools, can companies pay their debts?

Welcome to the American corporate-debt market of 2022. Often the only risky bonds that are being issued are the legacy debts of a now ancient-seeming time—when interest rates were low and a recession was unthinkable. Elsewhere, the high-yield market has almost ground to a halt.

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Swiss minister pushes for renewable energy to replace gas imports

Energy Minister Simonetta Sommaruga has warned of possible shortages of natural gas in Switzerland during the winter months

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Rebuilding Ukraine. How much can the Lugano summit achieve?

How to set Ukraine on the path to recovery will be the focus of a major international conference hosted by Switzerland in Lugano in early July. But that may be easier said than done with war still raging in parts of the country and lingering concerns about corruption.

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Swiss gold imports come under scrutiny as G7 targets Russia

An unexpected spike in Switzerland’s gold imports from Russia is under scrutiny as the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations gear up to introduce a ban on the precious metal.

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War and peace: dual-use technologies divide

New technologies, developed to improve our society, are increasingly being used to wage war. Switzerland, which leads the development of autonomous drones, is very much affected by this phenomenon.

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Swiss franc worth more than the euro

This week, the Swiss franc rose to beyond parity with the euro as traders sought safe haven assets as concerns about risks to global growth grew.

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James Webb – A glimpse into the origins of the universe

The James Webb Space Telescope, which lifted off into the heavens in December 2021, is on the hunt for distant galaxies, faint comets and early star formations. A key component of the telescope was part-developed in Switzerland. The Webb, the biggest and most powerful telescope ever sent into space, is considered as the successor to the Hubble telescope launched in 1990 by NASA. However, while the Hubble captures images in the spectrum visible to...

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Cartel fined for fixing price of Volkswagens

A group of Volkswagen dealers in southern Switzerland has been fined CHF44 million ($46 million) by the Federal Competition Commission (Comco). The seven cartel members, including car importer AMAG, had fixed the prices of new Volkswagen cars for years.

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Foreign currencies going off Swiss central bank menu

Switzerland’s central bank is buying lower volumes of foreign currencies to support the franc as it balances the needs of exporters with the rising cost of goods.

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‘Hidden’ costs of transport total CHF14 billion

Negative costs on third parties caused by transport in Switzerland amounted to CHF14 billion ($14.7 billion) in 2019. The damage mainly affects the environment and climate, but also health.

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Novartis to cut 1,400 jobs in Switzerland

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is laying off more than one in ten employees in Switzerland over the next three years – 1,400 of 11,600 jobs will go. It also plans to cut 8,000 of 108,000 jobs worldwide.

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The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 2

In Switzerland, all able-bodied men complete compulsory military service, while others opt for a civilian service. But how useful is a conscript army in light of what Russia did to Ukraine?

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