Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Cartel fined for fixing price of Volkswagens

2022-07-01

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2022-07-01

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

2022-06-30

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2022-06-30

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

2022-06-30

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2022-06-30

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

2022-06-29

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2022-06-29

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

2022-06-28

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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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Traders with Swiss links continue to buy and sell Russian oil

2022-06-28

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2022-06-28

Around 20 traders have reportedly increased their shipments of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine broke out. A third of these players have strong connections to Geneva, according to the newspaper Le Matin Dimanche.

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SWISS plans more flight cancellations into autumn

2022-06-27

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2022-06-27

Additional cancellations of SWISS flights are “unavoidable” because of staff shortages, a company spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Sunday.

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Higher federal tax deductions for health insurance announced

2022-06-27

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2022-06-27

The cost of Swiss health insurance has risen sharply over the years. However, the amount that can be deducted from income to calculate federal taxes has remained comparatively low. This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of closing the gap between the standardised health insurance tax deductions and what people actually pay, reported RTS.

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Switzerland details revenue split for global corporate tax rate

2022-06-25

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2022-06-25

Switzerland will implement from 2024 the minimum tax rate for large multinational firms under a global tax deal. The federal government will get a quarter and regional and local authorities three-quarters of revenue, it said on Thursday, outlining how the deal would be implemented.

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Ukrainian students adjust to life in Switzerland

2022-06-24

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The Lucerne School of Art and Design has taken in 29 Ukrainian students as exchange students rather than refugees. This means their time in Switzerland counts towards their degree. The 29 students come from the Lviv National Academy of Arts, a partner university. They came by bus via Warsaw, Poland, and then through Germany and on to Lucerne shortly after the war started in Ukraine. Monika Gold, head of the Bachelor’s Programme in Graphic Design,...

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Alpine rail tunnel and suburban train services to get boost

2022-06-24

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2022-06-24

The government has presented plans for an upgrade of the country’s railway network, including an additional Alpine tunnel in western Switzerland. About CHF720 million ($745 million) have been set aside to upgrade the Lötschberg base tunnel and other regional projects near Zürich and Geneva in the next decade.

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Switzerland to ease exchange of Ukrainian currency in line with EU

2022-06-23

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2022-06-23

Refugees with a special legal status will be able to exchange a limited amount of Ukranian banknotes for Swiss francs. The Swiss government on Wednesday announced that adults with a protection S status may exchange one amount of up to 10,000 hryvnia – the equivalent of CHF300 ($310.50) at selected branches of the two main Swiss banks, UBS and Credit Suisse.

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The Swiss army: your questions answered Part 1

2022-06-21

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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? This is one of many questions SWI readers sent to us. Daniel Reist, head of media relations for the Swiss armed forces, takes a shot at answering them. Our first question is can a small army be effective? More questions and answers are to follow in the coming...

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Long shadow of Russian money raises tricky questions for Swiss bankers

2022-06-21

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2022-06-21

January used to be a big month for Swiss bankers and their Russian clients. Many of the Moscow elite had made a tradition of coming to the Alps for the orthodox new year, skiing with their families, then catching up with their financial consiglieri.

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Swiss lower economic growth forecasts due to war and inflation

2022-06-16

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2022-06-16

The Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2022 to 2.6% due to the war in Ukraine and uncertainties in China.

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Ukraine war forces Swiss business to make choices on neutrality

2022-06-16

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2022-06-16

Sanctions imposed on Russia have focused debate over the country’s long-cherished economic haven status. In the gleaming new Chipperfield extension of the Zurich Kunsthaus, all polished limestone and gold, is a room dedicated to expiating the moral debits of economic neutrality. The Bührle collection is one of the greatest privately-amassed troves of modern European art, and the pride of the new building.

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Foreign suitors for Credit Suisse face high hurdles

2022-06-15

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2022-06-15

Switzerland’s typically liberal mergers and acquisitions market might make an exception for such a national institution.

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US tax authority asks Switzerland for client data from 26 institutions

2022-06-15

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2022-06-15

The US tax authority IRS wants further information from the Swiss authorities on account data at 26 financial institutions. The IRS has made numerous requests for information in the past.

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24 hours inside a new Swiss prison

2022-06-14

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Over 800 people volunteered to be locked up in a Zurich prison last month to test the new facility. SWI swissinfo.ch reporter May Elmahdi-Lichtsteiner was one of the lucky inmates selected for the trial. The Zurich cantonal authorities recently came up with the unusual idea to give the detention facility and staff a test run before the prison starts taking real inmates. The pilot project was intended as a good way of “ensuring the proper...

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Trafigura posts record half-year profit as commodities volatility intensifies

2022-06-14

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2022-06-14

Geneva-based Trafigura reported record half-year profits as volatility and disruption in commodity markets, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, supercharged earnings for the world’s biggest traders.

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