Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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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.
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Swiss economics minister pays short-notice visit to US

2025-09-05

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2025-09-05

Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin travelled to the United States at short notice on Friday to hold ministerial level talks. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The economics ministry has not yet commented on further details of the trip. + What do the 39% US tariffs mean for the Swiss economy? …

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Swiss inflation stays steady in face of US tariffs

2025-09-05

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2025-09-05

Swiss inflation stayed positive for a third consecutive month, offering reassurance to policymakers as they also evaluate if the economy can weather a jump in United States tariffs. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Consumer prices rose 0.2% from a year ago in August, matching the increase of the previous month, …

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Several people in custody after Swiss national kidnapped in France

2025-09-04

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2025-09-04

Seven people are in French police custody on Thursday as authorities investigate the kidnapping and illegal detention of a young Swiss man, who was freed on Sunday in Valence during a police operation. The case is believed to be linked to cryptocurrencies. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The suspects are …

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Swiss unemployment rate up slightly in August

2025-09-04

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2025-09-04

The Swiss job market deteriorated slightly last month. The number of unemployed rose by almost 3,000 (+2.3%) month-on-month, to reach 132,105. The unemployment rate rose to 2.8%. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Adjusted for seasonal variations, this rate remained unchanged at 2.9%, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs …

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Duck toilet cleaner gets its own Swiss stamp

2025-09-04

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2025-09-04

Swiss Post has launched a stamp featuring an image of the Duck toilet cleaning dispenser, as part of a series honouring Swiss inventiveness. When rubbed with fingers, the stamp emits the citrus cleaning scent associated with the product. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The toilet cleaning bottle with a curved …

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The global private education industry is coming for Switzerland’s expensive schools

2025-09-04

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2025-09-04

Verbier’s pandemic-era growth triggered an elite schooling boom — and a merger that could reshape private education in the Swiss Alps. In March 2020, Ariane de Bonvoisin was skiing in Verbier, Switzerland, with her husband and her son. A native of New York, she had skied there since childhood and her family had a chalet …

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Swiss unions demand wage increases of up to 2.5% for 2026

2025-09-04

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2025-09-04

The Swiss Federation of Trade Unions is calling for general pay raises of between 2% and 2.5% by 2026. These are needed to offset the rise in the cost of living and make up for the wage shortfall of recent years, said the umbrella organisation. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox … Continue reading...

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Whistleblowing platform led to dismissal of Nestlé CEO

2025-09-04

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2025-09-04

Laurent Freixe was removed from the top job at Nestlé because of an “undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate”. It was the company’s anonymous reporting platform Speak Up that first raised the alarm. Journalists in Switzerland, where Nestlé’s headquarters is based, could be forgiven for missing an email sent to their inboxes on September …

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On faces complaint over use of Swiss cross on shoes made in Asia

2025-09-03

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2025-09-03

The On company is again the subject of criticism because of the Swiss cross on its shoes. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox According to the Swiss newspaper Blick, Swissness Enforcement (SE) – an association campaigning for compliance with the legislation protecting the indication of Swiss origin – lodged a complaint …

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Swiss government calls for counter-proposal to the Responsible Business Initiative

2025-09-03

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2025-09-03

The federal government wants to counter the new Responsible Business Initiative with an indirect counter-proposal. The future regulations should be based on new provisions currently being discussed in the European Union. The national government does not want to go any further. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox On Wednesday, it set …

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Vitol: the secretive trading giant minting fortunes for its employees

2025-09-03

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2025-09-03

The commodity house is among world’s most profitable companies and has returned $20 billion to senior staff over past three years. Across two floors of an unremarkable office block tucked between Buckingham Palace and London’s gritty Victoria coach station sits one of the most profitable but least known companies in the world. Commodity trader Vitol …

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Swiss solar firm Meyer Burger ceases operations at German sites

2025-09-03

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2025-09-03

Solar cell manufacturer Meyer Burger ceased operations at its sites in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt on September 1 after failing to find new investors. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Almost 500 employees, and therefore a large proportion of the workforce in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz and in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, have been made redundant …

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Swiss and German leaders discuss European security and tariffs pressure

2025-09-02

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2025-09-02

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed the commitment of their two countries to security in Europe and the consequences of US tariffs. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Keller-Sutter and Merz also discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to …

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Swiss Post to re-start shipping some packages to US

2025-09-02

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2025-09-02

From Thursday, private customers will once again be able to send packages with a value of up to $100 (CHF80) to the United States via Swiss Post. Due to the new customs regulations, Swiss Post had suspended all goods shipments to the US last week. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox … Continue reading...

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Continuing professional training leads to higher income, Swiss study shows

2025-09-02

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2025-09-02

According to a study by the Swiss statistical office, ten years after graduating, people who continue training earn between CHF400 ($497) and CHF1,300 more per month than those who have not taken any further training. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The study looked at the incomes of 150,000 people who, …

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Switzerland launches transparent ChatGPT alternative

2025-09-02

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2025-09-02

Switzerland has entered the artificial intelligence (AI) race with the launch of a national Large Language Model (LLM) to provide an alternative to the likes of ChatGPT, Llama and DeepSeek. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Designed by leading Swiss universities, the Apertus LLM is comparable to Meta’s Llama 3 model …

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Nestlé sacks CEO Laurent Freixe after affair with employee

2025-09-02

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2025-09-02

Swiss food giant Nestlé has dismissed its CEO, Laurent Freixe, with immediate effect. The move follows an investigation into a previously undisclosed relationship with a female employee who reported directly to him. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The board of directors saw Freixe's behaviour as a violation of the Nestlé …

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Switzerland mulls tax breaks for US digital giants: media report

2025-09-01

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2025-09-01

Switzerland is ready to waive profit taxes for United States digital giants, such as Google and Meta, if they base operations in the Alpine state, according to media reports. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The rumoured tax gift comes against the backdrop of the US slapping 39% tariffs on Switzerland. …

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UBS charges pension funds to hold their liquid assets

2025-09-01

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2025-09-01

Pension funds are complaining about 'negative interest' charges for holding liquid assets in accounts at Switzerland’s largest bank UBS. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox UBS's letter is quite significant. At the end of June, the bank informed its institutional clients – primarily pension funds and insurance companies – in writing …

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Swiss gold refiners reject tariff relocation

2025-09-01

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2025-09-01

Switzerland’s trade group for gold refiners opposes a relocation of some operations to the United States to ease a trade imbalance between the countries and help tariff negotiations, newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The government is trying to find ways to get President Donald Trump …

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