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 retail resilient despite difficult economic climate

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

The Swiss retail sector proved resilient last year, with sales boosted by rising real wages. According to UBS economists, the sector should continue on this path in 2026. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Nominal sales in the Swiss retail sector will have grown by 1% by 2025, according to the …

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Nestlé recalls BEBA and Alfamino infant milk in Switzerland

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

Swiss food multinational Nestlé is recalling certain batches of its BEBA and Alfamino infant milk brands in Switzerland. The product recall affects a total of 31 countries and accounts for less than 0.5% of group sales. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox "Nestlé, in close collaboration with the competent Swiss authorities, …

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How Switzerland became known as the land of chocolate

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

Swiss chocolate is part of the country’s identity. But its global success owes as much to clever marketing as to taste and quality. In a new non-fiction book, Dominik Flammer examines how the myth of Swiss chocolate was created. Alpine dairy maids against a mountain backdrop, cows grazing on lush pastures, and St Bernard dogs … Continue...

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Data reveals historic shipments of Venezuelan gold to Switzerland

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

Venezuela delivered 127 tons of gold to Switzerland 10 years ago in an act of desperation to avoid bankruptcy, according to analysis of customs data by Swiss public broadcaster RTS. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Between 2012 and 2016, Venezuela discreetly transferred part of its gold reserves to Switzerland for …

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Microsoft and McKinsey pay up to $1 million each to back Donald Trump’s Davos hub

2026-01-06

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2026-01-06

Microsoft and McKinsey are among the US companies paying up to $1 million (CHF790,000) each to sponsor a Davos venue that will serve as a base for US government officials during President Donald Trump’s trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) later this month. Paying to back the venue, housed in a small church in …

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Nestlé launches large baby food recall in Europe

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

Swiss food and beverage giant Nestlé is recalling batches of baby food in several European countries as a precautionary measure. This appears to be one of the largest product recall campaigns in Nestlé's corporate history. The products in question could be contaminated with a toxin, the company said +Get the most important news from Switzerland …

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Swiss industrial sector lagged in December

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

Swiss small and medium-sized industrial companies saw their activity decline in December. The SME Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell by 0.9 points to 49.4, once again falling below the 50-point growth threshold. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This first bout of gloom since August is primarily due to sluggish demand, …

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Why there is too much milk in Switzerland

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

Switzerland is producing too much milk – and it is too expensive. The industry is responding by cutting milk prices. What this means, and how farmers are reacting. What is the issue? There is currently an oversupply of milk in Switzerland. According to the milk sector organisation, the surplus amounts to around 126 million kilograms. …

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Why private finance for sustainable development is still bracing for impact

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

As its overseas assistance budget shrinks, Switzerland says it will rely more heavily on mobilising private capital to fund sustainable development in poorer countries. But the record on innovative mechanisms, such as “blended finance”, is mixed at best. In 2018, the site for Vietnam’s first industrial-sized solar power plant was 300 hectares of difficult-to-farm wasteland …

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Swiss inspection firm SGS acquires Indian cybersecurity firm

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

SGS is strengthening its cybersecurity services business in India. The global certification and inspection group based in Zug has announced it is acquiring the Indian company Panacea Infosec. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This acquisition, the amount of which was not disclosed, is expected to strengthen SGS's presence in the …

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Can Switzerland’s power grid keep up with its data centres?

2026-01-03

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2026-01-03

In Switzerland, the number of data centres per capita is among the highest in the world, while the share of electricity they consume is among the highest in Europe. With some power grids already close to the limit, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) could put them under further strain. Data centres are multiplying …

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Smartphones, streaming, AI: digital tech’s outsized climate impact in Switzerland

2026-01-03

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2026-01-03

Everyday devices and online services sap the planet’s natural resources and contribute to climate change. But there are ways to make digital life greener. More than six billion people – three quarters of the world’s population – are now online. In high-income countries like Switzerland, virtually the entire population has internet access. The Swiss spend …

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Trapped in a basement: witness account of the blaze at Swiss ski resort bar

2026-01-02

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Around 40 people are dead and 115 seriously injured after a fire tore through the "Le Constellation" bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in southern Switzerland on January 1.⁠ ⁠ In this video, Laeticia Plass describes how she escaped the blaze.⁠ --- 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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New Year’s Eve party: around 40 dead and 115 seriously injured in blaze in Swiss ski resort bar

2026-01-01

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Around 40 people are dead and 115 seriously injured after a fire tore through the "Le Constellation" bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in southern Switzerland on January 1, according to Valais cantonal police. An investigation is continuing to determine the exact cause of one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies. The deadly New Year Eve’s fire was “one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced”, Swiss President Guy...

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Eurovision, US tariffs, landslides and Swiss yodelling: 2025 unwrapped

2025-12-31

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Eurovision, US tariffs, landslides and Swiss yodelling 🎤🇺🇸🏔️🎶 🇨🇭⁠ ⁠ Here are some of the stories that made headlines this year in Switzerland. ⁠ ⁠ Think we’ve missed something? Let us know in the comments.⁠ ⁠ #switzerland #swiss #eurovision #us #trump #tariffs #blatten #landslide #swissalps #euro25 #womensfootball #yodelling #unesco--- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on...

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Vaccine maker Janssen closes plant in Bern

2025-12-31

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2025-12-31

Vaccine developer Janssen is closing its plant in Bern-Bümpliz. It is still unclear whether the site will be sold to a third party. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Johnson & Johnson, to which the company belongs, is continuing to examine various options for the Bern site. This includes selling it …

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Start-ups in Switzerland reach new record in 2025

2025-12-31

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2025-12-31

Switzerland reached a new peak in company start-ups this year: up by more than 5% year-on-year, they will reach a record 55,654 in 2025. Among the French-speaking cantons, Geneva, Fribourg and Jura were particularly active. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The most common business segments for new companies are consulting, …

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Swiss central bank bought CHF75 million in foreign exchange in Q3

2025-12-31

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2025-12-31

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) intervened very cautiously in the foreign exchange market in the third quarter of 2025. Between July and September, it purchased foreign currency worth just CHF75 million ($94 million) in order to slow down the further rise of the Swiss franc. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox …

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Swiss banks stop exchange of Bulgarian lev as euro introduced in 2026

2025-12-30

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2025-12-30

When the euro is introduced in Bulgaria on January 1, 2026, it will be difficult to exchange the previous Bulgarian national currency, the lev, in Switzerland. Local banks have stopped the exchange. The banks are no longer able to resell the lev banknotes on the interbank market, Zürcher Kantonalbank explained on Tuesday in response to …

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Christmas sales in Switzerland see upswing

2025-12-30

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2025-12-30

Swiss retailers enjoyed a positive festive season, with some reporting solid sales growth despite cautious consumer sentiment. For Manor department stores, Christmas sales were slightly up on the previous year, a spokeswoman told the AWP news agency, without disclosing any figures. Clothing retailer PKZ reported a 5% year-on-year increase in sales, thanks in particular to …

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