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 tech chameleon fast tracks into trouble

2022-07-13

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2022-07-13

If running a fintech start-up isn’t hard enough, then try pivoting to healthtech in mid-stride. The transition from digital payments to Covid diagnostics has proven a bumpy ride for Achiko, resulting in its shares being suspended from trading on the Swiss stock exchange.

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French air police ground Swiss interior minister’s private flight

2022-07-13

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2022-07-13

The Swiss interior minister, Alain Berset, on a private flight in neighbouring France has been forced to land by the French air force.

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The online retail fraud made possible by Swiss billing system

2022-07-12

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2022-07-12

In Switzerland it is possible to order goods online without paying up front. Retailers will send orders with a payment slip included with the goods. Fraudsters are exploiting this quirk of Swiss postal retail.

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When cooperatives wanted to prevent a world war

2022-07-12

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2022-07-12

The word “cooperative” is everywhere in Swiss daily life. What’s often forgotten is that cooperatives were once at the forefront of a worldwide movement that advocated for consumer rights, affordable rents – and world peace.

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Charities have yet to spend most of Ukraine donations

2022-07-11

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2022-07-11

Despite record public donations for Ukraine, four months since the start of the invasion by Russia, Swiss aid agencies have only been able to spend a small amount of the funds on humanitarian work.

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Swiss fighter jet document reveals secret French tax offer

2022-07-10

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2022-07-10

France offered Switzerland a financial sweetener, worth an estimated CHF3.5 billion, to buy its Rafale fighter jets rather than US F-35A aircraft, according to a secret document seen by Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The document sheds light on background negotiations as Switzerland seeks to replace its ageing fleet of fighter jets.

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Ukraine reconstruction summit was worth the risk, says Swiss press

2022-07-10

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2022-07-10

Newspaper editors in Switzerland offered praise mixed with criticism on the two-day international conference in Lugano to support war-torn Ukraine with its reconstruction efforts.

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How air conditioning cools homes and warms the planet

2022-07-09

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2022-07-09

More intense and frequent heatwaves have caused demand for air conditioning to skyrocket, even in temperate countries like Switzerland. But there is a catch: the cooler the buildings, the warmer the planet.

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Immigration only partially alleviates lack of skilled workers

2022-07-09

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2022-07-09

The Swiss economy has recovered well from the Covid-19 crisis, but despite the free movement of people agreement with the EU, some sectors are struggling to recruit qualified staff, says a government report.

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

2022-07-08

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2022-07-08

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

2022-07-08

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2022-07-08

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

2022-07-07

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2022-07-07

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

2022-07-07

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2022-07-07

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

2022-07-06

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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

2022-07-06

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2022-07-06

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

2022-07-05

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2022-07-05

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

2022-07-05

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2022-07-05

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?

2022-07-04

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2022-07-04

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

2022-07-04

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2022-07-04

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?

2022-07-03

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2022-07-03

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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