Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Top Swiss banker Collardi reprimanded by financial watchdog

Former Julius Bär CEO Boris Collardi has had his knuckles rapped by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) following an investigation into money laundering.

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Swiss multinationals draw blurry political lines in the sand

Our analysis of what the biggest global companies in Switzerland are up to. This week: corporate funding in politics, diamond billionaire on trial and high hopes for the economy.

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Swiss probing corruption linked to Lebanon central bank

The Swiss attorney general's office has requested legal assistance from Lebanon in the context of a probe into "aggravated money laundering" and possible embezzlement tied to the Lebanese central bank, Reuters reports from Beirut.

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WEF warns of ‘increasing disparities’ due to Covid-19 pandemic

Infectious diseases, extreme weather events and cybersecurity problems pose key threats to society in the next two years, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warns. The Covid-19 pandemic looks set to have a lasting impact in the next ten years.

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Change to the UBS Board of Directors

The UBS Board of Directors announced today that Beatrice Weder di Mauro is not standing for re-election to the Board of Directors of UBS Group AG and UBS AG. She has informed the Board of her decision to step down after serving since 2012.

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Covid: 17,245 cases and 387 deaths reported in Switzerland this week

This week, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 17,245 positive Covid-19 cases and 387 deaths.

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Swiss Inflation turns negative in 2020

During 2020, average annual inflation was –0.7%, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). In December 2020, Switzerland’s consumer price index (CPI) fell by 0.1% compared with November 2020. Compared to December 2019, prices in December 2020 were 0.8% lower. Annual inflation reached -0.7% across the full year.

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Covid: Switzerland reaches 66,000 vaccinations against the virus

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recently reported that 66,000 people in Switzerland had been vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. The number was communicated by Nora Kronig of the FOPH during a press conference in Bern on Thursday 14 January 2020.

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Covid: tension rises between Switzerland’s scientists and politicians

Tension between Switzerland’s scientists and politicians is rising, according to RTS. On Saturday, Christian Althaus, an epidemiologist working for the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, Switzerland’s scientific Covid advisory team, announced his resignation and voiced his frustration on Twitter.

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Long Covid symptoms persist beyond 7 months, according to new data

Recent research based on information from 3,762 Long Covid sufferers shows most still have symptoms after 7 monthsThe study uses patient-driven research and is based on a survey created by a team of patients with COVID-19 who are members of the Body Politic online COVID-19 support group.

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UBS to close a sixth of its Swiss branches

The closures will affect 44 of the bank’s 239 branches in the country, mainly smaller ones, UBS confirmed on Tuesday. The bank plans to continue beefing up its online offers.

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Covid: Switzerland grants approval for second vaccine

On 12 January 2021, Swissmedic, the Swiss agency for the authorisation and supervision of pharmaceutical products, approved a second vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 virus for the Swiss market.

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Covid-hit restaurants call for ‘compensation now’

Half of all hotel and restaurant businesses in Switzerland will go bankrupt by the end of March if they do not receive immediate financial compensation for the effects of coronavirus restrictions, warns the sector’s umbrella organisation.

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Covid: closing Swiss schools one of most effective measures, says study

The number of Covid cases went down significantly in Switzerland during spring as a result of schools closing, according to a study by ETH Zurich, reported RTS. Researchers at the university analysed anonymised mobile phone data of 1.5 billion movements of the Swiss population between 10 February and 26 April 2020. They used this data to calculate how much certain measures reduced mobility and contact.

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Switzerland hit by widespread malware campaign

Several security bodies in Switzerland have been targeted by emails that appear to come from official organisations such as banks or the police and contain a password for a zip file. When this file is opened, the computer becomes infected with a trojan called Emotet.

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Company bankruptcies fell sharply in Switzerland in 2020

Despite the economic impacts of the coronavirus, significantly fewer Swiss companies went bankrupt in 2020 than the year before, according to the business data company Bisnode.

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Swiss rents and property prices up in 2020 due to pandemic

The pandemic had a significant impact on Swiss real estate prices in 2020, according to industry experts.

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Two globally pioneering technologies among Swiss energy prize winners

A floating solar power plant and a transport project using renewable hydrogen are among the winners of the 2021 Watt d’Or prize. 

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Charity works overtime to support Covid-stricken mountain firms

A Swiss fund that supports small businesses in alpine regions bailed out 100 firms last year that were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Schweizer Berghilfe (Swiss Mountain Aid) doled out an extra CHF2 million ($2.26 million) to support Covid-hit enterprises.

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Covid-19 drives new car sales down to historic low

The Swiss automobile industry registered its worst result in over 40 years, as the number of new cars hitting the road in 2020 fell by a quarter compared to the previous year.

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