Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Investec
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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Two Swiss cities remain in top 10 most expensive globally

2021-12-04

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2021-12-04

The latest Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey of the prices of 200 goods and services in 173 cities placed both Geneva and Zurich in the top 10 most expensive cities in 2021. Overall, the cost of living across these 173 cities has risen by an average of 3.5%, the highest inflation seen in the last 5 years.

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Swiss commodity traders control 2.7 million hectares of land worldwide

2021-12-04

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2021-12-04

Research by investigative non-profit Public Eye has revealed that trading companies with a Swiss presence – or their subsidiaries – own over 550 plantations covering over 2.7 million hectares.

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Swiss banks implicated in trading cartel investigation

2021-12-03

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2021-12-03

The European Commission has ended an investigation of five banks, including UBS and Credit Suisse, who colluded in a foreign exchange spot trading cartel.

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Omicron exposes our pandemic failures

2021-12-02

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2021-12-02

They say a week is a long time in politics – last week we discovered it’s a long time in a pandemic as well. We started the week anxiously watching the rising Covid cases in Europe, and wondering what new restrictions might be heading our way for Christmas.

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Majority of Swiss in favour of compulsory vaccination, according to poll

2021-12-01

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2021-12-01

According to poll results published over the weekend, 53% of those surveyed in Switzerland were in favour of making Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory, a percentage that rose to 69% for those working in the health sector, reported 20 Minutes.

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Swiss politicians join calls for Beijing Olympic Games boycott

2021-11-30

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Swiss politicians are among those calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China in February 2022, to protest China’s campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other minority groups, as well as its crackdown on Hong Kong. The alleged abuses against the mainly Muslim minority in Xinjiang include mass detention and torture. The US State Department and several European legislatures have classified the human rights abuses as...

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Average Swiss household income reaches nearly 115,000 francs

2021-11-29

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2021-11-29

The gross mean household income in Switzerland was CHF 114,984 (US$ 125,000) in 2019, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Overall, 40% of households in Switzerland had income over this mean while 60% brought in less.

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Demand for crypto stamp crashes post office’s online shop

2021-11-28

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2021-11-28

The launch of Swiss Post’s first “crypto” stamp has met with such high demand that the online shop was overwhelmed for several hours.

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Swiss Federal Council rejects two votes on pension reform

2021-11-28

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2021-11-28

This week, the Federal Council rejected two very different initiatives aimed at changing the state pension system. In common with much of the developed world, Switzerland is facing a large gap between the money required to fund state pensions and the money flowing in to pay for them, a challenge driven by increasing life expectancy, a rise in the number of pensioners as the population ages and the way the system is funded.

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Stable income but higher taxes for Swiss households

2021-11-27

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2021-11-27

The average private household in Switzerland spent about 31% of its income on taxes, social security and health insurance premiums in 2019.

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How Play Suisse made waves among the streamers

2021-11-26

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2021-11-26

In a little over a year Play Suisse, the streaming service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), has become a major player in the Swiss digital landscape, surpassing platforms like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. Critic Max Borg looks at the strengths and weaknesses of Play Suisse and its rivals.

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Geldcast Update: Lessons from interest rate problems

2021-11-25

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2021-11-25

The Australian central bank is being attacked by the markets and is losing control over interest rates. Something similar happened to the Swiss National Bank in 2015 with the minimum exchange rate for the euro. But what is behind this?

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A just democracy is a robust democracy

2021-11-24

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Polarisation, social divisions, distrust and inequality: How can people in democracies push back against the negative dynamics emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic? At the International Forum Zofingen, SWI swissinfo.ch asked international and Swiss democracy experts for some answers to some fundamental challenges facing today's democracies. This includes perspectives from Matt Qvortrup, Coventry University/UK, Estefania Cuero, diversity...

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Moving up in the world: could you work from home in the Alps?

2021-11-23

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2021-11-23

During the pandemic, some skiers have been doing just that. But does the romantic vision tally with the reality? It was in May, while hiking along the forest trails and waterfalls of La Tièche, with views towards the snow-dusted peaks of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, that fitness coach Jessica Z Christensen decided to spend more time in the Swiss mountains.

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How the bubble house movement took hold in Switzerland

2021-11-22

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2021-11-22

Swiss architects were swept up in the movement to build bubble houses out of concrete and plastic in the 1960s. While the bubble movement burst decades ago, many of the original structures are still standing to this day.

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How the pandemic has widened inequalities in Swiss watchmaking

2021-11-21

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2021-11-21

Driven by strong Chinese demand, Swiss watchmaking is recovering after suffering one of its biggest economic shocks in 2020. But the crisis has further widened the gap between the few brands that take the lion’s share of the profits and the rest of the industry.

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Lights out – Geneva to cut lights to save electricity

2021-11-20

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2021-11-20

This week, the government of the canton of Geneva changed a law to require non residential buildings, with some exceptions, to switch off their lights at night between 1am and 6am.

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Swiss government moots international monetary assistance

2021-11-19

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2021-11-19

The government seeks to renew its policy to support assistance measures by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It asked parliament to approve plans to continue international monetary cooperation to the tune of CHF10 billion ($10.8 billion) by 2028.The existing legal basis expires in April 2023, according to officials.

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UBS celebrates 50 years in Singapore, as a window to the world, connecting people and ideas

2021-11-18

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2021-11-18

UBS is celebrating 50 successful years in Singapore with the official opening of its largest Asia Pacific office at 9 Penang Road.

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Call to tap potential of professional working women

2021-11-17

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2021-11-17

Women make up half of the highly skilled workforce in Switzerland, but work fewer hours, according to a study published on Tuesday. One in three would like to work more, under certain conditions.

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