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.

Neo-banks challenging Swiss financial sector

New digital banks are popping up in Switzerland without a single branch or counter.  One of them, Zurich-based Neon, is staking its success on doing more with less and has attracted 30,000 customers.

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Switzerland adds 11 more nations to its compulsory quarantine list

From 20 August 2020, people entering Switzerland from Andorra, Belgium, Monaco and 50 other nations must quarantine for 10 days. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recently added 11 places to its existing list of regions where there is an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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How I built my own Swiss watch – in a day

Imagine assembling your own Swiss mechanical watch and taking it home with you at the end of the day. swissinfo.ch tried out the popular new concept run by Jura start-up Initium.

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Families face large differences in tax rates across Switzerland

A comparison of tax rates across different cantons and cities found that Zug – home to many multinational companies – offers the most attractive tax regime for families.

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Pressure mounts on Swiss refinery Valcambi over questionable gold origins

Industry associations are calling on Switzerland’s largest gold refinery to clarify the origins of its gold purchased from Dubai traders.

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Swiss luxury watch retailer Bucherer to shed jobs

The leading Swiss luxury watch and jewellery company Bucherer has announced it plans to slash 370 of its 2,400 jobs worldwide due to the coronavirus crisis hitting tourism.

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Free trade deals save Switzerland billions, study finds

Swiss consumers and importers saved CHF2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) in 2018 thanks to lower customs duties as part of free trade agreements, a study has revealed.

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Banks braced as pandemic poses biggest test since financial crisis

During the depths of the coronavirus crisis in Europe in late March, Sergio Ermotti remembers sitting in his home study in Lugano, reflecting on the latest financial meltdown to engulf his career as a banker.

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Swiss government wants extra CHF770 million to tackle coronavirus

The Swiss government has asked for an extra CHF770 million ($841 million) in funds to tackle the coronavirus fallout. This comes on top of the CHF31 billion in bailout funds approved by parliament since March.

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Coronavirus: new cases in Switzerland reach highest level since April

Today, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) announced 274 new recorded cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over 24 hours. The last time Switzerland had a daily case number above this was on 19 April 2020 when 336 new cases were recorded.

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Traditional working model hampers Swiss women’s careers

Swiss women are losing out when it comes to achieving managerial positions compared to their male colleagues and female peers from other countries. The common Swiss working model of women taking over childcare and men working full-time makes it harder for Swiss mothers to climb up the career ladder.

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Coronavirus: Swiss health authority adds pregnant women to risk list

After a number of recent studies that suggest pregnant women are exposed to higher risks from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) adds them to the list of people vulnerable to Covid-19. The FOPH reached its recent conclusion based on discussions with the Swiss society of gynecology and obstetrics. The society sets out the findings of a number of studies in a report.

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Switzerland agrees deal for 4.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine

Switzerland has signed an agreement with the American company Moderna to buy 4.5 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, which is moving into phase 3 testing, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

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Coronavirus: new cases in Switzerland remain at last week’s level

In the seven days to 7 August 2020, the reported number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections recorded in Switzerland was 1037, roughly the same as the 1,078 cases recorded the week before. Over the weeks prior to this there were 772 and 692 new cases, according to worldinfometer.com.

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Swiss International Air Lines’ turnover halved due to coronavirus

The economic repercussions of the coronavirus have caused turnover at SWISS to fall by 55% in the first half of 2020. With a turnover of CHF1.17 billion ($1.28 billion) between January and the end of June, the carrier suffered an operating loss of CHF266.4 million in the first half of the year, following an operating profit of CHF245.3 million a year earlier.

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Switzerland’s dark business with Ukrainian coal

Pro-Russian separatists are financing their war in Ukraine with coal deliveries to the West. Now the role of Swiss companies in Zug and Geneva is being investigated, according to a report in the SonntagsZeitung. 

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Pandemic crashed demand for hotels and trains

The number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels practically halved in the first six months of the year. Covid-19 also hit demand for public transport, with passengers notching up a third of their normal distances by train in the past three months.

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Murdoch becomes major shareholder in Swiss MCH group

James Murdoch, the son of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, has been elected to the board of directors of the leading Swiss exhibitions group, MCH.

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How Swiss staycationers are scouting out your next alpine getaway

Let’s dispose of the bad news right from the start. If you’re reading this and don’t live in Europe, chances are you’re not going to make it to Switzerland this year. Now for the good news. 

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Temporary employee sector hit hard by Covid-19 crisis

The number of hours worked by temporary employees in Switzerland has dropped by about 23% due to the impact of restrictions imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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