Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Online replaces TV as most influential form of media

Online media replaced television as the most influential media genre in Switzerland for the first time in 2021, according to a study. Large brands such as 20 Minuten and Swiss public radio and television, SRF, lost influence in favour of smaller titles.

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Bern against federal plan to subsidise health insurance 

A federal initiative aimed at subsidising health insurance premiums once they exceed 10% of disposable income met with resistance in Bern this week, reported RTS.

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No rise in Switzerland’s rent rate

Every three months the rate of interest used to set the rents in Switzerland is reviewed. If it goes down some renters have the right to request a decrease in rent. If it goes up landlords can push up rents. This time the rate remained at 1.25%, however it looks set to rise next year.

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Pay rise agreed for Switzerland’s public sector workers

On 2 December 2022, Switzerland’s Federal Council agreed to boost the salaries of those working for the federal government by 2.5% in 2023.

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Credit Suisse looks to speed up cuts as revenue outlook worsens

Swiss bank Credit Suisse is looking for ways to accelerate cost cuts announced just weeks ago as client outflows and a slowdown in activity weigh on its revenue outlook, according to three people with knowledge of the talks. The cost savings are likely to involve more job cuts than previously announced for the first wave of reductions, including in its mainstay wealth business, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the...

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Solution found in construction labour dispute

Construction workers and trade unions in Switzerland have reached an agreement in a long-running labour dispute. Builders will receive CHF150 ($158) more a month in effective wages from next year and minimum wages will increase by CHF100 a month.

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Swiss rents set to rise as much as 15 percent

Close to half of renters is Switzerland could face significant increases in rent, estimates Zürich Kantonalbank (ZKB), with rents potentially rising as much as 15% over the next five years, reported the newspaper Blick.

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Credit Suisse says only a few customers are closing accounts

The head of Credit Suisse’s Swiss division says that only a few clients are actually closing accounts at the bank. His comments after the troubled bank reported high customer fund withdrawals globally.

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Two out of three Swiss resorts raise ski-pass prices

Some ski lift companies are charging up to 15% more for passes this winter as high energy prices bite, a survey by CH Media shows.

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Inter-cantonal tax transfers to rise 5 percent in 2023

On 16 November 2022, Switzerland’s federal government announced the sums that will be transferred between the nation’s statelets or cantons in 2023, a mechanism aimed at ensuring wealthy cantons support those with weaker economies.

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Global goods inspector SGS to shed 1,500 jobs

The world’s largest goods inspection and testing group SGS will shed 1,500 jobs worldwide in a cost saving drive.

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Government firms up plans in case of gas outage

In case of a shortage, households and businesses which heat with piped gas would be asked to lower temperatures to 20°C, the government has said.

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Swiss health office and pharma firm at odds over flu spray

The Swiss health authorities and the manufacturer AstraZeneca are at loggerheads over a nasal spray to vaccinate children and adolescents against influenza.

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Leading economist mildly upbeat about Swiss growth prospects

Economic researcher Jan-Egbert Sturm expects the Swiss economy to stagnate in the next few months. The director of the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) at Federal Institute ETH Zurich, said Switzerland had been been quite resilient in the current economic environment.

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Vote on pension reform most divisive in Swiss history

Switzerland’s recent vote on state pension reform on 25 September 2022, divided men and women, reported RTS.

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Swiss construction workers protest over hours and pay

After construction workers went out on strike for two days in French-speaking Switzerland, construction workers protested in Zurich over hours and pay on 11 November 2022, reported RTS. Photo by Rodolfo Quirós on Pexels.comWith inflation in Switzerland running at 3%, construction workers are demanding higher pay. However, the construction industry has responded with an offer of better pay tied to higher maximum hours. The industry would like...

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Bank predicts home rent rises in Switzerland

According to the bank Raiffeisen, a future rental housing crisis is likely in Switzerland as the home vacancy rate moves below 1% in 2024, reported 20 Minutes.

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Vivid pink diamond auctioned for CHF28.4 million

A pear-shaped 18-carat pink diamond billed as a rarity has sold at a Geneva auction for CHF28.4 million ($28.8 million), including fees and taxes.

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UBS raided in money-laundering probe of Russian

Police have searched two branches of Swiss bank UBS in Germany in connection with alleged money laundering by a Russian businessman, according to German officials and media.

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As pension funds lose out on stock markets, how safe is retirement?

Stock markets this year have been heading steadily downhill. With Swiss pension funds feeling the impact, future retirement payments are only barely guaranteed.

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