Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Main Author Investec
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.
My articlesMy siteAbout meMy books
Follow on:LinkedINTwitterAmazon
Filter archive by: Show All Show only Articles Show only Videos

SWISS publishes flight timetable for June

2020-05-15

by

2020-05-15

After grounding most of its fleet because of Covid-19, Swiss International Air Lines will partially restart its flight operations in June and plans to operate up to 190 flights from Zurich and Geneva to 41 European destinations. The return to the skies would follow in stages, and the range of flights available will gradually be increased over the coming weeks, SWISS said on Thursday, announcing its timetable for June.

Read More »

Top Swiss firms pay respects to ‘formative’ business leader Fritz Gerber

2020-05-14

by

2020-05-14

Pharmaceutical giant Roche and Zurich Insurance have paid their respects to business executive Fritz Gerber, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 91. “Fritz Gerber was one of the most influential business leaders in Switzerland during a period of formative development for the country’s modern, open economy,” Zurich Insurance said in a statement on Monday.

Read More »

Coronavirus: the dangers of singing

2020-05-14

by

2020-05-14

As Switzerland reopens, the details around how SARS-CoV-2 spreads becomes more relevant to everyday life. Matthias Egger, the head of Switzerland’s Covid-19 task force, stresses the importance of continuing to follow social distancing and hygiene rules.

Read More »

Coronavirus: anti-lockdown protests in Switzerland

2020-05-13

by

2020-05-13

Over the weekend, hundreds rallied against lockdown measures across Switzerland in the cities of Bern, Zurich, Basel and St. Gallen. Anti-lockdown protesters in these cities flouted rules introduced in mid-March banning public groups of more than five people, designed to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The protestors consider the rules in breach of their fundamental rights.

Read More »

Falcon exits Swiss private banking after 1MDB scandal

2020-05-13

by

2020-05-13

The Abu Dhabi-owned Falcon private bank says it is winding down activities in Switzerland and is in talks with a Swiss rival to take on its existing clients next year. Falcon was taken to task by regulators in both Switzerland and Singapore for its role in channelling assets from the Malaysian 1MDB fraud.

Read More »

Most think Switzerland is reopening fast or too fast, according to survey

2020-05-12

by

2020-05-12

A survey published on 7 May 2020, suggests only 36% of Swiss support the government’s calendar for reopening the country after the Covid-19 shutdown. 23% think the plan to reopen is too slow, while 42% think it is fast or too fast. However, 60% said they had confidence in the government.

Read More »

Swiss customs uncover blackmarket animal drugs scam

2020-05-11

by

2020-05-11

More than 200 farmers, many in Switzerland, are suspected of buying illegal medicaments for their livestock from a French blackmarket dealer. Swiss customs uncovered the scam when the veterinarian was stopped at the border with his car full of animal drugs.

Read More »

Swiss tourism industry struggling for survival

2020-05-11

by

2020-05-11

The Swiss tourism industry will take five years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic with around a quarter of companies in the sector fearing for their future. However, Martin Nydegger, head of Switzerland Tourism, believes something can still be salvaged for the industry this year.

Read More »

Unemployment up sharply in April in Switzerland

2020-05-10

by

2020-05-10

The unemployment rate in Switzerland rose to 3.3% in April 2020, up from 2.9% the month before, a rise of nearly 14%. By 30 April 2020, there were 153,413 people registered as unemployed at Switzerland’s regional placement offices. Young workers were the hardest hit. Unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 rose by 18.1% compared to March 2020 and by 61.3% compared to April 2019.

Read More »

Swiss tourism numbers crash as jobless figures rise

2020-05-10

by

2020-05-10

The number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by nearly two-thirds in March as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the country. Hotels recorded just 1.26 million overnight stays compared to 3.4 million in the same month last year.

Read More »

Coronavirus: new rules for Switzerland’s restaurants

2020-05-09

by

2020-05-09

Restaurants in Switzerland will be able to reopen on Monday 11 May 2020. But they’ll need to follow strict rules that were published this week. The seven pages of detailed restaurant rules will make dining in the time of Covid-19 quite different to what we’re accustomed to.

Read More »

Swiss authorities resort to use of spyware for the first time

2020-05-09

by

2020-05-09

The annual report on Swiss surveillance operations in 2019 mentions the use of state-controlled monitoring software, known as GovWare, for the first time since it was authorised in 2018. The criminal prosecution authorities and the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) reported the use of spyware for the first time with 12 such completed interventions before the end of 2019.

Read More »

Swiss companies free to pay dividends despite bailouts

2020-05-08

by

2020-05-08

Swiss companies that receive state bailouts during the coronavirus pandemic will still be allowed to pay dividends to shareholders. A divided parliament eventually rejected calls to ban the billions that are expected to be paid out by firms this year.

Read More »

What does business look like in a post-lockdown world?

2020-05-07

by

2020-05-07

"Our analysis of what the biggest global companies in Switzerland are up to. This week: the new normal for business, luxury watches, and biotech dilemmas." Switzerland is easing up on the lockdown but what the new normal looks like for big companies is still a work in progress.

Read More »

Students’ finances affected by coronavirus lockdown 

2020-05-06

by

2020-05-06

Most Swiss students rely on part-time jobs during their studies, but the shutting of restaurants, bars, cinemas and gyms during the coronavirus pandemic has led to many of them losing a source of income. Around three quarters of students have a part-time job during their studies, with around half of them working on average two days a week, according to the Federal Statistical Office’s last figures.

Read More »

How Swiss cobalt traders are trying to prevent child labour

2020-05-06

by

2020-05-06

Swiss cobalt traders Glencore and Trafigura deal very differently with small-scale miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many of whom are children. Eight kilograms of cobalt are needed for every electric car battery. More than 70% of the increasingly sought-after metal is mined in the southeast of the DRC. But most of the miners are not employed by mining companies.

Read More »

Global associations call for more flights to transport mail

2020-05-05

by

2020-05-05

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) have asked governments to increase air capacity for postal services.  A 95% decrease in passenger flights coupled with an almost 30% increase in online purchasing is putting pressure on postal services delivering international mail, the UPU and IATA said in a statement on Monday.  They warned that air capacity for postal services is insufficient to meet demand.

Read More »

United States regulator approves Roche’s Covid-19 antibody test

2020-05-04

by

2020-05-04

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency approval for use of the serological test developed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, the company announced on Sunday. The test is designed to determine whether a person has been exposed to the new coronavirus and developed antibodies against the disease.

Read More »

Finance minister Ueli Maurer eyes central bank surplus to reduce expected debts

2020-05-03

by

2020-05-03

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer wants the country’s central bank to contribute to the reduction of the debt caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “I suggest the Swiss National Bank spends the money from an annual surplus to reduce coronavirus-related debts,” he told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper on Wednesday.

Read More »

Coronavirus: relatively few medical staff infected in Switzerland

2020-05-03

by

2020-05-03

In Switzerland, around 3% of medical staff have been infected with Covid-19, based on data covering the period up until Easter, according to Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health.

Read More »