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 railways see more demand for train trips abroad

2019-10-21

by

2019-10-21

Travellers in Switzerland are increasingly taking to the rails for trips abroad, with the Swiss Federal Railways reporting a 10% increase in demand for international journeys and 25% more demand for trips by night train. According to a report in the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, demand for night train journeys especially increased on stretches between Switzerland and the German cities of Berlin and Hamburg, while overall demand for international trips...

Read More »

5G tests Switzerland’s limits on cybersecurity

2019-10-20

by

2019-10-20

As more governments mull the risks of working with foreign vendors of 5G networks, eyes are on Switzerland as one of the technology’s early adopters. Will the Swiss take a heavier hand in restricting foreign providers like Huawei in the 5G supply chain or let the market decide? In a grim but not-so-far-fetched scenarioexternal link, a hacker attacks a 5G antenna, sending malicious signals to millions of connected devices.

Read More »

Technology winning battle against banknote forgers

2019-10-20

by

2019-10-20

Swiss banknotes are far more resistant to counterfeiters than in previous years, dramatically reducing the number of fake copies, say federal police. By contrast, far more counterfeit coins were seized last year, probably as a result of better detection methods. In 2018, a record low of 1,200 fake banknotes were discovered by police.

Read More »

Raising Switzerland’s retirement age – big differences of opinion

2019-10-19

by

2019-10-19

Switzerland’s government has long discussed the importance of raising the retirement age to ensure the financial viability of the pension system. However, it is not clear whether voters would support such a plan. According to a survey by Deloitte, an accounting and consulting company, raising the official retirement age might not find majority support among Swiss voters. Some groups are firmly against the idea.

Read More »

Credit Suisse to charge wealthy clients negative interest rates

2019-10-19

by

2019-10-19

Credit Suisse has joined the likes of UBS and Post Finance in charging rich clients to park their wealth in its vaults. It will pass on the cost of the central bank’s negative interest rates to both private individuals and corporate accounts above certain thresholds. From November 15, corporate clients will be charged -0.85% interest on cash holdings above CHF10 million ($10 million), Credit Suisse confirmed on Friday.

Read More »

Referendum to ban tobacco advertising in Switzerland reaches 100,000 signatures

2019-10-18

by

2019-10-18

An initiative demanding a ban on tobacco advertising has collected 109,969 valid signatures, more than the 100,000 minimum required to launch a popular vote, according to RTS. The planned vote entitled: “Yes to the protection of children and young people against tobacco advertising” demands the federal government ban all forms of tobacco advertising towards children and young people.

Read More »

Commodities trader Gunvor held criminally liable for corruption

2019-10-17

by

2019-10-17

The Geneva-based trading company Gunvor has been ordered to pay almost CHF94 million ($94.6 million), including a fine of CHF4 million over bribery in Africa. The commodities trader failed to prevent its employees and agents from bribing public officials between 2008 and 2011 in order to gain access to the petroleum markets in the Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) said in a statement on...

Read More »

How to choose your candidatesplatforms

2019-10-16

by

The federal elections are coming up this Sunday and there are 3 websites where you can take a quiz to find out which candidate suits you the best. The number of questions vary, as do the final suggestions. Did you find someone who could represent you? Nouvo brings you short videos about Switzerland, Swiss current … Continue...

Read More »

Gefährliche Scheingewinne bei PKs

2019-10-16

by

2019-10-16

Die Schweizer Pensionskassen halten rund 30% ihrer Anlagen in klassischen Obligationen. Die meisten dieser Anleihen weisen eine negative Rendite aus. Dies, weil die Kurse so stark gestiegen sind, dass sich auf deren hohem Niveau trotz positivem Coupon (Nominalzins) eine Rendite auf Verfall von unter null ergibt. Das heisst, dass die erwarteten Kursverluste die Zinserträge übersteigen.

Read More »

Spying scandal weighs on Tidjane Thiam’s tenure at Credit Suisse

2019-10-16

by

2019-10-16

When Tidjane Thiam arrived at the helm of Credit Suisse in the summer of 2015, he was a hero. Plucked from the same role at UK insurer Prudential, where he had doubled the share price in six years, he had big plans to shrink the Swiss group’s investment bank, slash costs, raise fresh capital and expand in Asia.

Read More »

Unions urge probe on asbestos-linked deaths

2019-10-15

by

2019-10-15

Labour unions are demanding a probe of companies’ pre-1990 working conditions in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino, in connection with recent asbestos-linked deaths. They are targeting particularly Swiss Federal Railways and the Swiss accident insurance fund SUVA.

Read More »

Swiss upper house calls on executive to end marriage tax penalty

2019-10-15

by

2019-10-15

In Switzerland, some married couples pay more tax than unmarried ones, something referred to as the marriage tax penalty. The issue has been doing the rounds of the halls of Switzerland’s government for around 30 years. On 28 February 2016, a vote to change the current system was narrowly rejected by 50.8% of voters.

Read More »

Zurich homes market in highly overvalued territory, says UBS

2019-10-14

by

2019-10-14

Every quarter UBS, a bank, publishes its real estate bubble index, a report that covers real estate prices in 24 cities around the world. In the third quarter of 2019, Munich was listed as the most overvalued housing market in the world. Bubble risk was highest in Munich, Toronto, Hong Kong and Amsterdam. Frankfurt, Vancouver and Paris.

Read More »

Why Switzerland ranks near the top of the 2019 global competitiveness ranking

2019-10-14

by

2019-10-14

Switzerland made the the top 5, after dropping from 4th to 5th, in this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index. Switzerland’s decline was largely due to a down weighting of a factor where it is strong, according to WEF’s Saadia Zahidi. The Global Competitive Index measures performance in 114 areas that influence a nation’s productivity.

Read More »

EU removes Switzerland from tax haven list

2019-10-13

by

2019-10-13

In December 2017, the European Union (EU) set up a blacklist and a grey list of tax havens, countries it deemed were being used to help companies and wealthy individuals reduce their tax bills. Switzerland ended up on the grey list. Nations on these lists faced reputational damage and stricter controls on financial transactions with the EU.

Read More »

Cashflow crisis looms over UN in Geneva

2019-10-13

by

2019-10-13

The United Nations is facing a serious cashflow crisis, as 63 states – including its largest contributor, the United States – have not paid their annual dues. In Geneva, officials at the UN’s European headquarters (UNOG) are considering ways to cut costs, while the host nation looks on anxiously.

Read More »

State railway company beset with fresh problems 

2019-10-12

by

2019-10-12

All the Swiss Federal Railways’ new Bombardier double-decker trains will have to go in for repairs for certain parts to be replaced, it has emerged. The news of the latest technical problems was broken by Swiss public television SRF, citing internal documents. At present, 12 out of the 59 Bombardier trains are in operation on a line between Chur (in southeastern Switzerland) and Basel in the northwestern part of the country.

Read More »

Floating solar panels unveiled in Swiss Alps

2019-10-12

by

2019-10-12

A solar panel project which could power over 6,000 households has been launched in a mountain lake in southwestern Switzerland. The Romande Energie company unveiled the first part of its floating solar project in Bourg-Saint-Pierre on Wednesday after six years of exploratory work. The installation consists of 2,240 square metres of solar panels sitting on a 36-part aluminium and polyethylene frame anchored to the bed of the mountain lake.

Read More »

EU removes Switzerland from tax haven lists 

2019-10-11

by

2019-10-11

Switzerland has acknowledged the fact that European Union will remove the country from its grey list for tax havens following a reform of the corporate tax system. “Switzerland meets and implements international tax standards. The European Union has acknowledged this...” said a statement, released by the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), on Thursday.

Read More »

Geneva commuters fall out of love with cars

2019-10-11

by

2019-10-11

Commuters in the Geneva region are becoming increasingly disillusioned with private cars and are embracing “multimodal” forms of transport, a survey has found. An in-depth survey of commuter behaviour in the Greater Geneva region – covering canton Geneva, the Nyon region in neighbouring canton Vaud, and France – has revealed an increasingly negative attitude towards driving.

Read More »