Category Archive: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

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UBS questioned by US Senator over $350 million tax evasion case

2024-07-25

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2024-07-25

UBS Group AG was asked by a powerful US lawmaker about whether the bank it acquired, Credit Suisse Group AG, failed to report an American accused of evading taxes on $350 million (CHF307 million) in income.

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US and Switzerland to exchange data to track tax dodgers

2024-06-27

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2024-06-27

The two countries plan to exchange financial data from 2027 to help both sides track down tax evaders. A corresponding new agreement was signed in Bern on Thursday, Switzerland’s finance ministry announced, although Swiss law will have to be amended before the change can be implemented.

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Lufthansa Group to levy new environmental fee from 2025

2024-06-25

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2024-06-25

Flying will become even more expensive next year when the Lufthansa Group starts charging a new type of environmental fee for flights. The fee will also be introduced at SWISS and Edelweiss.

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High immigration from Europe reflects strong Swiss employment growth

2024-06-24

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2024-06-24

Around 68,000 people moved to Switzerland from other European countries in 2023, attracted by the job opportunities, the Swiss authorities said on Monday. This is the second-highest figure since the agreement on the free movement of persons between the European Union and Switzerland came into force over 20 years ago.

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‘Balancing growth and sustainability is the challenge of the century for the tourism sector’

2024-06-24

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2024-06-24

In 2024, the tourism and travel industry is expected to reach, or even exceed, pre-pandemic levels. Francisco Betti is the co-author of a report on world tourism for the World Economic Forum (WEF). He believes firmly in the key role of technological progress in making the sector sustainable in the next 20 years.

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Migros moves ahead with downsizing plans

2024-06-18

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2024-06-18

Migros is slimming down further. A buyer has been found for Melectronics, the Group announced on Tuesday. The retailer also intends to divest further subsidiaries. This will result in additional redundancies.

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‘Financial equalisation’ between Swiss cantons to increase in 2025

2024-06-11

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2024-06-11

Redistribution payments between regions will rise by 4.8% to CHF6.2 billion ($6.91 billion) in 2025, the Federal Finance Administration (FFA) said on Tuesday.

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Ticino approves lower taxes for the wealthy

2024-06-09

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2024-06-09

High incomes in the Swiss canton of Ticino will in future benefit from tax relief. A corresponding amendment to the law was approved by voters on Sunday. Compensatory measures for planned pension cuts for cantonal employees were also approved.

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SNB returns to quarterly profit thanks to Swiss franc weakness

2024-04-25

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2024-04-25

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) returned to a quarterly profit because of the weakness of the Swiss franc, potentially helping officials to rebuild the central bank’s depleted capital base. The Zurich-based institution notched up a gain of CHF58.8 billion ($64 billion) in the first quarter, according to a statement on Thursday. That’s the strongest start to the year on record.

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Switzerland braced for wave of bank staff layoffs

2024-04-15

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2024-04-15

Redundancies at Switzerland's largest bank will test the capacity of the financial sector to absorb jobs. A year ago Credit Suisse staff were stunned by the sudden demise of their bank. Many are now fighting for their careers with 3,000 Swiss posts set to be axed by their new employer UBS, starting this year.

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UBS must build up more equity, says Swiss government

2024-04-14

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2024-04-14

UBS already has to build up additional equity capital because it has become much larger as a result of the Credit Suisse takeover, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said.

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Investigation into collapse of Credit Suisse beset by delays

2024-03-14

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2024-03-14

In March 2023, Credit Suisse collapsed. An uncontrolled bankruptcy could only be prevented by big government aid and an emergency merger with competitor UBS. Switzerland is now waiting for a parliamentary inquiry report to reveal who was at fault as the bank disintegrated.

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CEO pay: can Switzerland compete with the US?

2024-03-07

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2024-03-07

Swiss CEOs are some of the best paid in Europe but compared to peers in the United States, their salaries look modest. Some in the Swiss pharmaceutical industry see this as a problem.

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SWISS reports highest ever profit 

2024-03-07

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2024-03-07

SWISS’ turnover totalled CHF5.3 billion ($6 billion) last year, the airline announced on Thursday, a significant increase on the previous year’s CHF4.4 billion, and a return to 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic.

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Swiss exports to Russia suspected of evading sanctions

2024-02-27

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2024-02-27

Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Swiss exports to countries close to Russia have increased significantly – which points to a possible evasion of sanctions.

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Young Socialists demand inheritance tax on ‘super rich’

2024-02-08

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2024-02-08

The wealthiest in society “must pay for the fight against the climate crisis”, said the group on Thursday as they handed in over 140,000 signatures for a people’s initiative.

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India eyes $100bn investment deal with Switzerland and Norway

2024-02-07

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2024-02-07

India is close to finalising a first-of-its-kind trade deal that could see a small group of European nations invest as much as $100 billion (CHF87 billion) over 15 years in exchange for easier trade access to the world’s most populous nation, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

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Switzerland marks start of China’s ‘high-level exchange’ with Europe

2024-01-15

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2024-01-15

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is visiting Switzerland this week. The official state visit by China’s second highest ranking official signals a renewal in Sino-Swiss ties and the kick-off of his “high-level exchange” with Europe. Here’s what you need to know about official Swiss-Chinese relations.

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Swiss banker pleads guilty to tax offences in the US

2023-12-22

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2023-12-22

A Swiss banker has pleaded guilty to tax offences in the United States. Between 2008 and 2014, he allegedly helped wealthy US clients hide their assets from the US authorities in accounts at Zurich-based Ihag Privatbank.

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Inside Geneva: UN Correspondents assess 2023

2023-12-21

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In this episode Imogen Foulkes is joined by New York Times contributor Nick Cumming-Bruce, Emma Farge of Reuters, and Dorian Burkhalter of Swissinfo, to look back at 2023 and the stories that made the news.

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