Category Archive: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

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Chinese economic disruption hits Swiss supply chains

2020-03-05

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2020-03-05

China’s sharp contraction in economic activity over the past month due to the coronavirus epidemic is sending shockwaves across the globe. Switzerland is one of the top ten countries exposed to Chinese supply disruptions, a United Nations report reveals.

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Red Bull profits from Swiss sugar subsidies

2020-03-04

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2020-03-04

The makers of sweet products benefit from the federal subsidies paid to sugar beet farmers in Switzerland. The price of sugar in Switzerland has been on the decline for years. As a result, 400 farmers have quit producing it in recent years. Sugar beet producers receive annual subsidies amounting to CHF36 million ($38 million).

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How to become Swiss

2020-03-04

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If you have a connection to Switzerland through your family or your partner and want to make it official by becoming Swiss yourself – this is how you can go about it. The Swiss passport can seem difficult to get. In this ‘Switzerland Explained’ video we describe how to kickstart the application process if you’re living abroad and how to find out …

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Swiss price watchdog calls for reduction in train ticket prices

2020-03-02

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2020-03-02

With track fees for rail companies set to drop, savings should be passed on to customers, Stefan Meierhans told the weekly NZZ am Sonntag. The call comes on the heels of revelations that two state-owned rail firms wrongly claimed millions in subsidies.

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Transport operators told to pay back millions in state subsidies

2020-03-01

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2020-03-01

Two more Swiss state-owned transport companies have been ordered to pay back more than CHF50 million ($51 million) in wrongly claimed subsidies. The authorities are also looking into the possibility of criminal prosecutions in connection with the worsening subsidies scandal.

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Swiss business takes on global waste

2020-02-29

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2020-02-29

Mr. Green, a recycling subscription service with a social mission, has been a big hit with busy families and businesses in cities in Switzerland. But can it work in Africa? Swiss entrepreneur Keiran Smith had no connection with Kenya before starting Mr. Green Africa.

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Geneva watch fair cancelled over coronavirus fears

2020-02-28

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2020-02-28

The organisers of Watches & Wonders Geneva – the former Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) - have cancelled their annual watch fair due to take place from April 25-29, amid fears over the new coronavirus outbreak.

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Should rail commuter data be monetised through advertising?

2020-02-26

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2020-02-26

Swiss Federal Railways is coming under fire for using the personal data of commuters for advertising purposes. The data commissioner and a watchdog group have sounded the alarm bell as the volume of data being harnessed grows.

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Unions say anti-EU initiative is bad for workers

2020-02-25

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2020-02-25

Trade unions have come out against the initiative to scrap the freedom of movement agreement with the European Union, saying a “yes” vote would be “an attack on all workers”. Accepting the right-wing proposal would lead to a situation whereby “collective agreements and wage checks would be replaced by an unfettered competition of all against all,” Swiss Trade Union Federation boss Pierre-Yves Maillard said on Monday.

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Swiss digital stock exchange offers partners ownership stake

2020-02-23

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2020-02-23

The Swiss stock exchange is offering strategic partners a stake of up to 30% in its new digital assets trading platform. The SDX digital exchange hopes to launch by the end of this year, trading digital shares, bonds and other assets on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform.

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#swihack Live Stream of presentations

2020-02-22

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On location at #swihack Multilingual Journalism Hackathon organized by Swissinfo For more information, please visit https://swihack.ch --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to our YouTube channel: Website:...

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#swihack Live Stream of presentations

2020-02-22

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On location at #swihack Multilingual Journalism Hackathon organized by Swissinfo For more information, please visit https://swihack.ch — swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles, interviews and videos visit swissinfo.ch or subscribe to …

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Ermotti’s UBS record: solid but not all plain sailing

2020-02-22

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2020-02-22

Sergio Ermotti arrived at UBS in 2011 during a dark chapter in the history of Switzerland’s largest bank. He will depart in November, nine years later, with a reputation for injecting greater stability but not for stamping out controversy. Ironically, UBS arguably faces some greater challenges than cross-town rival Credit Suisse, where earlier this month former CEO Tidjane Thiam was forced to step down unceremoniously following an internal spying...

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New Swiss aid budget proposes more funds but for fewer countries

2020-02-20

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2020-02-20

The Swiss government wants to set aside CHF11.25 billion ($11.43 billion) in development aid for the 2021-2024 period. The governing Federal Council adopted its Strategy for International Cooperation on Wednesday after opening it up for public consultation. It will still have to be approved by parliament.

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Tax on legal weed repealed

2020-02-20

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2020-02-20

The Swiss Federal Court has ruled that cannabis – the legal, low-THC version – should not be subject to the tobacco tax. Responding to the complaints of three cannabis production companies, the court found that there was no legal basis for a 25% tobacco tax on the sales price of cannabis. The tax will be dropped immediately.

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Car emissions rising due to imported guzzlers, says report 

2020-02-19

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2020-02-19

New cars imported into Switzerland have not been respecting the prescribed norms on CO2 emissions, with emission levels actually rising in 2017 and 2018, says a report published on Tuesday. Nearly half of importers failed to meet compulsory targets in 2018, according to the Federal Office of the Environment’s report for parliament. 

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Swiss worry about online data protection, want increased regulation

2020-02-16

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2020-02-16

A survey on digitalisation released this week shows people’s greatest concern revolves around the fate of their personal data, though just as many believe new technologies hold great promise, especially in the areas of medicine, education and smart cities

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Clariant to cut up to 600 jobs as profit falls

2020-02-15

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2020-02-15

The Swiss specialty chemicals firm Clariant says it will cut up to 600 jobs to save money after a drop in profit in 2019. The firm expects the slow economic situation this year to continue to affect demand. “For 2020, given the current sluggish economic environment and continued adverse foreign exchange conditions, growth will be more limited and additional efficiency measures have been defined for each of the businesses to support the margin...

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Thiam ‘proud’ of his record as he departs Credit Suisse

2020-02-14

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2020-02-14

Outgoing Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam said he was proud of what he has achieved at the bank as it delivered strong 2019 results and a promising start to this year. Thiam handed in his resignation last week after losing the confidence of the board following a spying scandal that had seriously damaged the bank’s reputation. Thursday was Thiam’s last day in office.

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Investigation opened into Swiss encryption firm linked to CIA

2020-02-13

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2020-02-13

The Swiss government has opened an investigation into a decades-old spying affair involving Swiss firm Crypto, following reports by Swiss public broadcaster SRF, German broadcaster ZDF and The Washington Post. The government confirmed on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into the reports that Crypto, a Zug-based communications encryption firm, was secretly used by the CIA and West German intelligence services for decades.

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