Category Archive: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

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UBS tax evasion appeal verdict delayed in Paris

2021-09-29

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2021-09-29

Swiss bank UBS will have to wait until December 13 to see if its appeal against a French €4.5 billion (CHF4.9 billion) tax evasion penalty is successful.

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Solidarity vital to overcome crises, Swiss president tells UN

2021-09-24

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2021-09-24

Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has called for solidarity to tackle global environmental and trade issues.

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Parliament rejects blanket ban on tobacco ads

2021-09-23

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2021-09-23

The Swiss parliament has agreed new advertising and sponsorship regulations for tobacco products. However, the supporters of a total ban on tobacco advertising are unimpressed.

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Swiss won’t vote on arms export ban proposal

2021-09-17

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2021-09-17

Campaigners seeking a ban on Swiss arms exports have withdrawn their initiative that aimed to stop weapons exports to countries in conflict.

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Commodity giants race to clean up mineral supply chains amid green energy boom

2021-09-16

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2021-09-16

Electric car manufacturers and other green energy companies are trying to get a grip on their mineral supply chains. In doing so, they are bringing commodity traders out from the shadows.

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Corruption trackers flag increased global money laundering risks

2021-09-14

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2021-09-14

The global community is slipping in its efforts to tackle money laundering and terrorist finance, a Swiss corruption watchdog warned on Monday.

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Property sole inflationary concern for Swiss central bank

2021-09-13

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2021-09-13

The risk of a housing bubble has increased in the last three months, but the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is unconcerned about a general inflationary threat.

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‘Serious failings’ at online vaccination registry, says federal commissioner

2021-09-12

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2021-09-12

A federal investigator has found “serious” technical failures at voluntary vaccination registry mesvaccins.ch, which was closed in May following data security concerns.

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Swiss DLT stock exchange wins long-awaited license to operate

2021-09-11

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2021-09-11

A new Swiss stock exchange has been awarded a license to trade digital assets using distributed ledger technology (DLT).

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Using Swiss technology to store CO2 in Iceland

2021-09-10

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2021-09-10

The Swiss company Climeworks has just opened in Iceland the world’s largest plant for the capture and permanent storage of carbon dioxide from the air. This technology is deemed essential for combating global warming, yet it raises some questions.

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Unions demand financial reward for efforts during Covid crisis

2021-09-08

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2021-09-08

The Trade Union Federation has called for a blanket salary rise for all employees as the Swiss economy recovers from the Covid-19 crisis.

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A giant water battery in the Swiss Alps

2021-09-07

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The amount of electricity that can be stored thanks to the new pumped-storage and turbine power station in Nant de Drance, canton Valais, could charge more than 400,000 electric car batteries. Its director explains the role of this "water battery" for electricity supply and grid stabilisation in Switzerland and Europe. “The electric storage capacity of the reservoir surpasses that of 400,000 electric car batteries,” explains Alain...

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An alternative life of Swiss luxury

2021-08-31

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Thomas Brunschwig leads an unconventional life. He is a self-confessed outsider who has found his sustainable, spiritual paradise in a Bernese farmhouse filled with various Indian and Chinese instruments and sculptures – and four zebu cattle. The zebu produce neither milk nor meat. In fact he says the only useful thing they produce is dung, the fuel of fire in the Vedic religion. “Technically, if I calculate the income from selling dried cow pats,...

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Afghan women face an uncertain future

2021-08-27

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One of the big questions since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan is what will become of Afghan women. When the militant group last ruled the country, women and girls were barred from schools, universities and jobs, and had to veil from head to toe in public. The Swiss-based non-profit group Geneva Call has been active in Afghanistan for several years, trying to improve the protection of women in particular. Marie Lequin, Head of the Eurasia...

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Covid vaccinations in schools

2021-08-24

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Aargau is the first Swiss canton to offer mobile vaccination centres for older pupils on school grounds. The aim is to boost the vaccination rate among 16- to 19-year-olds in the canton, which currently stands at 43%, as well as to stem the number of coronavirus outbreaks in schools. More than 200 pupils tested positive for the virus in the first week of term. Schools in the northern canton were the first to go back after the summer holidays on...

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Big Swiss companies obliged to report on climate risks from 2024

2021-08-19

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2021-08-19

From 2024, large Swiss firms will be legally bound to report on their climate-related risks. The government has now published guidelines on which companies and which risks will be involved.

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Deepfake hunters

2021-08-17

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Deepfakes are often used in ads and films, for instance when actors play younger versions of their characters. However, the technology also offers high potential for misuse. A spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne is using AI and deep learning to create software to help specialists detect fraud. Artificial intelligence helps detect anomalies inside images. The software then marks any manipulated areas. Detectors are also...

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Can China help African cocoa producers outmanoeuvre Big Chocolate?

2021-08-17

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2021-08-17

In a bid to grab a bigger slice of the chocolate pie, cocoa-producing countries Ivory Coast and Ghana are turning to China for funding and a new marketplace. The move could pose a threat to the Swiss chocolate industry’s profit margins and its supply of raw materials. 

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Businesses urged to back Swiss Covid-19 vaccination strategy

2021-08-16

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2021-08-16

Health Minister Alain Berset has urged companies to back the government’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, arguing it is in the economy's interest to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

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Risk of housing bubble in Switzerland persists

2021-08-11

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2021-08-11

A report by the leading Swiss bank UBS has found an increased risk of a real estate bubble forming in Switzerland’s housing market. The UBS Swiss real estate bubble index has risen from 1.78 to 1.90 points, in the second quarter of 2021, remaining in the ‘risk zone’, according to a report published on Tuesday.

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