Category Archive: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

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Crans-Montana tragedy: ‘Our hearts go out to you’, say Swiss Abroad

2026-01-09

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2026-01-09

Switzerland is observing a national day of mourning on January 9 in honour of the victims of the deadly New Year’s Eve bar fire in Crans-Montana. The tragedy in the Swiss ski resort has also deeply affected Swiss citizens around the world. Messages left in the special online book of condolences launched by the authorities … Continue...

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Swiss National Bank makes CHF26 billion profit

2026-01-09

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2026-01-09

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has once again made a high profit in 2025. The government and cantons will benefit accordingly. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Specifically, according to provisional calculations, the SNB is reporting a profit of around CHF26 billion ($32.5 billion) for 2025. In 2024, it reported a …

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Freeze forces SWISS to cancel dozens of flights

2026-01-08

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2026-01-08

Swiss International Air Lines has cancelled 57 flights since the beginning of the year due to the weather. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The airline expects further cancellations in the coming days due to the current weather conditions in Europe. A total of around 7,430 passengers were affected by the …

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Swiss pharma industry braced for upheaval

2026-01-08

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2026-01-08

United States trade policy has exposed the Swiss pharmaceutical industry to a period of upheaval, according to Interpharma, which represents Switzerland's research-based pharma firms. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Switzerland is currently standing at a crossroads, said Interpharma president Jörg-Michael Rupp stated at the association’s annual media conference. + How …

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Swiss banks less optimistic due to lower interest rates

2026-01-08

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2026-01-08

The fall in interest rates is putting Swiss banks under pressure, according to the new EY Banking Barometer. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Just under half of banks expect operating results to decline in 2025, although a majority expect margins in the interest business to stabilise. + Have foreign leaders …

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Swiss inflation slowed sharply in 2025

2026-01-08

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2026-01-08

Inflation slowed to 0.2% in Switzerland last year, as an acceleration in rents was offset by a fall in energy costs. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This trend could encourage the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to maintain the monetary status quo. Inflation accelerated by an average of 0.2% in 2025, … Continue...

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Jungfrau Railways visitor numbers top a million in 2025

2026-01-08

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2026-01-08

The Jungfrau Railway Group once again transported over a million guests to the Jungfraujoch in 2025. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The group also presented new medium-term targets. As in the previous year, a total of 1.06 million guests were transported to the Jungfraujoch. This corresponds to a slight decrease …

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Swiss property prices continued to rise in 2025

2026-01-08

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2026-01-08

Asking prices for owner-occupied apartments rose significantly in Switzerland last year. Inflation was less pronounced for single-family homes. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Nationwide, prices for condominiums rose by 4.2% year-on-year. Single-family homes recorded a more moderate increase of 2.6%. This is according to the ImmoScout24 purchase index, compiled jointly …

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Capture of Nicolás Maduro, US tech dominance, and new vaccination advice

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

Welcome to our press review of events in the United States. Every Wednesday I look at how the Swiss media have reported and reacted to three major stories in the US – in politics, finance and science. Venezuela’s strongman leader Nicolás Maduro was captured by the US armed forces in Caracas at the weekend and …

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Swiss oil traders weigh opportunities following US intervention in Venezuela 

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

The US military intervention in Venezuela and capture of president Nicolás Maduro has put the world’s largest oil reserves back on the global energy map. Switzerland’s oil traders are paying close attention. Since the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), in 2019 under Donald Trump, Swiss oil …

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Swiss consumers buying fewer new cars

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

The Swiss are buying fewer cars and the vehicle fleet is ageing, according to the vehicle importers' association Auto-Swiss. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Specifically, according to data released on January 2 by Auto-Swiss, the importers' association, but with little media coverage apart from the Tages-Anzeiger, 233,700 new cars will …

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Swiss retail resilient despite difficult economic climate

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

The Swiss retail sector proved resilient last year, with sales boosted by rising real wages. According to UBS economists, the sector should continue on this path in 2026. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Nominal sales in the Swiss retail sector will have grown by 1% by 2025, according to the …

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Nestlé recalls BEBA and Alfamino infant milk in Switzerland

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

Swiss food multinational Nestlé is recalling certain batches of its BEBA and Alfamino infant milk brands in Switzerland. The product recall affects a total of 31 countries and accounts for less than 0.5% of group sales. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox "Nestlé, in close collaboration with the competent Swiss authorities, …

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How Switzerland became known as the land of chocolate

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

Swiss chocolate is part of the country’s identity. But its global success owes as much to clever marketing as to taste and quality. In a new non-fiction book, Dominik Flammer examines how the myth of Swiss chocolate was created. Alpine dairy maids against a mountain backdrop, cows grazing on lush pastures, and St Bernard dogs … Continue...

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Data reveals historic shipments of Venezuelan gold to Switzerland

2026-01-07

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2026-01-07

Venezuela delivered 127 tons of gold to Switzerland 10 years ago in an act of desperation to avoid bankruptcy, according to analysis of customs data by Swiss public broadcaster RTS. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Between 2012 and 2016, Venezuela discreetly transferred part of its gold reserves to Switzerland for …

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Microsoft and McKinsey pay up to $1 million each to back Donald Trump’s Davos hub

2026-01-06

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2026-01-06

Microsoft and McKinsey are among the US companies paying up to $1 million (CHF790,000) each to sponsor a Davos venue that will serve as a base for US government officials during President Donald Trump’s trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) later this month. Paying to back the venue, housed in a small church in …

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Nestlé launches large baby food recall in Europe

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

Swiss food and beverage giant Nestlé is recalling batches of baby food in several European countries as a precautionary measure. This appears to be one of the largest product recall campaigns in Nestlé's corporate history. The products in question could be contaminated with a toxin, the company said +Get the most important news from Switzerland …

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Swiss industrial sector lagged in December

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

Swiss small and medium-sized industrial companies saw their activity decline in December. The SME Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell by 0.9 points to 49.4, once again falling below the 50-point growth threshold. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This first bout of gloom since August is primarily due to sluggish demand, …

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Why there is too much milk in Switzerland

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

Switzerland is producing too much milk – and it is too expensive. The industry is responding by cutting milk prices. What this means, and how farmers are reacting. What is the issue? There is currently an oversupply of milk in Switzerland. According to the milk sector organisation, the surplus amounts to around 126 million kilograms. …

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Why private finance for sustainable development is still bracing for impact

2026-01-05

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2026-01-05

As its overseas assistance budget shrinks, Switzerland says it will rely more heavily on mobilising private capital to fund sustainable development in poorer countries. But the record on innovative mechanisms, such as “blended finance”, is mixed at best. In 2018, the site for Vietnam’s first industrial-sized solar power plant was 300 hectares of difficult-to-farm wasteland …

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