Category Archive: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

Swiss inflation slowed sharply in 2025

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...

Read More »

Jungfrau Railways visitor numbers top a million in 2025

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 …

Read More »

Swiss property prices continued to rise in 2025

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 …

Read More »

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

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 …

Read More »

Swiss oil traders weigh opportunities following US intervention in Venezuela 

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 …

Read More »

Swiss consumers buying fewer new cars

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 …

Read More »

Swiss retail resilient despite difficult economic climate

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 …

Read More »

Nestlé recalls BEBA and Alfamino infant milk in Switzerland

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, …

Read More »

How Switzerland became known as the land of chocolate

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...

Read More »

Data reveals historic shipments of Venezuelan gold to Switzerland

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 …

Read More »

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

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 …

Read More »

Nestlé launches large baby food recall in Europe

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 …

Read More »

Swiss industrial sector lagged in December

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, …

Read More »

Why there is too much milk in Switzerland

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. …

Read More »

Why private finance for sustainable development is still bracing for impact

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 …

Read More »

Swiss inspection firm SGS acquires Indian cybersecurity firm

SGS is strengthening its cybersecurity services business in India. The global certification and inspection group based in Zug has announced it is acquiring the Indian company Panacea Infosec. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox This acquisition, the amount of which was not disclosed, is expected to strengthen SGS's presence in the …

Read More »

Can Switzerland’s power grid keep up with its data centres?

In Switzerland, the number of data centres per capita is among the highest in the world, while the share of electricity they consume is among the highest in Europe. With some power grids already close to the limit, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) could put them under further strain. Data centres are multiplying …

Read More »

Smartphones, streaming, AI: digital tech’s outsized climate impact in Switzerland

Everyday devices and online services sap the planet’s natural resources and contribute to climate change. But there are ways to make digital life greener. More than six billion people – three quarters of the world’s population – are now online. In high-income countries like Switzerland, virtually the entire population has internet access. The Swiss spend …

Read More »

Trapped in a basement: witness account of the blaze at Swiss ski resort bar

Around 40 people are dead and 115 seriously injured after a fire tore through the "Le Constellation" bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in southern Switzerland on January 1.⁠ ⁠ In this video, Laeticia Plass describes how she escaped the blaze.⁠ --- 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....

Read More »

New Year’s Eve party: around 40 dead and 115 seriously injured in blaze in Swiss ski resort bar

Around 40 people are dead and 115 seriously injured after a fire tore through the "Le Constellation" bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in southern Switzerland on January 1, according to Valais cantonal police. An investigation is continuing to determine the exact cause of one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies. The deadly New Year Eve’s fire was “one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced”, Swiss President Guy...

Read More »