Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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EU recognition of Swiss Covid certificate imminent

2021-07-11

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2021-07-11

According to RTS, Brussels is close to giving the Swiss Covid certificate a green light for inclusion on the EU-wide digital Covid certificate platform. This means that Swiss residents will soon be able to present their Swiss-issued Covid certificate QR codes at ports of entry into EU nations.

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Human Rights Sports Body granted Upgraded Swiss Legal Status

2021-07-10

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2021-07-10

An organisation set up in Switzerland to prevent sport from harming society and athletes has been granted full association status in Geneva. The Centre for Sport and Human RightsExternal link was awarded the status of an independent non-profit association under Swiss law on Thursday. It has been running since 2018 under a different legal status.

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Swiss Unemployment back below 3% again

2021-07-09

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2021-07-09

On 8 July 2021, the Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) published unemployment figures for June 2021. By the end of June 2021, there were close to 132,000 people registered as unemployed across Switzerland, 11,000 fewer than at the end of May 2021, bringing Switzerland’s overall unemployment rate down from 3.1% to 2.8%.

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Swiss Narrowly Miss CO2 Emission Targets

2021-07-09

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2021-07-09

Switzerland has again failed to meet its goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, prompting a rise in CO2 taxes. Last year emissions from fuel, including heating oil and gas, were 31% lower than 1990 levels, according to data released by the Federal OfficeExternal link for the Environment on Wednesday. This is unchanged from 2019 and falls short of the required 33%.

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The Pandemic has Widened the Wealth gap. Should Central Banks be Blamed?

2021-07-08

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2021-07-08

Central Bankers Inequality, 2004 - 2021
Jul 10th 2021THE GLOBAL financial crisis of 2007-09 was socially divisive as well as economically destructive. It inspired a resentful backlash, exemplified by America’s Tea Party. That crisis at least had the tact to spread financial pain across the rich as well as the poor, however.

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Covid: Swiss Health Minister Concerned by Rest Home Staff Vaccine Refusal

2021-07-08

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2021-07-08

In Switzerland, 20% of people over 80 have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 at a time when the fast spreading Delta variant is gaining ground, said Alain Berset, Switzerland’s health minister, in an interview with the NZZ reported RTS.

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Why is Switzerland important in the commodity trading sector?

2021-07-07

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Tiny landlocked Switzerland is a big player in the commodity trading business. The country's involvement in this industry can be traced back to the 15th century, when its ideal central location had merchants from all over Europe meeting on its city square to exchange goods. Today, commodities are shipped around the world in huge container ships, and the trading mostly happens in climatised offices, far away from the mines and ports. Giants such...

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Nearly 40% have Long Covid after 7 months, finds Swiss study

2021-07-07

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2021-07-07

The longer term effects of Covid-19 can take many forms and there are numerous definitions of the disease. A study undertaken by HUG and UNIGE in Geneva, published on 6 July 2021, found that 39% of a group of Covid-19 patients still had symptoms after 7 months.

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Diplomatic back channels: years of USA-Syria talks in Geneva

2021-07-06

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Stretching over several decades, meetings in Geneva between American presidents and Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, raised hopes of peace in the Middle East. The situation at the end of the 1960s in the Middle East is tense. Israel and the Arab states are at war. Syria clashes against Israel over occupied territories in the Golan Heights. The US hopes to stabilise the region by strengthening ties with Arab nations. It is in Geneva that...

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Swiss social spending up nearly 60 percent in 20 years

2021-07-06

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2021-07-06

In 1999, social expenditure in Switzerland was CHF 13,370 per resident. By 2019, the same figure had reached CHF 21,300, a rise of nearly 60%. Over the same period, total inflation was around 11%. Applying inflation to CHF 13,370 brings the figure to CHF 14,480. Why has the cost risen beyond this and how has the extra spending been funded?

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Covid: Swiss Government sets out Autumn Scenarios and Measures

2021-07-06

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2021-07-06

On 30 June 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Council discussed ways of preparing Switzerland for the autumn and winter months and a possible renewed rise in the number of coronavirus cases. From the meeting ministers produced a report setting out various scenarios and response plans.

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Swiss to keep Sipping from Single-Use Plastics as EU Ban takes Effect

2021-07-05

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2021-07-05

Single-use plastic items like straws and cups are no longer allowed in the 27 European Union countries. This isn’t the case in non-member Switzerland, where retailers and restaurants are taking their own approach. The EU ban on certain plastic products took effect on July 3 and covers a range of everyday items from food packaging to wet wipes.

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Banks Urged to think Green or Face Extinction

2021-07-04

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2021-07-04

Climate change is forcing financiers to change the way they think and act. This could have a big impact on their balance sheets - and potentially their very survival. “Bankers are no longer purely financial specialists, but also connoisseurs of the environmental and social footprint of investments,” said Yves Mirabaud in his last speech as president of the Association of Swiss Private Banks in June.

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Swiss Meat and Eggs often not very Swiss

2021-07-03

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2021-07-03

Any animal raised and slaughtered in Switzerland can be labelled Swiss. However, what the animal has been fed could be from anywhere. If animals are what they eat then much of the meat and eggs labelled Swiss aren’t very Swiss.

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Swiss Roaming Charges to Fall on 1 July 2021 but the Roaming Minefield Remains

2021-07-02

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2021-07-02

On 1 July 2021, Switzerland’s revised telecommunications law came into effect. The new rules force mobile providers to make certain changes to deals they offer customers when roaming. Some of the resulting changes are positive, but not all. In addition, some operators have retained bundles that don’t comply with the new rules.

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Swiss Government Sets Sights on F-35A Fighter Jet Fleet

2021-07-01

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2021-07-01

The Swiss government wants to upgrade the country’s air defence system by buying 36 F-35A fighter aircraft from United States manufacturer Lockheed Martin and five Patriot surface-to-air missile units from another US firm Raytheon.

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CEOs Profit as Workers Suffer from Pandemic, says Union

2021-06-29

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2021-06-29

While the Covid-19 pandemic has caused existential hardship for many employees, CEOs and shareholders have “shamelessly helped themselves”, according to a union study. “The pay gap remains wide open at a very high level,” trade union Unia wrote in its annual pay gap studyExternal link published on Tuesday.

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UBS Boss says Switzerland is Falling Behind on Structural Change

2021-06-28

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2021-06-28

Swiss banks have some catching up to do when it comes to structural change and digitalisation, says Ralph Hamers, CEO of Swiss bank UBS. In his opinion structural change has taken place much faster in other countries and industries than in Switzerland.

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Airbus Launches Counter-Offensive on Fighter Jet Contract

2021-06-28

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2021-06-28

Ahead of the Swiss government’s decision on a major fighter jet contract, Airbus has made an appeal to the Swiss government to choose a European firm after leaked information from the government revealed US firm Lockheed Martin was out ahead of competitors.

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Switzerland’s Battle of the Bees

2021-06-27

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2021-06-27

The risk to bees through pesticides and the ensuing effects on the world’s food crops have been the source of much debate. But do Swiss measures to support the domestic honeybee disadvantage the equally important wild bee?

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