Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

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Investec is a distinctive Specialist Bank and Asset Manager. We provide a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, as well as certain other geographies. Investec’s strategic goals are motivated by the desire to develop an efficient and integrated business on an international scale through the active pursuit of clearly established core competencies in the group’s principal business areas.
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Flu deaths surprisingly rare in Switzerland

2021-03-15

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2021-03-15

Sometimes comparisons are drawn between the seasonal flu and Covid-19. But how many die from the seasonal flu in a typical year? According to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, surprisingly few.

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Farming lobby hurting Swiss chocolate sector, says industry association

2021-03-14

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2021-03-14

Swiss chocolate sales went into steep decline in 2020, according to ChocoSuisse, Switzerland’s chocolate industry association. The amount of chocolate produced in Switzerland in 2020 was 10% lower than in 2019 and sales revenue was down by 14.5%, a sharp drop.

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Regulators want firms to own up to climate risks

2021-03-14

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2021-03-14

Greener postures
AMERICA’S MAIN financial regulator is taking an interest in climate change—and wants everyone to know. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has created a task-force to examine environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, appointed a climate tsar and said it will “enhance its focus” on climate-related disclosures for listed firms.

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Swiss Voters Approve ‘Burqa Ban’

2021-03-13

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2021-03-13

Swiss voters have narrowly approved a proposal to ban face coverings in public spaces. The measure comes just over a decade after citizens voted to ban the construction of minarets, the tower-like structures on mosques that are often used to call Muslims to prayer.

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More parcels, fewer letters: pandemic dents Swiss Post finances

2021-03-12

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2021-03-12

The Covid-19 pandemic cost the state-owned Swiss postal service CHF139 million ($150 million) last year, which was largely responsible for driving down profits by 30%. Swiss Post delivered a record 182.7 million parcels in 2020, up nearly a quarter in volume from the previous year.

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More rare earth metals detected at Swiss wastewater plants

2021-03-12

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2021-03-12

Rare earth metals like cerium and gadolinium, which are used in industry and hospitals, are increasingly being detected at Swiss wastewater plants, new research shows.

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Swiss government expects fast economic recovery in 2021

2021-03-11

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2021-03-11

After a weak start to the year, Switzerland’s economy should recover rapidly from a heavy coronavirus-driven slump to grow by 3% in 2021, the government said on Thursday. Gross domestic product will fall “significantly” in the first quarter of this year, after Covid-19 restrictions last December, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) said in a statement.

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Credit Suisse Launches Probe Into Collapsed Greensill Trade-Finance Funds

2021-03-11

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2021-03-11

Roughly a weekand a-half has passed since Credit Suisse gated funds containing $10BN in assets packaged by Greensill, the troubled financial innovator that suckered in former British PM David Cameron, SoftBank and legions of clients and investors with its stated mission to "democratize" supply-chain finance.

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No more free rides in free trade deals

2021-03-10

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2021-03-10

The Swiss narrowly voted in favour of a free trade deal with Indonesia on Sunday. Will future agreements also have to win popular support? Jessica covers the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to big global companies and their impact in Switzerland and abroad.

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Most adults in rich nations face long wait for vaccine, distributor warns

2021-03-09

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2021-03-09

More than half of adults in rich countries will still be waiting to receive a first dose of coronavirus vaccine in 15 months’ time, the head of a logistics group distributing jabs has warned. Detlef Trefzger, chief executive of Kuehne+Nagel, one of the world’s largest haulage companies, said: “This already is fast. This sounds shocking for some people, but we have to be realistic.”

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Swiss government wants to keep control of weapons exports

2021-03-07

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2021-03-07

The Swiss government has rejected calls to allow voters and cantons to set conditions for weapons exports. A people’s initiative collected enough signatures in 2019 to force a nationwide vote on the issue.

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Swiss parliament demands cabinet reopen restaurants and theatres

2021-03-06

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2021-03-06

A recent parliamentary vote on whether to issue a formal request to the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, to reopen restaurants on 22 March 2021, found a majority of 97 to 90, according to Le Matin.

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Gender equality continues to make progress in Swiss workforce

2021-03-05

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2021-03-05

The proportion of women in Swiss company boardrooms and management ranks continues to rise, according to an annual survey of the largest employers in both private and public sectors.

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UBS publishes Annual Report 2020

2021-03-05

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2021-03-05

The Annual Report 2020 provides comprehensive and detailed information on the firm, its strategy, business, governance and compensation, financial performance and risk, treasury and capital management, as well as on the regulatory and operating environment for the 2020 financial year.

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SocGen Slashes Banker Bonuses Amid ECB Pressure

2021-03-04

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2021-03-04

Despite banks, broadly speaking, having a banner year in 2020 as central-bank-liquidity more-than-washed over the losses due to COVID and policy restrictions, banker bonuses have come under pressure.In Europe, the picture is more uncertain as banks' performance has been mixed.

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Switzerland gears up to place robots in classrooms

2021-03-02

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2021-03-02

Covid-19 has accelerated the transition to online teaching, raising questions about the role of robots in classrooms. Switzerland is rolling out its own robot learning programs, but it’s still a long way off before they will replace teachers.

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Switzerland’s low-income earners hit far harder despite lower Covid-19 infection rates

2021-02-28

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2021-02-28

The economic impact of the Covid-​19 pandemic has hit low-income households far harder than those on high incomes, according to a study published by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich.

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Former Swiss central banker throws in towel to lead OECD

2021-02-27

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2021-02-27

Former Swiss National Bank (SNB) chairman, Philipp Hildebrand, has pulled out of the race to become the next secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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Record fall in Swiss hotel occupancy in 2020

2021-02-26

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2021-02-26

In 2020, the number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by 40% to 23.7 million, a fall of 15.8 million nights compared to 2019. The fall, driven by Covid-19, is the largest fall in overnight stays in Switzerland since the end of the 1950s, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office.

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Swiss press divided over phased easing of Covid restrictions

2021-02-25

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2021-02-25

Is the government showing some backbone or being cowardly by keeping to its gradual pandemic reopening plans? The Swiss media can’t agree. For the German-speaking Neue Zürcher ZeitungExternal link broadsheet, the government – which confirmed its measures on Wednesday – is simply being obstinate.

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