Category Archive: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Main Author Investec
Investec
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.
My articlesMy siteAbout meMy books
Follow on:LinkedINTwitterAmazon
Filter archive by: Show All Show only Articles Show only Videos

Covid: closing Swiss schools one of most effective measures, says study

2021-01-11

by

2021-01-11

School closed
The number of Covid cases went down significantly in Switzerland during spring as a result of schools closing, according to a study by ETH Zurich, reported RTS. Researchers at the university analysed anonymised mobile phone data of 1.5 billion movements of the Swiss population between 10 February and 26 April 2020. They used this data to calculate how much certain measures reduced mobility and contact.

Read More »

Switzerland hit by widespread malware campaign

2021-01-10

by

2021-01-10

Several security bodies in Switzerland have been targeted by emails that appear to come from official organisations such as banks or the police and contain a password for a zip file. When this file is opened, the computer becomes infected with a trojan called Emotet.

Read More »

Company bankruptcies fell sharply in Switzerland in 2020

2021-01-09

by

2021-01-09

Despite the economic impacts of the coronavirus, significantly fewer Swiss companies went bankrupt in 2020 than the year before, according to the business data company Bisnode.

Read More »

Swiss rents and property prices up in 2020 due to pandemic

2021-01-08

by

2021-01-08

The pandemic had a significant impact on Swiss real estate prices in 2020, according to industry experts.

Read More »

Two globally pioneering technologies among Swiss energy prize winners

2021-01-07

by

2021-01-07

A floating solar power plant and a transport project using renewable hydrogen are among the winners of the 2021 Watt d’Or prize. 

Read More »

Charity works overtime to support Covid-stricken mountain firms

2021-01-07

by

2021-01-07

A Swiss fund that supports small businesses in alpine regions bailed out 100 firms last year that were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Schweizer Berghilfe (Swiss Mountain Aid) doled out an extra CHF2 million ($2.26 million) to support Covid-hit enterprises.

Read More »

A Swiss Rifle Club in America

2021-01-06

by

Swiss rifles were coveted during the American revolutionary and civil wars. Today they’re used for fun by the Swiss Rifle Club of Minneapolis. In the late 1980s, a group of Swiss expats living in Minnesota – all employed by food technology company Bühler – decided to form a shooting club to maintain a tradition from the homeland. They made a deal with a local club willing to share its facilities, and got the green light from the Swiss military,...

Read More »

Covid-19 drives new car sales down to historic low

2021-01-06

by

2021-01-06

The Swiss automobile industry registered its worst result in over 40 years, as the number of new cars hitting the road in 2020 fell by a quarter compared to the previous year.

Read More »

Covid: fast-spreading UK strain detected in seven Swiss cantons

2021-01-06

by

2021-01-06

Laboratory confirmed cases, January 6
The fast spreading strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus discovered in the UK has now been detected in seven Swiss cantons, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), reported RTS.

Read More »

Immigration Zuwanderung in die Schweiz – Mehr Probleme oder mehr Wohlstand?

2021-01-05

by

2021-01-05

Wanderung aus EU- und EFTA-Staaten
The Swiss automobile industry registered its worst result in over 40 years, as the number of new cars hitting the road in 2020 fell by a quarter compared to the previous year.

Read More »

Errors made managing pandemic, admits new Swiss president

2021-01-05

by

2021-01-05

According to RTS, Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s president since 1 January 2021, told the newspaper SonntagsBlick, that between July and September the government underestimated the pandemic.

Read More »

Covid: 9,665 new cases over 4 days in Switzerland

2021-01-05

by

2021-01-05

Daily New Cases in Switzerland, January 4
Over the 4 days to 4 January 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported  9,665 new cases and 189 deaths bringing Switzerland’s Covid-19 death toll to 7,831 (confirmed 7,271). 

Read More »

OECD should focus on climate crisis and inequality, says Hildebrand

2021-01-04

by

2021-01-04

Former Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand
Former Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand has been nominated by Switzerland to lead the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose Secretary General Angel Gurria is leaving in May 2021.

Read More »

Swiss continue search for absconded British tourists

2020-12-31

by

2020-12-31

Swiss cantons are still trying to identify tourists from the UK and South Africa who are staying in their resorts or who fled to escape Covid quarantine. Canton Valais, home to many popular ski resorts such as Verbier and Zermatt, is struggling. This content was published on December 30, 2020 - 14:03 December 30, 2020 - 14:03 Keystone-SDA/ts At the weekend an estimated 200 British tourists crept out of Verbier during the night, with hotel...

Read More »

Covid: negative test to enter France from Switzerland only required if resident in France

2020-12-31

by

2020-12-31

On 19 December 2020, the French government advised against French residents travelling to Switzerland to ski and introduced rules that made returning difficult, including a requirement to show a negative Covid-19 test less than 72 hours old or to quarantine on arrival. © Anne Laure Affre | Dreamstime.comThe rule covered all those entering France from the cantons of Graubünden, Jura, Neuchâtel, Uri, Valais and Vaud. However, it was...

Read More »

‘Brexit envy’ grows in Switzerland

2020-12-30

by

2020-12-30

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a deal on December 24 Paul Grover Britain has finally negotiated a deal with the European Union. The European Court of Justice will not act as a court of arbitration. Some Swiss voices are now calling for Switzerland to get the same deal. The UK and the EU managed to agree on a last-minute trade deal after all. It will come into force provisionally on January 1. This will prevent customs duties...

Read More »

Economic outlook for Switzerland in 2021

2020-12-30

by

2020-12-30

Have the Swiss and European Union economies already been through the worst, or will the pandemic cause more damage in 2021? Keystone / Martin Ruetschi Lockdown, home office, travel bans. The pandemic has shaken up the economy, but its disruptive power is having a selective effect. While the pharmaceutical industry is sailing through the crisis unscathed, the watch industry is being hit harder than any time since the last world war. What is the...

Read More »

Swiss want more digital services from the state

2020-12-30

by

2020-12-30

Digitalisation is increasing pressure on state authorities, with almost three-quarters of Swiss expecting more digital services from the authorities, according to a survey by consultants Deloitte. Whether it’s paying parking fines or obtaining motorway toll stickers, Swiss want to be able to deal with such services online. A third of those surveyed could even imagine getting married via video conferencing.A large majority of the population would...

Read More »

Covid: UK tourists break Covid quarantine in Verbier

2020-12-29

by

2020-12-29

Shortly after the UK announced it was struggling to contain a new faster spreading strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Swiss government announced a backdated 10-day quarantine requirement for UK arrivals. This affected hundreds of UK tourists already in the winter resort of Verbier. Verbier, SwitzerlandAround 400 UK tourists, who had arrived after the retrospective 14 December 2020 quarantine cut off date, were staying the Swiss resort....

Read More »

Can 3D printing save the coral reefs?

2020-12-29

by

The oceans produce one in every two oxygen atoms. Coral reefs are like the ocean's rainforest. But it's disappearing, and fast. Ulrike Pfreundt has made it her life's work to find a solution. Pfreundt is a marine biologist at the Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich who gets emotional when she talks about coral death. Through 3D printing, she's found a way to make artificial reefs and replace some of the coral that's being lost by providing...

Read More »