Tag Archive: Business

Swiss companies free to pay dividends despite bailouts

2020-05-08

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2020-05-08

Swiss companies that receive state bailouts during the coronavirus pandemic will still be allowed to pay dividends to shareholders. A divided parliament eventually rejected calls to ban the billions that are expected to be paid out by firms this year.

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What does business look like in a post-lockdown world?

2020-05-07

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2020-05-07

"Our analysis of what the biggest global companies in Switzerland are up to. This week: the new normal for business, luxury watches, and biotech dilemmas." Switzerland is easing up on the lockdown but what the new normal looks like for big companies is still a work in progress.

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Students’ finances affected by coronavirus lockdown 

2020-05-06

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2020-05-06

Most Swiss students rely on part-time jobs during their studies, but the shutting of restaurants, bars, cinemas and gyms during the coronavirus pandemic has led to many of them losing a source of income. Around three quarters of students have a part-time job during their studies, with around half of them working on average two days a week, according to the Federal Statistical Office’s last figures.

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How Swiss cobalt traders are trying to prevent child labour

2020-05-06

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2020-05-06

Swiss cobalt traders Glencore and Trafigura deal very differently with small-scale miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many of whom are children. Eight kilograms of cobalt are needed for every electric car battery. More than 70% of the increasingly sought-after metal is mined in the southeast of the DRC. But most of the miners are not employed by mining companies.

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Global associations call for more flights to transport mail

2020-05-05

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2020-05-05

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) have asked governments to increase air capacity for postal services.  A 95% decrease in passenger flights coupled with an almost 30% increase in online purchasing is putting pressure on postal services delivering international mail, the UPU and IATA said in a statement on Monday.  They warned that air capacity for postal services is insufficient to meet demand.

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Beim Reselling auf Waren sitzen bleiben ??

2020-05-05

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2020-05-05

Ich möchte euch heute erklären, was ich mache, wenn ich Waren nicht verkaufen kann und diese im Lager hängen bleiben. Wie du da vorgehen kannst, um dieses Risiko vermeidest, zeige ich euch in diesem Beitrag. Reselling Risiko – Auf Waren sitzen bleibenWenn Waren sitzen bleiben, steckt Kapital fest, das eigentlich Gewinne machen könnte. Das ist ja das große Problem im Reselling.

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Swiss airlines to get almost CHF2 billion corona aid boost

2020-05-02

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2020-05-02

The Swiss aviation sector, including the airlines SWISS and Edelweiss, is set to receive financial aid of almost CHF1.9 billion to help it through the liquidity crisis caused by Covid-19. Some CHF1.275 billion ($1.31 billion) is directly for the two airlines, while up to CHF600 million will be for other companies vital to the functioning of the sector, the government announced on Wednesday.

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‘Corona-compliant’ Alpine cow processions to go ahead

2020-05-01

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2020-05-01

The traditional driving of cows up to mountain pastures for the summer will still take place this year in Appenzell, northeastern Switzerland, despite the coronavirus pandemic. However, the processions will not be publicised so as not to attract tourists and spectators.

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Coronavirus exit plans for tourist industry mooted

2020-04-27

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2020-04-27

Hopes have been raised of a re-opening of tourist facilities, including restaurants, in Switzerland in June as part of the government’s exit strategy from the coronavirus restrictions.

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Former UBS boss Marcel Ospel dies aged 70

2020-04-27

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2020-04-27

Ospel, who was ousted from his job as chairman of UBS in 2008 after fallout from the US subprime mortgage crisis, passed away on Sunday due to cancer. Born in Basel in 1950, Ospel began his career in 1977 with the Swiss Bank Corporation, an investment bank, before later engineering its merger with UBS in 1998.

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Record year for money laundering tip-offs

2020-04-26

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2020-04-26

The number of reports of suspected money laundering jumped by about 25% in Switzerland last year. According to the Federal Money Laundering Reporting Officeexternal link, 7,705 reports were filed in 2019, compared to 6,126 the previous year.

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Swiss running low on butter

2020-04-25

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2020-04-25

A shortage of frozen butter in Switzerland has the industry wanting to import 1,000 tons. Dairy farmers disagree. On Thursday an umbrella group for the dairy sector announced that it had applied to the federal authorities for permission to import 1,000 tons of butter.

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Switzerland facing biggest economic slump since 1975

2020-04-24

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2020-04-24

In a revised forecast in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, federal authorities predict GDP will contract by 6.7% in 2020 and recover slowly in 2021. On Thursday, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced that it had adjusted 2020 economic forecasts to take into account sporting events affected by the pandemic.

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How Swiss drones and robots are changing farming

2020-04-23

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2020-04-23

Remote sensing, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics are being integrated into everyday farm management. Based on information relayed by a Swiss start-up, the owner of a sugar mill in India tells local cane farmers it’s almost time to harvest their crop.

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Is Venezuela’s gold a liability for Switzerland?

2020-04-21

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2020-04-21

Venezuela is illegally mining and trading in gold, and Switzerland could be one of its clients, according to Swiss media reports. swissinfo.ch spoke to law enforcement, customs and financial authorities to find out whether they are taking action.

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Surviving Covid-19: the Swiss economy’s strengths and weaknesses

2020-04-20

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2020-04-20

The current pandemic will plunge the world economy into recession, at least in the first part of the year. What tools does Switzerland have to minimise the economic and social damage of this crisis? And what factors could jeopardise the prospects for an economic recovery?

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Digital grassroots response to government bailouts

2020-04-19

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2020-04-19

The CHF60 billion Swiss state bailout of companies is well underway. But there is a feeling that government funds that hand out loans and pay workers’ wages will not be enough. How do companies maintain contact with customers and develop their brands during a lockdown?

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Interest groups present demands for coronavirus exit plans

2020-04-18

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2020-04-18

Political parties, trade unions and other interest groups have published their proposals for the government to relax restrictions introduced to stem the Covid-19 pandemic. The calls come a day ahead of the government’s decision on a nationwide coronavirus exit strategy, notably a staggered resumption of business activities and the reopening of schools.

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More high-profile brands desert the Baselworld fair

2020-04-17

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2020-04-17

Rolex, Patek Philippe and Chanel will not exhibit at the Baselworld watch and jewellery trade show in 2021. The announcement marks another blow to the event, which has already seen high-profile exits, including by the Swatch Group.

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Pandemic takes a heavy toll on consumer confidence 

2020-04-17

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2020-04-17

Switzerland’s consumer confidence index plummeted to a “historically low” level in April, according to a Wednesday statement from the Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The index fell to -40 points, compared to -9 points in January, when the previous survey was conducted. That marks the lowest results since the early 1990s.

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