Tag Archive: Business

Swiss Lead Ranking of Globalised Countries

2018-12-30

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2018-12-30

Switzerland was the most globalised country in the world, according to a 2016 survey by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute. It moved up one place to the top compared with the previous year. The Netherlands, Belgium. Sweden and Britain followed in the next places. The United States are in 23rd place and the Comoros, Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau are bottom of the 195-country rankingexternal link, which was published on Thursday.

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Mixed Outlook for Swiss watchmakers

2018-12-28

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2018-12-28

Swiss Watch Industry
The Swiss watchmaking industry expects a continuing rise in exports next year but is concerned that the United States’ protectionist trade policy could have a negative impact on the sector. Jean-Daniel Pasche, president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, said the sector would record in 2018 the third consecutive year with growth, and the value of exports could exceed CHF21 billion ($21.2 billion).

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Swiss Post handles record volume of Christmas parcels

2018-12-27

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2018-12-27

Swiss Post sorted and delivered a record 1.4 million parcels a day in the week before Christmas, which can be attributed to the continued growth of online shopping. This compares with last year’s record of 1.3 million set on December 19, Swiss Post said on Boxing Day.

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Halal label on Swiss chocolate sparks controversy

2018-12-25

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2018-12-25

Some consumers in Switzerland and abroad have been questioning the halal label on Toblerone chocolate bars. Although certified as halal in April, it was only this week that a small storm began brewing on social media – with some people calling for boycotts of the chocolate produced by Mondelez in Bern.

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Swiss Luxury Watches Fail to Meet Environmental Standards

2018-12-24

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2018-12-24

The Swiss branch of the environmental organisation, WWF, has called on Swiss-based watch companies to take more responsibility for ecological and social impacts, notably the use of gold. In its reportexternal link analysing the 15 biggest watch brands, the WWF says its findings are highly worrying as most companies have done nothing to address and counter climate change.

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Smartphones change Swiss shopping habits

2018-12-21

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2018-12-21

More and more people in Switzerland are relying on their smartphone to shop, pay and transfer money, although, compared internationally, the Swiss are still cautious. The Global Mobile Consumer Survey 2018, published on Wednesday by consultants Deloitte, found that 92% of all adults in Switzerland own at least one smartphone, 5% own only a mobile phone and 3% own neither. Similar trends are seen globally.

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Apple will fix tech-glitch to benefit TWINT

2018-12-20

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2018-12-20

Switzerland’s Competition Commission announced on Tuesday that Apple has agreed to come up with a more competitive technical solution to the benefit of Swiss payment method TWINT. The automatic activation of Apple Pay at payment terminals can interrupt payments made by the TWINT application, noted the commission.

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Majority of Swiss company CEOs are foreign

2018-12-19

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2018-12-19

A total of 52% of CEOs from the 50 firms on the SMI Expandedexternal link stock exchange are from abroad, according to a study published on Monday by the recruitment consultancy Heidrick & Strugglesexternal link. A year ago, when the profiles of Swiss executives were evaluated for the first time, the figure was 49%.

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UK signs air service deal with Switzerland for post-Brexit flights

2018-12-18

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2018-12-18

British Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling is set to sign an agreement with Switzerland on Monday to ensure air services continue to operate between the two countries after Brexit. Britain is due to leave the European Union on March 29, but uncertainty over how, or even if, Brexit will happen has increased the possibility of the country exiting without a deal on departure terms, a scenario that some companies said would usher in chaos.

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Swiss Government wants Public Consultation on EU Framework deal

2018-12-11

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2018-12-11

The Swiss government says it wants to carry out a public consultation before taking a final position on an “institutional framework” agreement negotiated with the European Union aimed at cementing future ties between Switzerland and its biggest trading partner.

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Drones can be safely guided by mobile phone networks

2018-12-10

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2018-12-10

Switzerland’s existing mobile telephony infrastructure is enough to guarantee the safety of drone flights in the country’s airspace, according to a study published Wednesday. Commissioned by Swiss air navigation service provider Skyguide and carried out by the Aviation Research Center Switzerland (ARCS), the study focused on the possibility of using mobile networks to control drones.

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Swiss investment management sector growing

2018-12-09

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2018-12-09

As the Swiss financial centre adjusts to the loss of banking secrecy and possible fallout from Brexit, a report highlights increased investment management as the sector's cornerstone. The report, released on Thursday by the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), outlines the emergence of investment management – the “management of investments for institutional and private clients” – as a key component of the Swiss...

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Swiss Post Office Expands Hospital Drone Delivery System

2018-12-09

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2018-12-09

The Swiss Post is expanding its drone delivery system, transporting laboratory samples between two hospitals in Zurich. Similar pilots have been conducted in Bern and Lugano. On Tuesday, the Swiss Post announced it is launching a one-year pilot project to use drones to send laboratory samples between the University Hospital of Zurich and the Irchel site of the University of Zurich, which are 2.5 kilometres apart.

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Swiss complaint over US tariffs to be reviewed by WTO panel

2018-12-08

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2018-12-08

A Swiss complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against United States import tariffs on aluminium and steel will be decided by a WTO panel. On Tuesday, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) accepted to create separate panels to hear the complaints by Switzerland and India, after the two countries filed a second request for their cases to be heard.

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Amazon reduces online offer for Swiss customers

2018-12-07

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2018-12-07

Shoppers in Switzerland will no longer be able to buy items from the US Amazon website due to recent changes to Swiss value-added tax law. Exceptions will be made for e-books and apps. “From 26 December 2018 customers shopping on Amazon.com and other non-EU Amazon websites will not be able to ship non-digital orders to any shipping address in the Swiss Customs Union,” Amazon said on Monday.

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Swiss Starbucks Customers Vulnerable due to Insecure WiFi

2018-12-06

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2018-12-06

An investigation by Swiss Public Television, SRF, has found that data isn’t sufficiently protected when customers use WiFi at cafes in Switzerland of the global coffee chain. Free WiFi access at Starbucks - one of the great perks offered by the company – was investigated by the SRF consumer programme “Kassensturzexternal link”.

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Swiss stock exchange could lose EU access in January

2018-11-30

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2018-11-30

An EU Commission document has revealed that, for now, not enough progress on the Swiss-EU framework agreement has been made to renew the ‘financial equivalency’ status of the Swiss stock exchange in Europe.

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Hot weather and microbreweries boost Swiss beer sales

2018-11-28

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2018-11-28

The Swiss beer market recovered last year thanks to the hot weather, as well as the continued boom in microbreweries and thirst for local craft beers. The Swiss beer market grew by 1.8% to 469 million litres (124 million gallons) between October 1, 2017 and September 30, 2018. This follows a steady downward trend in beer drinking in recent years.

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Swiss Among top Coffee Consumers

2018-11-27

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2018-11-27

The Swiss love their coffee and knock back more than three cups per day. They came in third, behind Germans and Norwegians, in an international ranking of coffee consumers. The Swiss drank no less than 1100 cups of coffee per person per day, according to a ranking published on Monday by CafetierSuisseexternal link, a catering industry employer’s association.

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Swiss Post Office appoints CEO to steer clear of controversy

2018-11-25

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2018-11-25

The Swiss Post Office has appointed a new chief executive to lead the state-owned company out of a troubled few months following a subsidies scandal that came to light earlier this year. Roberto Cirillo will take over at the helm next April, replacing interim boss Ulrich Hurni, the Swiss Post announced on Thursday. Hurni has been minding the fort since Susanne Ruoff was forced to quit as CEO in June.

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