Tag Archive: Business

Swiss Life under scrutiny of US authorities for tax evasion

2017-09-14

by

2017-09-14

nsurance firm Swiss Life has announced that it has been approached by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding its cross-border business with US clients. After going after Swiss banks with a vengeance for abetting tax evasion, it appears that it is now the turn of the Swiss insurance industry to attract unfavourable attention from the DOJ. Products called “insurance wrappers” – offered by Swiss Life affiliates – could potentially have aroused...

Read More »

Fewer planes carry more passengers

2017-09-13

by

2017-09-13

Some 52 million passengers took off, landed or transited via Swiss airports last year. But while the number of passengers continues to soar, there are fewer planes in operation than in 2000. In 2016, Switzerland's national airports in Zurich, Geneva and Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg as well as other regional airports reported a total of 51.8 million passengers (both local and in transit). Since 2000, the number of passengers has increased by 50%,...

Read More »

Forget Tulips & Bitcoin – Here’s The Real Bubble

2017-09-12

by

2017-09-12

Swiss National Bank, Jan 2016 - Sep 2017
While the broader market for Swiss stocks has risen modestly this year, one 'entity' has outperformed its peers by such a staggering margin, it has left bamboozled market experts struggling for an explanation. And that company is…the Swiss National Bank. The price of a share in Swiss National Bank in August rose above 3,000 francs ($3,143) for the first time, more than double the level of a year ago, and up 50% since mid-July, as the Financial...

Read More »

Red Cross launches new bond to tap private money

2017-09-12

by

2017-09-12

The Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has launched the world’s first ‘Humanitarian Impact Bond’, which encourages private sector investment in humanitarian programmes. The innovative “payment-by-results” model centres on a five-year private placement programme entitled the ‘Programme for Humanitarian Impact Investments’, or PHII, which will be executed with the support of the Swiss government and Swiss bank Lombard...

Read More »

Hard times continue for Swiss private banks

2017-09-10

by

2017-09-10

Over half of private banks in Switzerland analysed by KPMG last year experienced net outflows of client cash. In a difficult period for finance, many could be forced to shut down or be bought out. “Implement truly radical change, or continue to see performance deteriorate.” This was the message of a study released Thursday by audit group KPMG with the University of St. Gallen, evaluating the performance of 85 Swiss private banks.

Read More »

Government plans to tackle high roaming charges

2017-09-10

by

2017-09-10

Switzerland is one of the most connected countries on the planet, but mobile and internet users in still grumble about lack of choice, unwelcome cold-calling from companies, and high roaming charges when travelling abroad.

Read More »

Currywurst? That’ll be 0.0019 bitcoins please

2017-09-09

by

2017-09-09

The traditional favourite snack of late night revellers - the currywurst, or curried sausage – has just entered the digital world. It can now be paid for using the cryptocurrency bitcoin in Switzerland. The Wurst & Moritzexternal link company has responded to repeated demand from customers to spend their hard-earned bitcoins in its restaurants in Zurich and Bern.

Read More »

Six Banks Join UBS’s “Utility Coin” Blockchain Project

2017-09-03

by

2017-09-03

Here’s a piece of news that the remaining human members of Wall Street’s FX sales and trading desks probably don’t want to hear. According to the Financial Times, six of the world’s largest banks have decided to join a blockchain project called “utility coin” that will allow banks to settle trades in securities denominated in different currencies without a money transfer.

Read More »

Nestlé Skin Health to shed almost 200 jobs

2017-09-03

by

2017-09-03

Nestlé Skin Health will cease operations at its Egerkingen factory in canton Solothurn and move manufacturing activities abroad, threatening 190 positions. “Production volumes in Egerkingen are and have been very low, resulting in underutilisation of assets and hence additional pressure on manufacturing cost,” the company, which creates skin, hair and nail products, said in a statement on Thursday.

Read More »

Highest Swiss Property Prices Recorded in Zurich

2017-09-02

by

2017-09-02

Districts with the Highest Property Price
Zurich remains the dearest location for Swiss property at CHF12,250 ($13,000) per square metre. However, houses in Lucerne have gained the most in value over the past decade, with one square metre costing CHF8,500, up 82% on 2007.

Read More »

Cabinet Called on to Join EU’s no-roaming Charges Deal

2017-09-01

by

2017-09-01

The cantonal government of Graubünden has demanded that the cabinet sign Switzerland up to European Union rules abolishing roaming charges. Without such an agreement, the Swiss tourist industry is at a disadvantage, the Graubünden government said in a letter sent last week to Swiss president, Doris Leuthard, according to the Swiss News Agency.

Read More »

Bank lobby group sees hope for shrinking Swiss sector

2017-09-01

by

2017-09-01

The Swiss banking sector shrank once again last year in terms of banks, profits, share of offshore wealth under management and number of employees. The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) nevertheless believes there are positives to be found amidst the bleak figures.

Read More »

Swiss Agency Reports Major Breach of Online Credentials

2017-08-31

by

2017-08-31

Around 21,000 passwords and personal details used to access online services have been stolen and could be used illegally, Switzerland’s cybercrime monitoring centre has reported. The Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance (MELANI) said on Tuesday that a confidential source had sent copies of the stolen data to the cybercrime centre.

Read More »

Petition calls for faster, stricter diesel standards in Switzerland

2017-08-31

by

2017-08-31

Diesel
Swiss citizens are calling on their government to more quickly require stricter anti-pollution tests for diesel cars. Some 7,200 people submitted a petition to the Federal Chancellery on Tuesday.  The petition, also supported by various environmental and consumer lobby groups, asks Swiss Transport Minister Doris Leuthard to ensure that new diesel cars only be allowed on the road if they “strictly conform” to the Euro-6d-TEMP emissions standard. In...

Read More »

Power company Alpiq decides not to sell Swiss hydro assets

2017-08-29

by

2017-08-29

Swiss energy concern Alpiq has changed its mind about selling up to 49% of its hydropower portfolio due to a tough market environment. In March 2016, Alpiq declared that it was planning to sell a large share of its hydropower assets to investors, provoking strong reactions in the power sector and media. Hydropower is a central pillar of the Swiss electricity supply – some 60% of Switzerland's energy is produced by water.

Read More »

Swisscom accused of huge roaming charge rip-off

2017-08-26

by

2017-08-26

The Swiss consumer protection agency says it will file criminal charges against Swisscom for an alleged roaming charge rip-off that is said to have netted the telecommunications giant millions of francs at customers’ expense.

Read More »

Court Upholds Fines for Leaking ex-SNB Chairman’s Bank Details

2017-08-25

by

2017-08-25

Switzerland’s highest court has imposed suspended fines on a local politician and a former bank worker for leaking the personal bank transactions of former Swiss National Bank (SNB) chairman Philipp Hildebrand. The leak forced Hildebrand to resign in 2012.

Read More »

Small Swiss firms struggle to recruit qualified staff

2017-08-24

by

2017-08-24

One in four small and medium-sized Swiss firms (SMEs) suffers due to a serious lack of qualified staff, a new Credit Suisse survey reveals. The economic situation in Switzerland is generally favourable to most SMEs, which are slightly more optimistic about the future than they were last year, a Credit Suisse report published on Thursday stated. But difficulties recruiting qualified staff are worrying.

Read More »

Swiss firms face greater shareholder opposition

2017-08-23

by

2017-08-23

Shareholder rebellion over executive pay at Credit Suisse earlier this year is just one example of growing dissent by Swiss company owners. While annual general meetings are hardly a hotbed of revolutionary unrest, shareholders are slowly - but perceptibly - demanding more accountability.

Read More »

Swiss business lobby rejects idea of ‘robot tax’

2017-08-23

by

2017-08-23

The Swiss Business Federation (economiesuisse) rejects imposing a so-called robot tax on companies to make up for lost income taxes as workers are gradually replaced by machines. Rather than focusing on a robot tax, Switzerland should encourage the development of a faster internet network and cooperation between business and Swiss research institutes, declared a new economiesuisse reportexternal link on the digital economy, which was published on...

Read More »