Tag Archive: Editor’s Choice

Proposal to remove Swiss home-owner tax rejected

2017-03-02

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2017-03-02

Property-tax-Switzerland, © Ronnie Wu | Dreamstime.com
In Switzerland, those who own the home they live in must add imputed rent to their income when calculating their income tax. This means owner-occupiers are taxed for living in their own homes, an odd concept for some who are new to Switzerland.

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Bank drops plan to loosen Swiss mortgage restrictions

2017-03-01

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2017-03-01

Source: Raiffeisen
The bank Raiffeisen has dropped its attempt to reduce minimum deposit requirements for home loans, according to RTS. Last autumn, it unveiled plans to reduce loan deposit requirements. However, last week, the bank announced that FINMA, Switzerland’s financial regulator, was opposed to the idea.

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Swiss drug prices more than double european average – “Mr Price” takes aim

2017-03-01

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2017-03-01

Generic drug price comparison Switzerland
Switzerland’s public price watchdog chief, Stefan Meierhans, also know as “Mr Price”, has taken aim at high Swiss drug prices. A report published last week shows prices of generic drugs are nearly 2.4 times more expensive in Switzerland compared to the average price across 15 european countries.

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A recent purchase shows how hard it is to trust product packaging

2017-02-06

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2017-02-06

Volkswagen shocked the world when it was revealed it was cheating on emissions tests on a grand scale. Now some television makers may be gaming the energy efficiency ratings of some of their televisions, according to the Economist.

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More than 3,000 state beneficiaries in Geneva admit not declaring assets or other income

2017-02-01

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2017-02-01

© Gvictoria – Dreamstime.com
Last October, Geneva state councillor Mauro Poggia, had his department send out close to 91,000 letters to those receiving social benefits, asking them to contact the authorities if they had failed to declare any assets or income. Laurent Paoliello, a spokesperson from the DEAS, said they received 3,200 letters back. So far, we haven’t been through all the letters, he said.

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Those over 25 may pay more for Swiss health insurance

2017-01-28

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2017-01-28

The Swiss States Council commission on public health endorsed a plan that could lead to higher health insurance premiums for those over 25. Swiss health insurance providers are required to pay into a communal pot to spread risk between insurance companies.

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Swiss mortgage rates climb in 4th quarter

2017-01-21

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2017-01-21

Swiss-mortgage-rates
After reaching a historical low in the third quarter of 2016, rates started rising in the fourth quarter. Rate increases hit mortgage tenors of five and ten years. Compared to Q3, fixed mortgage rates on loans of ten years went up an average 0.2% to 1.62% according to price comparison website Comparis.ch.

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European and Swiss stocks higher on bank rally

2016-09-03

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2016-09-03

SMI vs. MSCI World Week September 2
The Swiss Market Index, along with other European markets, is trading slightly higher this week after financials rallied on merger and acquisition rumors and hopes for improved growth. European banks, the industry group battered the most so far this year, lead gains after it emerged that Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG executives held talks about a potential merger in early August this year.

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Swiss banks cut 4.1 percent of local jobs in first half as profit falls

2016-09-03

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2016-09-03

Banks in Switzerland reduced their domestic workforce by 4.1 percent in the first half as companies combined and made cost cuts to stem declining profitability, a survey by the nation’s main bank association showed.

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Market round up – all eyes on Jackson Hole

2016-08-26

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2016-08-26

The Swiss Market Index along with global stocks are trading flat this week ahead of Federal Reserve’s Janet Yellen’s Friday speech at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole Summit.

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Negative interest pushes Switzerland’s 2016 budget into positive territory

2016-08-25

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2016-08-25

Switzerland’s budget for 2016 is looking better than expected. Instead of a shortfall of CHF 0.5 billion, the latest figures forecast a surplus of CHF 1.7 billion. Overall income was up CHF 1.2 billion and costs were down CHF 1.0 billion. This CHF 2.2 billion shift took the annual forecast from CHF -0.5 billion to CHF 1.7 billion. The biggest driver of the change was the effect of negative interest rates.

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Britain’s Brexit binge on Swiss watches

2016-08-24

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2016-08-24

The pendulum for Britain has swung back to positive, and it’s tourists who’ve pushed it there.Britain was one of the few bright spots for Swiss watch exports in July, rising 13.4 percent from a year earlier and counteracting a massive 26 percent drop in June, according to data published by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry on Tuesday.

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Swiss market lower this week as US stocks reach new record highs

2016-08-20

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2016-08-20

The Swiss Market Index is set to close lower this week underperforming global equities as US stocks reached new record highs and emerging markets outperformed on a weaker dollar. Oil also made further gains this week as investors bet that talks between OPEC members and other producers may result in action to stabilise the market in the coming weeks.

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Why Switzerland’s franc is still strong in four charts

2016-08-17

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2016-08-17

Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan keeps saying the franc is “significantly overvalued.” And that’s despite the central bank’s record-low deposit rate and occasional currency market interventions.

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Swiss National Bank’s U.S. equity holdings hit record $61.8 billion last quarter

2016-08-03

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2016-08-03

The value of the Swiss National Bank’s U.S. stock portfolio jumped to a record in June, helped by equity market gains. The holdings climbed to $61.8 billion from $54.5 billion at the end of March, according to calculations by Bloomberg based on the central bank’s regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and published on Wednesday.

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Switzerland has world’s priciest Big Macs. So eat Swiss chocolate instead.

2016-08-01

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2016-08-01

The Economist invented the Big Mac index in 1986 as a tongue-in-cheek guide to currency valuations. Because the well-known burger is the same throughout much of the world, the magazine thought it could be used as a measure of how over or undervalued a currency was. An overpriced burger suggests an overvalued currency and a cheap one an undervalued currency.

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Swiss stock market rally loses momentum

2016-07-30

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2016-07-30

The Swiss Market Index and global stock markets failed to extend last week’s rally after the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan left rates unchanged and gave mixed messages about the global economic outlook.

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Credit Suisse’s turnaround is working, but vulnerable

2016-07-29

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2016-07-29

Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Just a month ago, Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam and Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan risked, as one hedge fund manager put it, becoming the dead men walking of European banking as they struggled to shore up their...

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Swiss markets fluctuate on earnings data

2016-07-22

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2016-07-22

The Swiss Market Index is set to finish the week slightly higher as investors digest second quarter earnings reports and central bank policy announcements.

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Roche CEO worried about U.K. drug research following Brexit

2016-07-22

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2016-07-22

The U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union poses a threat to research and development in the pharmaceutical industry, Roche Holding AG Chief Executive Officer Severin Schwan said. A departure would mean the country would have to set up its own system for approving drugs for sale, a job now done for bloc members by the European Medicines Agency.

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