23 October 2015 – Weekly Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Swiss financial market news Global stocks rallied after “Super Mario” signaled that additional monetary stimulus is on the table if growth continues to falter. The SMI outperformed global stocks after it received a further lift from hints that Europe […]
Archives for October 2015
Asphalte, The Martian, Mon Roi
23 October 2015. Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers. ASPHALTE (Macadam Stories) **** (vo French) A dismal banlieue somewhere in France, a few stray characters in a rundown apartment building, […]
Do foreign workers raise unemployment? Study’s surprising answer.
Tribune de Genève. In the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland, more than one of four workers lives across the border. Numbers have doubled since 2002 when Switzerland agreed to open its job market to EU citizens. By the middle of 2015 there were over 62,000 EU-based workers, mainly from Italy, crossing the border to […]
How many solar panels does it take to power a whole town?
Earlier this month the town of Payerne switched on Switzerland’s largest solar installation on the La Bouverie industrial zone next to the township. It will produce an impressive 6,600 mega watts of electricity per year. A hot bed of solar innovation, Payerne is also home to the 100%-solar-powered round-the-world aircraft Solar Impulse, which recently flew […]
The venerable Swiss army knife is reborn
Zurich designed and Jura made the new Swiza Swiss army knife was unveiled in Lausanne yesterday. The product is the brain child of two Jura based entrepreneurs, Peter Hug and Florian Lachat. Peter, the CEO of the Helvetica Brands Group which makes the the knives, has a long track record in the watchmaking and cutlery […]
Big job cuts at the bank Credit Suisse
On 21 October 2015, Credit Suisse announced a new strategy to grow its business and streamline its costs. The CEO Tidjane Thiam, who was brought in from outside the company earlier this year, unveiled the Board’s plan to focus on managing the wealth of well-heeled entrepreneurs in emerging markets such as China, and grow its […]
Why this former Swiss president’s days could be numbered
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is currently one of the seven-member Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch of Switzerland’s government. While all seven members act collectively as the head of state, one holds the ceremonial title of Swiss president, acting as the nation’s figurehead for one year. Normally Federal Council members are reelected. Non-reelection of a sitting member […]
Get ready for the Swiss legs of the Tour de France 2016
The 103rd Tour de France will started on 2 July 2016 in Mont Saint Michel, a small island accessible on foot at low tide, on the Atlantic coast of France. From there the route will take riders south to the Pyrenees, into Spain and Andorra, before heading north via France to Switzerland. On 18 July […]
Swiss 2015 election turnout: large cantonal differences
20 Minutes. Overall voting participation in the 2015 Swiss federal elections was 48.41% according to the daily 20 Minutes, slightly lower than the 48.5% turnout for the 2011 Federal elections. The 50% mark has not been passed since 1979. The citizens of some cantons were more enthusiastic than others. This time the winner was Schaffhausen […]
Swiss 2015 federal elections: UDC gains big ground
Once every four years Swiss get a chance to elect their Federal Government. 18 October 2015 was voting day. At federal elections voters decide who their canton will send to Bern. Switzerland’s federal assembly is bicameral, made up of the 200-seat National Council (lower house), and the 46-seat Council of States (upper house). Seats in […]