On 1 September 2015, 24 Heures reported that a former mayor of Nyon lost a court battle to have a speeding offense overturned. He claimed innocence, and while the resulting investigation revealed big questions about the accuracy of speed camera photographs, he lost. The Vaud court sided with the police who argued that it is […]
Archives for October 2015
Swiss pumpkin champion hit by heat wave
2015 was a disappointing season for Beni Meier. Last year he became known as the man who grew the world’s largest pumpkin when he produced a 1,054 kilogram whopper, presented at a competition in Ludwigsburg in Germany. This year Beni still managed to take the prize for the largest Swiss pumpkin, weighing a relatively modest […]
Is Geneva airport really one of the world’s worst five?
On 28 July 2015, the British newspaper the Independent, posted a thirteen-line article listing the worst five airports in the world written by senior travel writer Simon Calder. Geneva’s Cointrin was listed number four. No methodology or data were presented to support the author’s conclusions. For example, it is not clear which airports were included […]
Everest, Les deux amis, Etre et devenir
25 September 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. LES DEUX AMIS ***1/2 (vo French) Here is a film that creates an ambiance that is very French. There is a […]
Happy Valley – and the real reasons behind VW’s Dieselgate
Autumn has always been a wonderful time to be in Happy Valley. The leaves are changing, and chasse is on the menu at the local auberge. So imagine my anger when I learned that the crisp, pure autumn air I’ve been breathing is perhaps not as crisp and pure as I had thought. I’m speaking […]
Markets end worst quarter in four years. Glencore woes, VW sales ban, Nestlé in Russia, gloom for Swiss watch makers.
2 October 2015 – Weekly Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Swiss market news Markets end worst quarter in four years Despite equity markets biggest surge in three weeks, global equity markets headed for their worst quarter since 2011 with investors rattled by China’s economic slowdown, uncertainty over Federal Reserve […]
Markets end worst quarter in four years
2 October 2015 Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Global markets Despite equity markets biggest surge in three weeks, global equity markets headed for their worst quarter since 2011 with investors rattled by China’s economic slowdown, uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy and growing pessimism about corporate earnings. European and US markets continued their retreat early […]
Swiss-based Glencore’s shares plummet after analyst note
On Monday three analysts from the bank and asset manager Investec issued a note that sent shock waves through the mining industry. According to the Financial Times, the worst affected company was the Zug-headquartered Glencore, which saw its shares plummet 29% on the London Stock Exchange. Some in the industry had never seen anything like […]
Lausanne plunged into darkness
20 Minutes. Just before 8pm last night, the centre of Lausanne was plunged into darkness when it was cut off from the electrical grid. A significant part of the Montchoisi area below Lausanne’s main train station was without electricity for nearly three hours. 200 buildings were affected. The outage, which was caused by an exploding […]
The Intern – Horizontes – Premiers Crus – Un Debut Prometteur
1 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. THE INTERN (Le nouveau stagiaire) *** Robert De Niro is utterly charming as a New York retiree and widower who decides […]