The American climate change activist and director of climate science at Columbia University’s Earth Institute James Hansen describes Switzerland’s advantages when global droughts, rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions strike. The Atlantic newspaper asked James Hansen: “If climate change continues at this pace, is anywhere going to be safe?”. “Switzerland would be a good […]
Archives for 2015
Swiss prices continue to fall in July
Switzerland is becoming accustomed to deflation. The Swiss consumer price index fell by 0.6% in July 2015 and the index is now 1.3% lower than in July 2014 and at its lowest level since October 2007. July 2015 deflation was largely driven by the falling price of imports – driven by a strong Swiss franc, […]
Swiss hikes its airfares
20 Minuten. For quite some time Swiss has been promoting affordable airfares that compare favourably with airlines such as easyjet, which have lured customers away from established airlines by promising low cost air travel. Now according to an article in 20 Minuten, Swiss is increasing its airfares. Tickets issued for long haul flights from 6 […]
The wine voted the world’s best Chasselas
La Grand’Rue, Chasselas Réserve 2013, Domaine de la ville, Morges. Imagine strolling through a farm orchid on a crisp sunny day, the breeze carrying scents of apples, oranges, lemons, mandarins and lime drift past. A small cottage comes into sight and the smell of homemade biscuits wafts out of the open front door. On the […]
The Swiss name that’s popular across all languages – 2014 baby names
On 4 August 2015 the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics (OFS) published the most popular baby names in 2014. Last year saw the arrival of 85,287 newborns in Switzerland. 41,437 girls and 43,850 boys. The choice of names varied depending on the regional language, however in 2014 there was a name that made the top […]
Swiss real estate bubble index rises significantly
The UBS Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index rose significantly in the second quarter of 2015 and now stands at 1.37 index points. The report says that the housing market is still caught up in an investment property boom. House prices and private household mortgages went up disproportionately relative to Switzerland’s weak economy. The Index rose […]
50 billion loss for the Swiss National Bank
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) reported a CHF 50.1 billion loss for the first half of 2015. The loss is largely driven by changes in the Swiss franc value of the assets it owns. The rise in the value of the Swiss franc following the dropping of the euro cap in January 2015 means foreign […]
Jazz under the rocks… of an ancient fort
The usual reason one heads to Bellegarde is to jump onto the Geneva-Paris TGV, as it makes its first stop to pick up those living in neighbouring Pays de Gex. But next time, just before the downhill drive, swing a left to the Fort l’Ecluse where an exceptional jazz festival is taking place all summer […]
Revolution in the UDC? A Happy Valley Exclusive!
The August 1 Swiss national holiday is almost here. It’s a day awaited with bated breath by your loyal Happy Valley Correspondent. Why? Well, first of all there are fireworks. Many fireworks. Fireworks which even in the tiniest of bleds often rival those of an Olympic closing ceremony. And Happy Valley is no exception. Second, […]
Swiss ‘steal’ French water
This week pictures of a Swiss army helicopter scooping water out of a French lake in the Jura region of France flew around world media. The water was used to quench the thirst of Swiss cows after a long heatwave which depleted local water supplies. The Swiss army’s actions surprised bathers and drew criticism from […]
