Switzerland retains its number one spot in IMD‘s most recent 2016 World Talent Report. Unlike the other 60 nations in the study, which have seen their performance gyrate, a plot of Switzerland’s rank over the last ten years is a perfectly straight line. First ten years in a row. The study looks at three things: investment […]
No more compulsory training for dog owners
24 Heures. Last week, Switzerland’s Federal Council confirmed parliament’s decision to end the requirement for dog owners to undergo training. However, cantons will be able to pass their own laws if they wish. The Zurich politician Ruedi Noser (PLR/FDP) started the move to change the rules. According to him, the courses were expensive, administratively burdensome […]
Geneva close to a population of 500,000
Tribune de Genève. According to September data recently published by the canton’s statistics office Ocstat, Geneva had a population of 494,666 by the end of September 2016. Tribune de Genève said the symbolic bar of half a million will without a doubt be reached in the coming months, before qualifying its prediction saying it will […]
Swiss banks taking more risks to compensate for record-low interest rates
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Swiss banks focused on property lending are taking more risks to compensate for the impact of record-low interest rates, increasing the threat of a real-estate bubble, Swiss National Bank Vice President Fritz Zurbruegg said. “Exceptionally low interest rates are putting pressure on interest rate margins and this is weighing […]
Richemont cuts send shockwaves from Geneva to mountain valleys
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Richemont’s plan to slash 210 watchmaking jobs in Switzerland is sending shockwaves from Geneva to some of the country’s remote mountain villages, the cradle of high-end watch manufacturing. In Le Sentier, a town perched in the middle of the Jura mountain range, straddling the border between France and Switzerland, […]
Geneva votes for limited Sunday shop opening
Today, voters in the canton of Geneva were asked whether shops should remain closed on Sundays and public holidays. The cantonal initiative called “Touche pas à mes dimanches!”, which was put forward by the unions, the Socialist party and others, was rejected in favour of a parliamentary counterproposal which allows shops to open on 31 […]
Zurich rejects plan to limit marriage to heterosexuals
Today, voters in the canton of Zurich were asked whether marriage should be restricted to heterosexual couples. The cantonal initiative called “Schutz der Ehe”, which was put forward by the Federal Democratic Union party (EDU/UDF), was resoundingly rejected. 81% of voters were opposed to it. On their website EDU said their fight to restrict marriage, […]
Swiss stocks down as the US dollar hits decade high
25 November 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Swiss pharmaceutical and luxury goods giants pulled the Swiss Market Index (SMI) down again this week as investors dropped large cap firms. Global stocks however continued to rise, along with energy prices, on the promise of Trump’s reflationary administration. The US dollar […]
Swiss fact: women were the majority in Switzerland’s cabinet from 2010 to 2012
In September 2010, Simonetta Sommaruga was elected to Switzerland’s seven member executive. She joined Micheline Calmy-Rey, Doris Leuthard and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf along with three male members: Didier Burkhalter, Ueli Maurer and Johann Schneider-Ammann, creating the first female executive majority since the creation of the Federal Council in 1848. All four of these women have served as […]
World’s highest basketball shot videoed at Swiss dam
Guinness World Records recently recorded the world’s highest basketball shot. This video shows the 180.968 m (593.73 ft) shot from the top of the Mauvoisin Dam in Valais, Switzerland. The How Ridiculous gang, Brett Stanford, Derek Herron and Scott Gaunson, from Australia, managed to get the ball through the hoop on their third attempt. Derek Herron, […]
