Pokemon Go, a game that involves throwing virtual balls at virtual creatures spread around various geographic locations, has fueled public safety fears as people run around with their eyes glued to their phones. One teenager in Guatemala was shot dead after breaking into a house to capture a virtual animal. To snap people out of […]
Swiss rents drop in July
Rents across Switzerland dropped in July according to real estate website Homegate.ch. Since the index started in January 2009, average rents across the country had risen by 13.9% over the 7 and a half years up to the end of June 2016. By the end of July the total increase was 13.7%, a drop of […]
Swimmer breaks 83 km Lake Geneva swim record by 3 minutes
Le Matin. Spanish swimmer Jaime Caballero made the swim from Villeneuve, at one end of the lake, to Geneva at the other end, to raise awareness for diabetes. Swimming through the night, he left Villeneuve near Montreux, at 3:00pm and arrived in Geneva early the following morning. The 83 km swim took 22 hours and […]
Swiss National Bank’s U.S. equity holdings hit record $61.8 billion last quarter
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. 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 […]
Author of false alert at Geneva airport must pay
Tribune de Genève. According to Pierre Maudet, Geneva’s state councilor in charge of security, the cost of last week’s false alarm should not be borne by taxpayers. Last Wednesday, a French resident falsely warned that someone was carrying a bomb in the French sector at Geneva airport. Her motive was to prevent her husband and […]
Mastering English is not enough to build a career in Switzerland
24 Heures. According to report put together by Zurich head hunting firm Schilling Partners, building a career in Switzerland, requires more than mastering English. The firm, which works with SMEs and large corporates, says linguistic ability is central to choosing managers for companies that span all of Switzerland. The ability to communicate in German and […]
UBS beats profit estimates as CEO pushes ahead with cost cuts
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. UBS Group AG beat analysts’ second-quarter profit estimates and said it’s on track to cut costs by 2.1 billion Swiss francs ($2.2 billion) through 2017, with Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti struggling with a slump at the wealth management and securities-trading units. Net income slipped to 1.03 billion francs […]
Swiss stock market rally loses momentum
29 July 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. 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. Japanese shares received a short-term boost after […]
“Wait and see” says former Swiss foreign minister on EU negotiation
20 Minutes. Ex-foreign minister for Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey, told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung that she thinks Switzerland should wait and see how Great Britain negotiates its exit from the EU, while discussing Switzerland’s ongoing discussion with Brussels regarding Switzerland’s 9 February 2014 popular vote against mass EU immigration. According to her, Switzerland must not rush and should let […]
Fine for Swiss school absence overturned by judge
20 Minutes. Unauthorised school absence is against the law in the Swiss canton of Vaud, and parents can be fined if their children are absent without prior authorisation from school management. Article 54 of Vaud’s law on compulsory schooling requires all parents resident in the canton to enroll and send their children to a state or […]
