The Swiss company Sika AG was founded 105 years ago by Kaspar Winkler, who invented a waterproofing product that catapulted the company to success when Swiss Rail started using it in 1918 to waterproof Swiss train tunnels. The company, which now employs over 16,000 staff worldwide and generated CHF 5 billion of revenue in 2014, […]
It’s over for Uber in Geneva, or is it?
According to the canton of Geneva’s website all journeys arranged in the canton via the www.uber.ch platform are illegal. In addition, drivers could be hit with fines and administrative charges of up to CHF 20,000 and that professional drivers could lose their licences for as long as 6 months. In Geneva, the company with the […]
What’s on – things to do this week – Le News
Every week, Le News offers a selection of events to inspire you! Here are a couple of ideas, however be sure to check out the complete selection of featured events for this week here. For the kids this weekend, it’s the last opportunity to discover Yatouland in Geneva. In and around Yverdon they are having a Kids Day […]
Costly Swiss drugs – why pain continues despite strong franc
Medicines are expensive in Switzerland and while a number of groups such as Santé Suisse are working hard to secure savings, the problem of relatively high prices continues. High drug prices persist in Switzerland for three key reasons. 1. Too many branded drugs There are two kinds of drugs: branded and generic drugs with expired-patents. […]
How the strong franc helps Swiss business
Switzerland is an expensive place to locate a business. The strong Swiss franc makes nearly everything expensive. On the face of it this seems like a handicap, however in the end it is arguably an advantage. High costs force businesses to innovate to create products that command a price premium or to find hi tech […]
Swiss votes – fixing a broken system
The think tank Avenir Suisse thinks that the Swiss system of referenda, where popular votes can change the Swiss federal constitution, has been hijacked by political parties and minority interest groups and needs fixing. According to the think tank, this cornerstone of Swiss direct democracy has become the instrument of political parties and a marketing […]
Swiss Rail lost CHF 1.9 billion in 2014
Despite reporting improved results for 2014, the Swiss Rail Group (CFF/SBB/FFS) was heavily dependent on government support. Revenues increased by CHF 223 million to CHF 8,542 million, however this revenue figure includes CHF 2,249 million of public money. Net profits at CHF 373 million were up 57% on 2013 including the CHF 2,249 million government […]
CERN takes first step into uncharted territory
Geneva, 5 April 2015. After a minor hiccup around two weeks ago requiring repair of a short circuit in one of the super cooled magnets that power the particle accelerator, proton beams were fired today for the first time in two years in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The LHC is the most […]
Top 10 Swiss employers in 2015 – only one foreign
On 1 April 2015, the recruitment agency Randstad, announced the 10 winners of its 2015 best-Swiss-employer awards. Those surveyed were asked how much they would like to work for those companies with at least 1,000 staff. These responses along with other aspects such as career prospects, work environment, pay, work-life balance, training, job security, quality […]
What’s on – things to do this week – Le News
Every week, Le News offers a selection of events to inspire you! Here are a couple of ideas, however be sure to check out the complete selection for this week here. In Geneva, this weekend you have the Electron Festival which offers an eclectic sample of artists and a line-up allowing you to discover today’s electronic music. You can also […]
