Switzerland’s longest day of the year is here. Every 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, the earth travelling at around 110,000 km/h, completes a circuit of the sun. The longest day occurs in each hemisphere, when it reaches the point in this annual journey where it is most inclined towards the sun. In Switzerland that day […]
Swiss football team confounds the odds
Not even a soggy pitch, several ripped shirts and a burst ball could stop the Swiss football team confounding the odds to draw 0:0 with France, the favourites to win. This score guarantees Switzerland a place in the next round, for the first time in the history of the UEFA Euro competition. The Swiss team […]
Swiss stocks tumble and franc rises on Brexit fears
17 June 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) is set to post one of its largest falls since February this week as growing uncertainty around the result of Britain’s referendum on its membership of the 28-nation European Union bloc led to a global sell-off […]
Swiss football – Euro 2016 – progress and next match
The Swiss football team, won its first match against Albania (1:0) and drew its second against Romania (1:1). So far they have a total of 4 points – teams get 3 for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. This score places them second in their Group behind France, on 6, but […]
Switzerland withdraws its application for EU membership
Back in the days when mobile phones looked like the one pictured below, the Swiss voted on whether to join the EEA (European Economic Area), a precursor to EU membership. On 6 December 1992, 78.9% of Swiss voters turned out to vote, the highest turnout seen in Switzerland over the last 45 years. The traditional voting divide between French […]
Tax breaks for Swiss home owners should be reduced, say experts
20 Minutes. A recently released report, put together by a group of experts, proposes measures to dissuade people in Switzerland maintaining high levels of debt, in particular home mortgages. The report says the current system encourages individuals to maintain unhealthy levels of debt. The level of home mortgage debt in Switzerland is very high by international standards and has […]
Swiss town pays instead of taking refugees
Le Matin reported that the commune of Oberwil-Lieli, in the Canton of Aargau in Switzerland, has decided to spend CHF 290,000 to avoid taking refugees. The CHF 290,000 sum, included in the municipality’s revised 2016 budget, was accepted by a majority of the commune’s assembly last Friday. At the same time commune leaders have been […]
Brits in Switzerland say Brexit won’t mean freedom from Brussels
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Brexit backers who hold Switzerland as a model for the U.K. outside the European Union won’t find much support from British expatriates living in Geneva. Attending a British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce event addressed by the head of the “Leave” campaign recently at Geneva’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, most said the […]
Shuttered Geneva offices show impact of lost banking secrecy
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Three years after Lloyds Banking Group Plc sold its private bank in Geneva, the only signs of life at the now-empty building are piles of cigarette butts and nutshells lying on its dirty window ledges. The riverside offices at Place de Bel-Air are a short walk away from the […]
Switzerland fails to turn dominance into goals
Euro 2016 – UEFA football. While Switzerland had impressive match statistics, the team failed to turn their dominance into goals. In Wednesday evening’s match against Romania, the Swiss were in possession of the ball for 61% of the game and achieved 86% passing accuracy. Romania scored a penalty in the first half after a shirt […]
