Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. UBS’s results are a reminder that even the strongest boats are being buffeted by the storm in financial markets. Tuesday’s slump in profit from both investment banking and wealth management sent the shares to the lowest in a year. It also puts in question the premium valuation the bank […]
Top Swiss chef found dead
20 Minutes. He was supposed to be in Paris this Monday for the launch of this year’s Michelin Guide but never arrived. The head of one of three 3 Michelin starred restaurants in Switzerland, the Frenchman Benoît Violier was found dead on Sunday morning. According to the police, Violier a keen hunter, appears to have […]
Inequality in Switzerland
The Swiss federal statistics office has published the latest data on income inequality in Switzerland. The figures look at income and show how it is spread across the population. They also show the leveling effect of government redistribution. There is much talk about the haves and have-nots at this time of the year. Ahead of the WEF gathering in […]
Oxfam list of the 62 richest who own as much as the 50% poorest
Oxfam list of 62 richest who together own as much as the poorest 50%. Together these 62 are worth US$ 1,762 billion. This represents 0.7% of the world’s total US$ 250 trillion wealth – estimate by Credit Suisse. The driving forces behind these enormous fortunes are typically, brands that have gone global like Mars, Zara or Nutella, […]
Solothurn Film Festival 2016 winners are…
Solothurn is yet another well kept Swiss secret and the location of a film festival over half a century old. This baroque town with a stunning location on the river Aare, decided in 1966 to start a festival that would focus on Swiss films, feature films, documentaries and short film productions. In addition, it now […]
Pharma weighs on Swiss stock market
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The SMI is set to end the week modestly lower along with global stocks after earnings reports from pharmaceuticals heavyweights Roche and Novartis fell short of analyst’s estimates. Global markets experienced another volatile week amid ongoing speculation over whether central banks will come to the rescue of turbulent financial […]
First cases of Zika virus reported in Switzerland
According to RTS, the first Swiss cases of the disease have been diagnosed. “We probably diagnosed the first case in someone returning from Colombia in November. The patient had a fever, joint pain and a skin rash”, confirmed Noémie Boillat, head of the vaccination unit of Lausanne’s Policlinique Médicale Universitaire (PMU) to RTS. The specialist […]
The diet and beliefs that disqualified one man from Swiss military service
20 Minutes. For some, exclusion from compulsory military service would be great news. For one 19-year-old from Valais in Switzerland it came as a huge disappointment. He sees Military service as something that brings valuable experience. Unfortunately for him he was declared unfit for service. Why? Because he is a vegan and won’t eat meat […]
Days of unfettered drug price increases over, Novartis head says.
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The soaring cost of some medicines has sparked a controversy that’s hampered drugmakers’ ability to raise prices in their biggest and most profitable market. Novartis AG Chief Executive Officer Joe Jimenez figures the golden days of unfettered price increases are over in the U.S. “Those days are over,” Jimenez […]
Should migrants be forced to learn the host country’s language?
Le Matin. According to The Times, migrants in Britain who failed to improve their English would lose the chance to remain there as part of a drive to bring Muslim women into mainstream society. Speaking to the British newspaper Prime Minister David Cameron announced a £20 million fund for teaching female muslims to speak English. He wants to bring […]
