Le Matin. Yesterday, Toni Brunner, president of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), announced he would quit as the party’s president on 23 April 2016. Then today the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick, reported that Christoph Blocher also plans to resign from his post as one of the party’s several vice presidents at the same time as its president. Brunner, who described Blocher […]
Swiss stocks hit by China fears
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. SMI stocks, along with markets around the world, started 2016 in a state of chaos this week as weak economic data from China, heightened tensions in the Middle East and crude oil prices tumbling to multi-year lows wreaked havoc on investor sentiment. Markets slumped around the globe after Chinese […]
Can your neighbours make you fat? Swiss research suggests they could.
A recent study from Lausanne’s EPFL published in the British Medical Journal Open shows that not all city addresses are equal when it comes to waistlines. Those living in west Lausanne are much more likely to be obese than those in the east. Even after controlling for differences in wealth, education, age and other factors, belt lengths […]
The Swiss bank of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ pays big to avoid US prosecution
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The Swiss bank used by the convicted con man known as “The Wolf of Wall Street” agreed to pay almost $188 million to avoid prosecution for helping U.S. clients avoid taxes through such methods as providing untraceable gold bars and cash. Union Bancaire Privée helped hide assets from the […]
Is Switzerland the world’s most expensive country? It is for Big Macs.
On 5 January 2016, the Economist came out with its latest Big Mac index. Also known as the burger benchmark, the index compares the price of a Big Mac around the world. This catchy, if highly incomplete means of comparing the relative purchasing power of different currencies, uses the United States and the US$ as its base. Countries where Big Macs cost less than […]
Swiss are buying more and more guns
24 Heures. Like many in the United States who defend loose gun laws, more and more Swiss are deciding guns will make them safer. Martin Boess, Director of the Swiss centre for crime prevention, disagrees. Compared to 2014, requests for permits to buy guns went up an average of 20% across 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons in […]
Billions of francs of unclaimed Swiss pensions – could some of it be yours?
24 Heures. You are working in Switzerland, find a new job in another country, leave in a whirlwind and forget to tell your work’s pension provider you are moving. If this sounds familiar then there could be a pot of forgotten Swiss pension money with your name on it sitting unclaimed in a special fund. […]
Swiss vote to tighten asylum rules on track for June
Le Matin. Changes to the laws around asylum in Switzerland are currently working their way through Switzerland’s parliament. The Swiss Peoples Party (UDC / SVP) does not like some of the changes and has now collected enough signatures to launch a referendum against them. The controversial changes include free legal assistance and new powers that will […]
2015’s worst film and two great ones
31 December 2015. Because of the Christmas holidays, the films have been piling up – so the reviews will have to be short. There are a variety of films – so you’ll need to know which to run to, and which ones to miss. Have a GREAT 2016 – hopefully a kinder, gentler year, if possible. And […]
2015, a turbulent year for Swiss equities
31 December 2015 – 2015 Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The SMI is expected to end the year largely unchanged (-1.84%), achieving a modestly better performance than the MSCI World (-3.58%) in 2015. However, the year was more turbulent than these figures suggest as share prices fluctuated wildly throughout 2015, dominated […]
