Le Matin. In Switzerland, this ski season has been disappointing, particularly if you have school aged children. During the Vaud school holiday this season, the fourth week of February, there was limited snow. Even at high resorts like Verbier, snow conditions were fairly average across the week. The week before there was good snow. But then […]
Low strength cannabis sales explode across Switzerland
According to an article in Tribune de Genève, some cigarette vendors are desperately searching for supplies of the drug to meet demand. Recently kiosques in Geneva started selling low strength cannabis like they sell cigarettes. Some kiosque owners are over the moon, while others desperately search for a supplier. One vendor told Tribune de Genève: […]
Swiss score highest number of patents per capita. Again.
According to the European Patents Office (EPO), once again Switzerland topped the per capita patents ranking in 2016, with 892 applications per million inhabitants. Second and third places went to the Netherlands (405) and Sweden (360), followed by Denmark (334) and Finland (331). The first non-European country was Japan in ninth place (166), well above […]
Switzerland ranked best country despite relatively low GDP per capita
In a new ranking by US News, Switzerland is described as a nation with cultural contributions disproportionate to its small size. Swiss citizens have won more Nobel Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other nation. Switzerland takes first place by being a solid all rounder. Out of the 80 countries included, Switzerland ranks […]
Switzerland ranked world’s worst currency manipulator
The Economist magazine placed Switzerland first in a recent ranking of currency manipulators. According to the analysis, China, commonly thought of as the world’s champion at keeping its currency’s value artificially low, appears to be doing the opposite: actively trying to push the value of its currency up. On the other hand, Switzerland that has […]
46% of Swiss industrial companies considering relocating operations abroad
After a very difficult year in 2015, the Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM) started to recover in 2016, with new orders rising by 9.5%. At the same time 23% of the industry made a loss on the back of high costs and a 1.8% drop in sales, says the industry association Swiss MEM. […]
Swiss government drops plan to restrict lobbyists’ access to parliament
One year after Switzerland’s Council of States (upper house) voted in favour of controlling lobbyists’ access to parliament, the draft proposed implementation plan has been rejected by the commission in charge of it. Back in March 2016, the Council of States voted in favour of a parliamentary initiative put forward by state councillor Didier Berberat calling for those accessing parliament to […]
Government stops tax rises on Swiss cigarettes
Swiss cigarette prices will not rise over the coming years unless manufacturers increase the underlying price. On Tuesday, Switzerland’s Council of States (upper house), withheld permission to allow the Federal Council (cabinet) to continue hiking the tax on smokes. From 2005 to 2015, the price of Switzerland’s best selling cigarettes rose from CHF 6 to […]
Sender must now pay Swiss Post for customs checks
Currently, anyone ordering something from outside Switzerland, must pay Swiss Post an administrative charge if their package attracts import tax (duty and/or VAT). In addition, they must pay Swiss Post an additional CHF 13 if the parcel needs to be opened, usually because the package has been poorly labelled. Swiss Post has a contract with Swiss customs […]
Swiss analysis: Switzerland’s gender pay gap – what the detail reveals
In 2014, the average gross annual salary for a full-time male worker in Switzerland was CHF 81,000, CHF 10,000 or 12.5% higher than that of an average woman. But what does this high level difference mean? Inspired by the Swedish statistician Hans Rosling, who passed away recently, we decided to dig deeper to see what […]
