This was one piece of advice to would be entrepreneurs at the Innovation Forum at EPFL in Lausanne last night. “Innovation” that increasingly over-used and tired word is one much bandied around by those who observe from behind the safety of their corporate desks, academic podia and political soap boxes. Last night the word won […]
Credit Suisse’s new CEO’s early life and career
Today Credit Suisse announced the appointment of a new CEO, Tidjane Thiam. He is currently the Group Chief Executive of Prudential, the British financial services firm made famous in 1850s England by its army of door-to-door salesmen who sold insurance policies to the working class population for premiums as low as one penny. These salesmen became […]
Geneva’s bread world’s third most expensive – Economist Intelligence Unit
According to the Worldwide Cost of Living 2015 survey published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), one kilogram of bread in Geneva costs US$ 7.48. This is the third most expensive of the world’s top ten most expensive cities. Only Paris and Seoul have more expensive bread, costing US$ 8.83 and US$ 13.91 per kilogram respectively. After looking […]
The unseen environmental cost of Swiss farming
Farming makes a valuable and critical contribution to society. It creates a food surplus that allows civilization to develop – farmers produce more food than they need so that the rest of the population can work on things beyond food production. At the same time farming has an environmental impact. It involves bending nature to […]
The Swiss tax money go-round: winners and losers in 2015
Swiss cantons have very different tax bases, tax rates and costs. Many think all taxes raised by each canton are spent there. This was true, however in 2008 it changed. A national financial equalization mechanism (or péréquation financière nationale in French) was introduced to reduce cantonal financial disparities. Now every year rich cantons pay and poor cantons […]
Why Swiss farm produce is so expensive
Swiss farm produce is expensive. It is not uncommon to pay over CHF 100 (US$ 105) per kilogram for the best cuts of beef in Swiss supermarkets, a multiple of two to three times the price of many other countries. Similarly high prices exist for many other farm products in Switzerland. Why is this? Small […]
The real problem with whistleblowing
The recent chapter in the drama of the HSBC Geneva Swissleaks saga has brought whistle blowing back into the news. In this article Yasmine Motarjemi explains the real problem and what the world should focus on. The Council of Europe defines a “whistleblower” as anyone who reports or discloses information on a threat or harm […]
Surprise Swiss government deficit in 2014
The Swiss government announced that its 2014 results were in the red. Given that the Swiss put even the Germans to shame with their ability to balance their budget, what went wrong? This is the first time in almost a decade that this has happened. The shortfall was CHF 124 million. This came as a […]
Swiss unemployment linked to language and passport
The overall rate of Swiss unemployment climbed from 3.4% to 3.5% in January 2015 although it was steady when compared to the same time last year. There are however marked differences in rates of unemployment on a number of dimensions. The rate varies significantly by Canton. Neuchatel and Valais tied for the top spot at […]
A Swiss solution to Greek problems
Greece is certainly in a pickle. It needs to borrow more money to keep its wheels turning, but has borrowed to the point where it needs a loan write-off. Try asking your bank manager for a loan write-off while asking for more money and see what she says. The Swiss on the other hand have […]
