Today, Switzerland’s Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) announced it is withdrawing, with immediate effect, the authorisation to sell products containing the chemical chlorothalonil, an ingredient used since the 1960s to protect crops from disease. The decision follows a reexamination of the toxic effects of the chemical over the summer. FOAG said that after examining data […]
Swiss naturalisation boosts earnings, says research
Academics from ETH Zurich, London School of Economics and Stanford have produced research that suggests naturalisation boosts long term earnings. At first glance this might appear to be an impossible task. Surely those who gain Swiss citizenship are likely to earn more because they possess a range income-boosting attributes that also help them gain citizenship. […]
The colourful history of Swiss mountain air rescue
Today two notable organisations provide mountain rescue services in Switzerland. Prior to 1946 mountain air rescue did not exist. Air Glacier SA is based in Sion in Valais, and Swiss Air-Rescue Rega in Zurich. Rega has twelve operational bases around Switzerland but does not operate in Valais. In Valais, Rega uses the services of Air […]
Money for nothing – Swiss government gets paid to borrow
Imagine borrowing CHF 105,500 but only having to repay CHF 100,000 in 20 years time, including interest. You’d get an interest free loan plus an extra CHF 5,500 to keep. This is what the Swiss federal government will do on 20 December 2019, except it will borrow CHF 196.6 million by issuing zero interest bonds […]
2020 Swiss highway stickers on sale
Next year’s Swiss highway sticker, or vignette, is now on sale. Every year it changes colour. This year it’s red. The last time it was this colour was in 2014. Last year, stiffer penalties of up to 3 years in prison were introduced for vignette fraud. The amount lost from various forms of cheating is estimated to […]
Bernese Young Boys get their Wankdorf back
Sometimes things get lost in translation. A recent headline in German-speaking Switzerland shows how translation can go awry. An article published by SRF, Switzerland’s broadcaster, bears the headline “Die Berner Young Boys erhalten ihr Wankdorf zurück“. This translates to “Bernese Young Boys get their Wankdorf back”. Wankdorf – “dorf” is close the English word village […]
Another month of falling prices in Switzerland
Swiss prices fell by 0.1% in November 2019, the sixth time in 12 months. But not everything is cheaper. Prices fell in December 2018 (-0.3%), January 2019 (-0.3), July (-0.5), September (-0.1), October (-0.2%) and November 2019 (-0.1). When combined with the low inflation experienced in the other 6 months the 12-month price drop is […]
New cross-border trains launching soon in Geneva region
A new international train network, known as the Léman Express, is set to launch on 15 December 2019. Eight years in the making, the new rail network connects the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Geneva with neighbouring France. 40 new trains running on 6 new train lines will link 45 train stations across the region. Swiss […]
Lausanne ranked world’s best small city
Lausanne grabs top spot in the global affairs and lifestyle magazine Monocle’s debut ranking of the world’s best small cities. To qualify, a city needs to be home to roughly 200,000 people. This provides a sweet spot between social and cultural diversity and quaintness, according to the publisher. Lausanne has a population of 140,000. Once […]
Some Swiss import duties could be axed
Swiss import duties on a number of industrial products might disappear if a plan put forward by Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s economic’s minister, is approved by the National Council, Switzerland’s parliament, according to RTS. The changes are expected to benefit businesses and consumers by around CHF 860 million a year. On the other hand, the government […]
