Because roof space is limited, the amount of the sun’s energy that can be extracted per square metre matters. Plants typically extract 5% of the sun’s energy, and most roof solar panels on the market extract between 14% and 22%, although figures vary. Last October, the website Mashable reported that SolarCity, whose chairman is Elon Musk, had […]
Swiss home vacancy rate climbs to 15-year high
Switzerland has around 4.4 million homes. In 2000, 52,608 (1.49%) of them were vacant. By 2003, this number had dropped to 33,039, a vacancy rate of 0.91%. After fluctuating between this level and 1.07%, the rate started to climb in 2014 to its current rate of 1.30%, its highest level in 15 years. Before home hunters […]
Switzerland’s summer to continue until mid next week
20 Minutes. Summer temperatures are set to continue in Switzerland. Today the temperature in Locarno in Ticino reached 30 degrees. Roger Perret from Meteonews said “It is extraordinarily hot for this time of the year.” Summer weather conditions look set to prevail across nearly all of Switzerland for most of next week. Meteonews, Meteoblue and Meteo Swiss all […]
Swiss stocks fluctuate as central bank decisions dominate the landscape
9 September 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index, along with other European markets, fluctuated this week as central bank decisions dominated the landscape. Equity markets advanced at the beginning of the week as chances of the Federal Reserve raising US interest rates later this month […]
Basel to overtake Zurich as second-most attractive Swiss canton
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Basel City will leapfrog Zurich to become Switzerland’s second-most attractive location for businesses by 2020 as Swiss cantons cut corporate tax to bolster their appeal, according to Credit Suisse Group AG. Basel, home of Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG, will move up two places in the ranking of […]
Swiss trains the most expensive in Europe
A study by GoEuro, compares the cost of travelling 100km by train. Switzerland led the ranking with the most costly train trips in Europe. Travelling 100km in Switzerland cost CHF 52. The study is based on the prices of 300 million domestic train journeys across Europe between April 2015 and April 2016. The price differences are significant. […]
Tablets pass the test at Geneva primary schools
Tribune de Genève. Since the beginning of the new school year, Geneva’s education authority (DIP) has been experimenting with tablets in the canton’s primary schools. Manuel Grandjean, school media director, is happy with the move. “Tomorrow’s school is already here” he said. In addition, he hopes that within a few months, all of the canton’s […]
Plan to limit Swiss immigration by offering jobs to locals first
20 Minutes. A Swiss parliamentary commission thinks it has found a way to implement controls on immigration. On 9 February 2014, Swiss voters decided by a slim majority of 50.3% to adopt new rules on immigration. The Swiss government has three years to implement the changes and the deadline is fast approaching. The biggest stumbling […]
UBS handed setback in $2 billion mortgage buy-back lawsuit
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. A UBS Group AG unit was found by a federal judge to have violated some contracts with mortgage-backed securities trusts that hold loans, putting it at risk of having to buy back more loans or pay damages in a $2 billion lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel Tuesday ruled […]
Syngenta CEO appoints new finance chief ahead of China takeover
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Syngenta AG Chief Executive Officer Erik Fyrwald appointed a new head of finance as he works to complete a new strategic plan for the world’s largest agrochemical company, soon to be acquired by state-owned China National Chemical Corp. for $43 billion. Mark Patrick, who has been with the company […]
