Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. It’s a sign the world is getting used to negative interest rates when what once seemed bizarre starts looking like the norm. Consider Switzerland, where more and more companies are taking out insurance policies to protect their cash hoards from theft or damage. “Because of the low interest rate […]
Roger Federer skips the US Open and heads to the Swiss mountains
Roger Federer has had a painful year. In July, the 35-year-old tennis champion said he would sit out the rest of the 2016 season to recuperate from knee surgery. On 22 August he posted a photo of himself on Twitter training with the comment: “Did some tennis training this week. Feeling great.” Right now he is […]
Switzerland’s new Gotthard train tunnel might be too small
20 Minutes. The new Gotthard train tunnel, which opened on 1 June 2016, might have a serious design flaw. Next December, Swiss Rail plans to start running high speed trains through the tunnel. The planned speed of these trains is 200 km/h. There are now fears that the tunnel is too tight to run trains this fast. As […]
Proposed integration laws rejected by Swiss government commission
20 Minutes. A government commission has rejected proposed laws designed to improve the integration of foreigners in Switzerland, with 12 votes against, 9 for, and 2 abstentions. By early 2014, the Swiss National Council and Council of States had made good progress on the project. Then, following the successful popular vote in February 2014 to […]
Swiss banks cut 4.1% of local jobs in first half as profit falls
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Banks in Switzerland reduced their domestic workforce by 4.1 percent in the first half as companies combined and made cost cuts to stem declining profitability, a survey by the nation’s main bank association showed. The loss totals 3,454 jobs, the Swiss Bankers Association said in its annual industry report […]
European and Swiss stocks higher on bank rally
2 September 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The Swiss Market Index, along with other European markets, is trading slightly higher this week after financials rallied on merger and acquisition rumors and hopes for improved growth. European banks, the industry group battered the most so far this year, lead gains […]
Expats in Switzerland aren’t feeling the love, says a new survey measuring quality of life
By Bill Harby In some ways, Switzerland is the envy of the world, which brings expats here from around the globe, hoping to ski, eat superb chocolate and open their very own Swiss bank account. In fact, now nearly 25 percent of people living in Switzerland are foreigners, says the Swiss Statistics Office. That’s a […]
Swiss say they underestimated Easyjet in Geneva
Tribune de Genève. The managing director of french-speaking Switzerland for the airline Swiss, Lorenzo Stoll, admits to errors in their strategy to win back Geneva. “We should not hide it, we attempted to move too fast” he said. Adding “We clearly underestimated the challenges of taking on Easyjet”. Easyjet is by far the largest operator at […]
Heavy penalty imposed on reckless speeder in Switzerland
20 Minutes. A man of 33 was caught travelling at over 230 km/h on the A7 motorway in Switzerland near Weinfelden in the canton of Thurgau. According to the newspaper Thurgauer Zeitung, his children were in the back seat without proper child seats. The driver, who was caught travelling at 231 km/h at the end […]
Geneva’s Jet d’eau turns 125
Geneva’s famous icon turns 125 this year. Inaugurated in 1891 for the federal gymnastics festival, it was illuminated a few days later for the 600th anniversary of the Swiss confederation. When it first opened it reached a height of 90 metres. In 1951, Services Industriels de Genève (SIG) opened an electrically powered pump system that pushes […]
