Official unemployment numbers show there were 144,778 people registered as unemployed across Switzerland at the end of May 2016, 4,762 fewer than in April. This decline took the unemployment rate from 3.5% to 3.3%. Despite this improvement, there were 8,429 more without jobs than in May last year when the unemployment rate was 3.2%. The […]
Brexit threatens to undo Swiss central bank efforts to bring down strong franc
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Once again, someone else’s crisis is threatening to make life more difficult for the Swiss. Ever since it abandoned an exchange-rate cap in January 2015, the Swiss National Bank has battled against the franc’s appeal as a haven, guiding the currency lower with intervention and interest-rate cuts in an […]
The Good Country Index – why Switzerland missed the top 10
Because many of the world’s biggest problems, such as climate change, disease pandemics and terrorism, are global, countries operating inwardly as if they were alone on the planet, can’t deal with them, says policy advisor Simon Anholt. He thinks getting countries to look outwards, be generous, and help humanity and the planet beyond national borders is essential. He […]
Why Switzerland’s unconditional basic income vote failed
Switzerland’s universal income proposal was rejected by voters on Sunday. And while a majority of voters in a small number of communes voted in favour of it, nationwide 76.9% were against it. So why did it fail? A number of people with a connection to Switzerland shared their views on Quora.com. Here are three: Read Pandy Legend's […]
5 June 2016 Swiss referenda results
The votes have been counted. The Swiss Statistics Office charts below show results by canton and district. The initiatives to pay an unconditional income, to change the way state-owned companies are run, and to spend further fuel tax on transport infrastructure have all been rejected. The vote on changes to asylum law has been accepted […]
Global stock markets flat on mixed economic data
3 June 2016 – Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Global stock markets are set to close largely unchanged this week. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) underperformed after data showed that Switzerland’s economy barely grew in the first quarter of this year. Sentiment swung between optimism and pessimism on mixed economic data […]
Novartis opens its third largest research centre globally, in China
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Novartis AG employees in Shanghai have a new $1 billion home. The seven-building campus on the outskirts of Shanghai is accented by bamboo staircases and tree-lined courtyards. The company said the 1,300-person facility will be its third major research center, after Basel, Switzerland, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Foreign drugmakers are […]
Swiss federal votes – Sunday 5 June 2016
This coming Sunday 5 June 2016, Swiss will vote on a number of federal and cantonal initiatives. The five votes on the federal ballot this Sunday are set out in this article. The vote attracting the greatest international attention is the proposal to pay every adult an unconditional income of CHF 2,500 a month, and […]
Switzerland’s most expensive footballer
Last week, Swiss-born footballer Granit Xhaka, transferred from German football club Borussia Monchengladbach, to the English club Arsenal, ahead of the start of the European Championships on 10 June 2016. The Swiss mid-fielder, born to Kosovar Albanian parents in Basel, was transferred for £33.8 million according to London’s Evening Standard, the highest sum ever paid for a […]
One day in prison for breaking Swiss rubbish rules
According to Le Matin, a resident of the Swiss town of St-Légier-La Chiesaz, was shocked to receive a letter threatening her with a prison sentence for not putting her paper rubbish in the right place. Speaking to Le Matin she said “I received a penalty notice by registered post sentencing me to a 150 franc fine, or a day in […]
