In December last year a group called RASA – an acronym for “out of the dead end” in German (Raus aus der Sackgasse), started collecting signatures for a popular vote that would serve as a Plan B should EU negotiations fail with Brussels over the 9 February 2014 vote to limit immigration from EU countries. […]
European Central Bank hurting Swiss companies
13 November 2015 – Weekly Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The SMI under performed global stocks this week and is expected to finish in negative territory on Friday. Fears that further quantitative easing by the European Central Bank (ECB) will weaken the Euro and undercut the competitiveness of Swiss […]
Swiss Rail to cut 900 jobs
With the help of consultants McKinsey and Company, Swiss Rail has put together plans to shave 550 million off its annual costs by 2020 and 1.75 billion by 2030. As part of the cost cutting, 900 jobs are expected to disappear. In 2014 the company managed to increase operating profits by 1.6% to CHF 314 […]
Swiss stocks miss out on Draghi-driven rallies in rest of Europe
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The prospect of more stimulus from Mario Draghi has been boosting most European stock markets. Switzerland has been lagging behind. Hurt by a strengthening franc, the Swiss Market Index has largely missed out on the rally that has added about $6 trillion to equities since the September lows of […]
Switzerland’s 117 metre vertical forest
In 2017 a vertical forest will begin to rise from a building site located in Chavannes in west Lausanne. The tower will rise to a maximum of 117 metres and be covered with trees equivalent to around one hectare of forest. The tower’s designer is Milan-based architect Stefano Boeri. Already in Milan Two similar towers, […]
Half of Swiss jobs will be lost to automation, says Deloitte.
An analysis by Deloitte shows that 48% of current Swiss jobs could be lost to automation. Administrative, secretarial, agricultural and production jobs are most at risk. Most jobs set to go require low levels of education but some requiring highly educated people will disappear also. Self-driving vehicles, 3D printers, speaking robots and artificial intelligence will […]
Geneva’s housing shortage attracting fraudsters
Tribune de Genève. This week the Geneva daily went undercover and identified one of many fraudulent advertisements for apartments in Geneva. Responding to an advertisement on the website immostreet.ch, they were given a false name, told they couldn’t view the apartment because the owner lives abroad, and asked to send funds to a bank account […]
Swiss “Jetman” takes to sky alongside an Airbus 380
Former Swiss fighter pilot, Yves Rossy, known as “Jetman” recently flew in formation with an Airbus 380 in Dubai with his famous jet pack. Born in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1959, he previously flew for the Swiss military and as a commercial pilot for Swiss Air. Recently, he and Frenchman Vince Reffet jumped from a flying […]
Swiss unemployment up in October
Swiss unemployment crept up in October 2015. The industries with the highest unemployment were hotel and restaurant workers at 9.4% and watch makers at 8.3%. Marked differences across cantons remained. The three highest were Geneva (5.6%), Neuchatel (5.4%) and Vaud (4.8%). Of these three, only Vaud changed from September, registering a decline of 0.1. The […]
Switzerland’s ambition for a weaker franc seen as a forlorn hope
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Currency markets just won’t cooperate with Thomas Jordan. When the Swiss National Bank president repeated a warning for buyers to steer clear of the “significantly overvalued” franc last week, the impact of his words was blunted by a European Central Bank pledge to reassess its stimulus plan. Switzerland’s currency […]
