6 November 2015 – Weekly Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The SMI broke through the 9,000 barrier for the first time since August this week, despite weak company news, after the Swiss franc fell sharply against the dollar and pan-European cyclical stocks outperformed on expectations that the European Central […]
What is art for? Lausanne’s Mudac might have the answer
Last week I went to Mudac, Lausanne’s Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts’ and was fortunate to share a lunch table with both the Museum’s director Chantal Prod’Hom and Yves Mirande, the organiser of one of their latest exhibitions, to discuss what art means. The first thing that struck me when I arrived was […]
Is this Switzerland’s next FIFA scandal?
The FIFA corruption scandal may be growing steadily worse, but yet another Swiss-based organization may not be far behind. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which manages the Eurovision Song Contest, has come up with its own version of hidden agendas, lack of transparency and blatant conflict of interest. Essential Edge co-editor Edward Girardet explores the issues. […]
The Swiss National Bank’s growing stakes in US companies
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. The Swiss National Bank owned more shares of Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. in the third quarter, taking its U.S. equity portfolio to $38.95 billion. Switzerland’s central bank held 10.3 million shares in the iPhone maker on Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing made to […]
Could Switzerland’s speed limit go up to 140 km per hour?
Le Matin. That is the hope of a group collecting signatures for a national vote on the subject. They would like to see the maximum speed on Swiss motorways increase from 120 km/hour to 140 km/hour. Last Friday the vote’s initiators, a group of seven young people from Zurich, claimed to have collected 90,000 of […]
A jihadist could lose his Swiss nationality
20 Minutes. For the first time the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) is considering taking the Swiss passport from a dual national who went to do jihad in Syria. The SEM opened an inquiry, which can be found in the recent federal task force report on terrorism. “When an individual has their Swiss nationality […]
Much higher risk of childhood leukaemia near highways
A Swiss study released yesterday shows the health risks of living near a highway. The study by the Bern based Institute of Social and Preventative Medicine (ISPM) found that young children living less than 100m from a highway are at a substantially higher risk of leukaemia. Traffic emissions contain known carcinogens, such as benzene and […]
A look inside the IKEA houses Switzerland plans to use for refugees
20 Minutes. Instead of housing refugees in army tents, one Swiss canton has decided to experiment with flat-pack IKEA houses. They cost around CHF 1,000 and can be put up in four hours. With a floor area of 17.5 m2, each one is designed to shelter five people. One of the biggest problems with tents […]
Bubble risk in Swiss property market stays elevated, UBS says
Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Risks to the Swiss real estate market remained “practically unchanged” at a risky level in the third quarter, kept in check by stagnant nominal owner-occupied home prices and declining investment demand for condominiums. The UBS Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index rose to 1.38 points in the three months through […]
The Chinese city with the same life expectancy as Switzerland
For many, modern China evokes images of smog. A study published in the Lancet last week, shows that despite the negative health impacts of this pollution, life expectancy in China has shot up hugely since 1990. So much so that some provinces are close to global life expectancy leaders Switzerland and Japan. Nationally, China’s average […]
