At 3am this Sunday morning, Swiss time moves back one hour, giving Swiss residents an extra hour to sleep or party. Until fairly recently however, there was no Daylight Savings Time (DST) in Switzerland. In 1978 Swiss voters rejected plans to move to the current system of DST when 52.1% voted against it in a […]
SMI up, Roche up, Watch exports slump, Bank capital increases demanded
23 October 2015 – Weekly Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Swiss financial market news Global stocks rallied after “Super Mario” signaled that additional monetary stimulus is on the table if growth continues to falter. The SMI outperformed global stocks after it received a further lift from hints that Europe […]
Do foreign workers raise unemployment? Study’s surprising answer.
Tribune de Genève. In the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland, more than one of four workers lives across the border. Numbers have doubled since 2002 when Switzerland agreed to open its job market to EU citizens. By the middle of 2015 there were over 62,000 EU-based workers, mainly from Italy, crossing the border to […]
How many solar panels does it take to power a whole town?
Earlier this month the town of Payerne switched on Switzerland’s largest solar installation on the La Bouverie industrial zone next to the township. It will produce an impressive 6,600 mega watts of electricity per year. A hot bed of solar innovation, Payerne is also home to the 100%-solar-powered round-the-world aircraft Solar Impulse, which recently flew […]
The venerable Swiss army knife is reborn
Zurich designed and Jura made the new Swiza Swiss army knife was unveiled in Lausanne yesterday. The product is the brain child of two Jura based entrepreneurs, Peter Hug and Florian Lachat. Peter, the CEO of the Helvetica Brands Group which makes the the knives, has a long track record in the watchmaking and cutlery […]
Big job cuts at the bank Credit Suisse
On 21 October 2015, Credit Suisse announced a new strategy to grow its business and streamline its costs. The CEO Tidjane Thiam, who was brought in from outside the company earlier this year, unveiled the Board’s plan to focus on managing the wealth of well-heeled entrepreneurs in emerging markets such as China, and grow its […]
Why this former Swiss president’s days could be numbered
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is currently one of the seven-member Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch of Switzerland’s government. While all seven members act collectively as the head of state, one holds the ceremonial title of Swiss president, acting as the nation’s figurehead for one year. Normally Federal Council members are reelected. Non-reelection of a sitting member […]
Swiss 2015 election turnout: large cantonal differences
20 Minutes. Overall voting participation in the 2015 Swiss federal elections was 48.41% according to the daily 20 Minutes, slightly lower than the 48.5% turnout for the 2011 Federal elections. The 50% mark has not been passed since 1979. The citizens of some cantons were more enthusiastic than others. This time the winner was Schaffhausen […]
SMI underperforms, Geneva bank jobs slump, Nestlé forecast cut, Syngenta steady
16 October 2015 – Weekly Swiss and global market roundup. Brought to you by Investec Switzerland. Swiss financial market news The Swiss Market Index suffered minor losses towards the end of this week, modestly underperforming global stocks as investors moved into more cyclical, US and emerging markets equities. A Federal Reserve report released this week […]
How Switzerland leads Europe on youth employment
In the second quarter of 2015 Swiss youth unemployment (based on the ILO definition) dropped from 7.7% (Q2 2014) to 6.4%. The measure includes those between the ages of 15 and 24 years old and while higher than Switzerland’s overall unemployment rate, Swiss youth fare much better than elsewhere in Europe. The overall EU rate […]
