Some people are unaware of the severe new driving penalties in Switzerland. A new body of Swiss laws called Via sicura is being introduced in stages, the most recent lot at the beginning of 2015. Penalties for speeders and drink drivers are particularly severe. Even before these new laws, speeding was eye wateringly expensive in […]
Expat interview – Dani Bach biotech investor, intrepid climber
Swiss expat Dr. Dani Bach, a native of Catalonia, Spain leads an interesting double life. During the week, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) trained molecular biologist works in Zurich helping entrepreneurs build biotech businesses. At the weekends he scales the highest peaks in the Alps and has conquered everything above 4,000 metres. Evangeline […]
7-step guide to getting a Swiss passport
Reform of Swiss naturalisation rules is in the works. Parliament has passed the law but it is not yet in force. Confusion abounds so here is a guide to what has happened and where things stood at 4 April 2016. On 20 June 2014 the Swiss parliament passed a new law which changed the number of […]
Switzerland – Home of the World’s Best Festival?
Cully Jazz, errant bachelors, and the only way to travel to Frankfurt… Your loyal Happy Valley correspondent is sitting on a Kuwait Airways flight from Geneva to Frankfurt. It’s civilized, quick — and amazingly inexpensive. The wide-bodied plane is at best 10% full, which means extra-attentive service, plentiful leg-room and a level of overhead storage […]
Montreux Jazz 2015 already selling out
The sale of 2015 Montreux Jazz Festival tickets opened on Friday 17 April 2015 and already some evenings are sold out. Tickets to the John Legend performance on 3 July, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett on 6 July and Sam Smith on 7 July are all no longer available online. Getting tickets to the popular […]
How powerful is your passport?
Some passports are better than others. South Africans who travelled during the apartheid era will attest to this. To make comparisons easy, Arton Capital has created the Passport Index. The index ranks passports based on the number of countries the holder can travel to with ease. The index can be navigated via a world map, […]
Switzerland slips down 2015 social progress ranking
The Social Progress Index rankings are out again for another year. The ranking goes beyond GDP and includes measures of Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing and Opportunity. The 2015 report is co-authored by Harvard professor Michael E Porter who many business school graduates will remember for his 5 forces model of competition. This year […]
Why illegal telemarketing is getting worse in Switzerland
We have all received those annoying calls. You are about to sit down to dinner and are forced to rush to a ringing phone only to find some strange salesperson trying sell you a new health insurance policy or a phone package that you don’t want. Opting out introduced In 2012, after many complaints, the […]
It’s over for Uber in Geneva, or is it?
According to the canton of Geneva’s website all journeys arranged in the canton via the www.uber.ch platform are illegal. In addition, drivers could be hit with fines and administrative charges of up to CHF 20,000 and that professional drivers could lose their licences for as long as 6 months. In Geneva, the company with the […]
Swiss Rail lost CHF 1.9 billion in 2014
Despite reporting improved results for 2014, the Swiss Rail Group (CFF/SBB/FFS) was heavily dependent on government support. Revenues increased by CHF 223 million to CHF 8,542 million, however this revenue figure includes CHF 2,249 million of public money. Net profits at CHF 373 million were up 57% on 2013 including the CHF 2,249 million government […]
