The software company Concevis has been the victim of a cyber attack. Once again, federal government data is involved. The cybercriminals are threatening to publish the data on the darknet.

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According to available information, the stolen data probably contains old operational data from the Federal Administration. In-depth analyses are still underway, writes the Federal Department of Finance in a statement on Tuesday.
After stealing the data, the cybercriminals encrypted all the company’s servers. After Concevis refused to be blackmailed, the cybercriminals threatened to publish the data on the darknet. The Basel-based company has filed a criminal complaint.
This is the second time this year that the Swiss

Commodities giant Glencore is taking control of Canadian Teck’s steelmaking coal business.

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The Zug-based group will pay $6.93 billion (CHF6.2 billion) in cash to buy a 77% stake in the Elk Valley Resources (EVR) division.
EVR produced 21.5 million tonnes of steelmaking coal and posted pre-tax profits of C$6.0 billion in 2022, Glencore detailed in a press release on Tuesday.
The transaction is not expected to result in any headcount reductions in Canada, while EVR will step up its capital expenditure and research in this North American country.

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For the first time, the same number of passengers flew through Zurich Airport in October as before the coronavirus pandemic. The number of passengers rose significantly compared to the same month last year.

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A total of 2.87 million passengers traveled through Zurich Airport in October. This is 19 percent more than in the same period last year. For the first time, traffic volumes have thus returned to pre-corona crisis levels.
The exact number of passengers is 99.9% of the October 2019 figure, as the airport announced on Monday evening. With 110,148 passengers on October 8, a new daily record was also set since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of passengers traveling within Europe even rose

Black Friday, Cyber Monday and then Christmas shopping: many people in Switzerland will go on a shopping spree at the end of the year. However, Swiss Post is expecting a slightly lower flood of parcels this year than in 2022.

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The “parcel peak season” is just around the corner for Swiss Post employees. Last year, Swiss Post sent 22 million parcels across the country between Black Friday and Christmas. This year, however, a slightly lower volume of parcels is expected.
However, Swiss Post believes it is well equipped to deal with the flood of parcels, as a spokesperson told the news agency AWP. In the current year, new parcel centres have been opened around Switzerland.
The daily sorting capacity has increased by

In Switzerland, rents for apartments on the market continued to rise in October. However, there were clear differences in the individual cantons.

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Across Switzerland, rents for new and re-rentable apartments – the so-called asking rents – rose by 0.4% in October compared to the previous month, according to the Homegate rent index published on Monday. The index advanced by 0.5 points to 123.8 points. On an annual basis, asking rents rose by an average of 4% in October in Switzerland.
+ Hundreds demonstrate against rising rents in Zurich
There were clear differences in the development of rental prices in the individual cantons. According to Homegate, the changes compared to September ranged between minus 0.5 and

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Retail banks have increased investment in digital marketing by 16% in a bid to attract younger clients. 

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In 2023, budgeted sums in this segment will total CHF 47.6 million ($52.8 million), up 16% on last year, according to an estimate by Colombus Consulting in its study on the digitalisation of the customer experience, published on Thursday.UBS, Postfinance and Raiffeisen occupy the online advertising podium. + Troubled Swiss banking sector sees drop in profits"The major retail banks have invested massively in new digital functions, while maintaining a hybrid approach with relationship services and advisers who remain at the centre of customer relations," Jean Meneveau,

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The government wants to reduce the annual radio and television licence fee from the current CHF335 ($372) to CHF300 by 2029. The turnover threshold for companies to qualify for exemption has been raised from CHF500,000 to CHF1.2 million.

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On Wednesday the government put out for consultation an amendment to the relevant ordinance. In a press release, the government explains that it prefers to act in this way rather than proposing a direct or indirect counterproposal to the “CHF200 is enough!” initiative, as it wishes to retain responsibility for setting the level of the licence fee.+ Signatures handed in for reduction of Swiss licence feeThe government rejects the

Anyone who owns an electric car in Switzerland will have to pay automobile tax from January 1.

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The Federal Council decided on Wednesday to repeal this tax exemption for electric cars, which has been in effect since 1997.
The state government decided to make a corresponding change to the automobile tax ordinance on Wednesday, as it announced on Wednesday. The authorities justify the change in three ways: Firstly, it is important to counteract tax losses. The number of electric cars on Swiss roads has increased significantly.
Secondly, it is important to secure the deposits for the national highway and urban transport fund. Thirdly, the Federal Council wants to improve the state budget. The change to the automobile

Purchasing power in Switzerland is likely to remain under pressure next year. Companies surveyed by UBS want to pay their employees more wages for 2024, but higher salaries cannot compensate for the inflation.

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Specifically, the 389 companies surveyed as well as employer and employee associations expect an average wage increase of 1.9% for 2024.
Taking into account inflation expected at around 2%, real wages are therefore unlikely to rise next year, according to the conclusion published on Wednesday Salary survey by the major bank UBS.
“The majority of companies grant compensation for inflation, but rarely go beyond that,” says UBS economist Florian Germanier, summarizing the survey results. Real wages are

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This year’s potato harvest has been disappointing with growers expecting a drop of around a third compared with recent years.

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Yields are still difficult to estimate at the moment. The final figures will not be known until early December, Ruedi Fischer, President of the Swiss Potato Growers’ Association (USPPT), told press agency Keystone-SDA.+ Switzerland forced to import potatoes for chips and crispsBut it is already clear that there will be "above-average losses that we have never seen before", he added, referring to an article in the German-language agricultural information service (LID). According to current forecasts, there could be a shortfall of 100,000 tonnes,

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The European bison, a species that differs slightly from its north American cousin, died out in Europe. Now it is to be reintroduced in Switzerland. Can a densely populated country tolerate such a large wild animal?

Christian Raaflaub

Radio, TV and online journalist. 

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| German Department

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Otto Holzgang, a biologist, stretches one arm out and puts his thumb in front of a bison grazing on the slope above us. “If my thumb covers the whole animal, we are far enough away,” he says.
We are standing a little more than 50 metres away from the bison, the official safety distance. Visitors inside the enclosure are not allowed to go any closer.Earlier,

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Credit Suisse on Friday won a lawsuit at London’s High Court over the sale of $100 million (CHF90.47 million) of notes linked to residential mortgage-backed securities.

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Loreley Financing, a special purpose vehicle set up by German bank IKB, sued Credit Suisse over its 2007 purchase of the notes as part of a collateralised debt obligation transaction.The Jersey-registered company argued at a trial starting in April that it bought the notes because of Credit Suisse’s “false and dishonest representations” about their value.+ Read more: Credit Suisse’s legal problems regarding bond write-downsLoreley also argued the allegedly false representations were part of a “systemic

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Swiss authorities and lenders, including UBS, are discussing new measures to prevent bank runs after Credit Suisse’s last-ditch rescue earlier this year, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

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The talks, which have not been previously reported and are part of a broader review of the country’s banking rules, are intended for the top Swiss banks and could target mainly their wealth clients, two of the sources said.Among measures being discussed is the option to stagger a greater portion of withdrawals over longer periods of time, one of the sources said. Imposing fees on exits is also an alternative being discussed, two of the sources said.Rewarding clients

The US Supreme Court considered reinstating a $900,000 (CHF810,000) jury verdict won by a fired UBS Group research strategist in a case that could make it easier for whistleblowers to win suits claiming retaliation under a federal investor-protection law.

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UBS contends that federal law requires whistleblowers to prove they were the victims of intentional retaliation. But that argument drew scepticism from several justices, including Neil Gorsuch, who questioned whether it could be squared with the language of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

“I don’t see ‘retaliation’ in the statute,” Gorsuch told UBS’s lawyer, Eugene Scalia. “You’re asking me to read things into a

Zurich has less-demanding requirements over the transparency of company audits © Keystone / Walter Bieri
Chinese companies are flocking to Switzerland to raise capital after being discouraged from listing in the US by geopolitical tensions and in Britain by tougher audit standards.
Nine Chinese companies floated in Zurich last year, raising $3.2 billion (CHF3 billion) in the European country, according to SIX, the operator of the Swiss stock market. That far outstrips the $470 million they raised in New York, data from Dealogic stated.

Their shift of focus to Switzerland comes in response to months of tensions between Beijing and Washington over standards for Chinese companies on US markets. The US sought greater access to listed companies’ financial audits but

© Keystone / Michael Buholzer One of Credit Suisse’s longest-standing shareholders has sold its entire stake in the scandal-hit Swiss bank after losing patience with its strategy amid persistent losses and a client exodus. US investment manager Harris Associates, whose deputy chair and chief investment officer David Herro was for years among the Swiss bank’s …

For journalists and historian, Swiss banking data remains behind locked doors. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Swiss banking secrecy used to be the bane of foreign countries trying to catch tax cheats. Now it’s the turn of Swiss journalists and historians to cry foul of laws that can hinder their work.

When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch’s business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland – including the frozen lake of St Moritz.
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| English Department

The Bank Secrecy Act was tightened in 2015 following a spate of stolen data being bought by foreign tax authorities.
+ Bank secrecy vs freedom of the press
Financial historians complain that banks now

The number of new foreign workers moving to Switzerland on long-term contracts increased by a quarter last year compared to 2021, according to official statistics.
In 2022, 166,919 foreign workers immigrated to Switzerland, comprising 76,286 people (+15%) for temporary work and 90,633 workers (+26%) on longer contracts.
+ Switzerland’s allure for wealthy foreigners
The increase in longer-term stays was driven by job vacancies mainly in the industrial, construction and service sectors, such as consulting and IT, hospitality and healthcare.
“The higher demand for workers is an expression of the dynamic recovery of the domestic and foreign economy as well as the catch-up effects after the corona pandemic,” stated the Federal Statistical Office on Thursday.
Increased

Age-related macular degeneration is an eye disease that can blur your central vision. It happens when aging causes damage to the macula — the part of the eye that controls sharp, straight-ahead vision. (Symbolic photo) Keystone / Martin Ruetschi
An appeals court in France has overturned a record fine imposed by the French competition authority against the Swiss pharmaceutical companies Novartis and Roche.
The verdict was announced by a court in Paris on Thursday.
Both firms were given a fine totaling €444 million (CHF438.9 million) in 2020 for following allegedly abusive practices, notably in the sale of the eye disease drug Lucentis at the expense of the Avastin drug treatment, which is up to 30 times cheaper.
Novartis was accused of conducting a communication

Coal piled up at a thermal power plant in Berlin. Glencore says it benefited from large coal price moves last year. Keystone / Clemens Bilan
Profits at Swiss mining and trading group Glencore last year were boosted by the explosion in commodity prices. Thanks to a more than threefold increase in net profit, the Zug-based giant wants to double its shareholders’ remuneration, in particular through a share buyback.
“The unprecedented developments in global energy markets were material drivers for both our marketing and industrial businesses,” said CEO Gary Nagle in a statement on Wednesday, underlining the record profitability achieved by the group in the past financial year.
+ How the Ukraine war impacted Swiss commodities traders
According to unaudited figures,

The government wants to boost relations with ASEAN countries (Archive photo from 2017 with Swiss foreign minister and representatives from ASEAN countries). © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

The Swiss government has for the first time adopted a regional strategy for the Asia-Pacific region for the period 2023-2026.
The move takes into account the growing importance of the southeast Asia region and complements the government’s China strategy, according to a government statement published on Wednesday.
The 11 countries that make up the region together form the fifth largest economy in the world. Their natural and cultural wealth, as well as their economic potential, represent opportunities for Switzerland to diversify its relations on the Asian continent, the

Under pressure: Credit Suisse headquarters in Zurich. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Disappointing results leave no more room for accidents as the bank carries out restructuring.
It has been a year since Axel Lehmann took over as chair of accident-prone Credit Suisse and about half that since Ulrich Körner became chief executive. But they have yet to stem the problems at Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, caused by a succession of historic scandals and mismanaged risk – from the blow-up of the Archegos family office to the Greensill supply chain finance affair.

Anyone hoping for uplifting signs in Credit Suisse’s annual results announcement last week will have struggled to discern them. Many of the data points were weak. Six were downright horrible, or at

Nicolas Gisin in his lab at the University of Geneva in 2013. The president of the new Swiss Quantum Commission is also co-founder of ID Quantique, which markets quantum systems for encrypting computer messages. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

Quantum physics is moving out of the lab and into the marketplace. Switzerland, a strong researcher in this field, doesn’t want to miss out and is launching its own quantum initiative. For now, though, it will have to make do without Europe.

After some years in the regional print and broadcast media in French Switzerland, in 2000 I joined Radio Swiss International, which then became swissinfo.ch. Since then I have been writing (and producing short videos) on a variety of subjects, from politics to business, and

Swiss chemists are running low on some medication Keystone / Expa/ Stefanie Oberhauser

The Swiss pharmaceutical industry should be less dependent on active ingredients from Asia, says the president of the industry umbrella organisation, pharmaSuisse. Martine Ruggli has called for new drug companies to be built in Europe.
If a drug runs out in Switzerland, it’s not available in the whole of Europe “in an extreme situation like the present one”, she said. With Europe, Switzerland must now prepare for the future, Ruggli said in an interview with newspaper Blick on Monday.
She pointed out that the only European company for antibiotics, for example, is in Austria. Building up new locations would take time, she said, but was possible. “Sources need to be

Swissinfo.ch

Swiss citizens look set to vote on a people’s initiative to try to ensure their economy never becomes cashless. What do the campaigners behind the idea really want?

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Cash is widely used in Switzerland, much more so than in many other countries. In Sweden, only 9% of people still pay with notes and coins; in the United States the figure is around 60%. Meanwhile, 97% of people in Switzerland still keep some cash at home or in their wallets.
But some Swiss citizens are worried about this cashless trend, and the Swiss franc could well become a hot political issue again. Campaigners have collected enough signatures to try to force a nationwide vote to ensure the Swiss National Bank and government always maintain a sufficient

© Keystone / Christian Beutler The president of the Swiss Employers’ Association wants to increase the potential workforce in Switzerland by 300,000 people. To achieve this, women, young people, the elderly and refugees must be integrated into the labour market or be given more work, said Valentin Vogt on Swiss public radio SRF on Saturday. …

Widespread analysis of what went wrong at Credit Suisse converges on a constant theme: an international bank that lost touch with its Swiss roots, led by people who put profits ahead of prudence.
This has resulted in massive financial losses and a restructuring drive that will see 9,000 staff lose their jobs.

Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Körner is leading a major restructuring of the bank. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

What happened?
Credit Suisse has lurched from one scandal to another: spying on a former employee, a criminal conviction for allowing drug dealers to launder money, entanglement in a Mozambique corruption case, a chairman violating Covid lockdown rules and a massive leak of client data to the media.
+ The financial consequences for Credit Suisse in

[caption id="attachment_994215" align="alignleft" width="400"] The Swiss commodities trader is taking legal action. Keystone / Martial Trezzini[/caption]
Swiss commodities trading company Trafigura says it has been defrauded to the tune of $577 million (CHF530 million) by fake nickel shipments.
The firm has launched legal action against a Dubai-based metals trader and the group of companies he runs out of the Middle East emirate.

“The fraud concerns containerised nickel in transit during 2022 and involved misrepresentation and presentation of a variety of false documentation,” Trafigura said in a statement on Thursday.

Random checks of these containers found they contained no nickel at all. Most of the shipment is still in transit awaiting inspection.

Demonstrators in Lausanne on February 9: Vaud is the third-largest (by population) of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. © Keystone/ Valentin Flauraud
Around 3,500 public sector workers in the western Swiss canton of Vaud took part in a strike on Thursday. They are calling for wage indexation to keep up with inflation and rising living costs.
Thursday’s demonstration in Lausanne is the fourth in two months by public sector workers. It comes after an even bigger gathering in the city on January 31 (some 5,000 people, according to police) and another similar-sized event on January 24.
Demonstrators came from various public sector areas, notably teachers, nurses and police officers. The Vaud education department said 1,500 teachers across the canton had taken part in

Won’t go to waste: but plastic in Switzerland is not always so well recycled. Keystone / Urs Flueeler

The Federal Audit Office says there needs to be more transparency around the various fees and taxes which fund Switzerland’s recycling system.
The auditors wrote on Wednesday that CHF176 million ($192 million) in recycling taxes and fees were collected in 2019: these included state-organised prepaid disposal fees on glass and batteries, and voluntary, private sector-run contributions on PET packaging, aluminium, tin cans, electrical appliances and light bulbs.
However, consumers do not have enough information about whether their waste is “simply collected, burned, or actually recycled”, the auditors say.
+ How (well) the Swiss recycling system works
They also