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Last year, Switzerland’s federal government announced plans to authorise the commercialisation of insects and worms as domestic food products, and the new law came into effect this week on 1 May 2017. According to 24 Heures, supermarket Coop will launch a new range of insect-based products this month. High in protein, insects come with a low carbon footprint and resource requirement. Insect meatballs – Source: Coop Coop is working with the startup Essento, which has spent three years...

The Swiss government’s company tax reform plans have been reborn after the last plan met with defeat in a popular vote on 12 February 2017. The new plan, dubbed “Tax proposal 17”, aims to avoid issues that bedeviled the last project. © Miriam Doerr | Dreamstime.com Last time many were concerned by the potential financial impact of lower company tax rates, and the proposal was rejected by 59.1% of voters. This time the government wants to ensure the greatest possible degree of transparency in...

20 Minutes. In Switzerland, more than a million people moved house in 2015, 12.1% of the population. The figure has never be higher, according to a report called Immo-Monitoring published by Wüest Partner. © Totalpics | Dreamstime.com The home moving covered around 490,000 dwellings. Of those who moved, 344,000 stayed in the same commune (Gemeinde) while the other 659,000 changed municipality. One quarter of the total related to people moving to Switzerland from abroad. Four factors,...

The new 50 franc note, launched last year, was voted the best new bank note in 2016 by the International Bank Note Society, a society founded in 1961. A Swiss 50. What a beauty – © Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.com Nearly 120 new banknotes were released worldwide in 2016. The Swiss 50 only narrowly beat the Maldive Islands 1000 Rufiyaa bill, Argentina’s 500 Peso jaguar, and the Royal Bank of Scotland’s 5 Pound first polymer note. In addition to its good looks, the Swiss 50 is likely to hold...

The official French presidential election results place Emmanuel Macron (23.8%) and Marine Le Pen (21.5%) in first and second places in the first round of the French presidential race. The run off between these two will take place on 7 May 2017, when most forecasters expect Macron to win and become France’s next president. How votes are expected to split between MACRON and LE PEN in the 2nd round. This according to Ifop polling on Friday: #Presidentielle2017 pic.twitter.com/OzW5EFGXiI —...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A survey conducted by the advisory firm EY shows a rise in perceived corruption in the workplace in Switzerland. 18% of workers surveyed by the firm in Switzerland now think bribery and corruption are widespread in the country. While high this figure is well below the 33% average for Western Europe and the 51% average […]

The management of Credit Suisse Credit Suisse reduced their bonuses by 40% after severe criticism from shareholders. The reduction amounts to around CHF 20 million. Some are still outraged. The group made a loss of CHF 2.7 billion in 2016 and one of CHF 2.9 billion in 2015. © Denis Linine | Dreamstime.com In an interview published in Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung, Vincent Kaufmann, the CEO of Ethos described the remaining bonuses of CHF 15 million for 2016 and CHF 31 million earmarked...

Travail Suisse, an association representing Swiss employees, highlights once more the age discrimination faced by those over 50 in the Swiss job market. © Felix Mizioznikov | Dreamstime.com In March 2017, 26.8% of unemployed in the this age group had been without work for more than a year, compared to 2.3% of those between 15 and 24 and 14.1% of those aged 25 to 49. According to RTS, the unemployed over 50 take twice as long to find a new job. The number expected to join their ranks is...

Travail Suisse, an association representing Swiss employees, highlights once more the age discrimination faced by those over 50 in the Swiss job market. © Felix Mizioznikov | Dreamstime.com In March 2017, 26.8% of unemployed in the this age group had been without work for more than a year, compared to 2.3% of those between 15 and 24 and 14.1% of those aged 25 to 49. According to RTS, the unemployed over 50 take twice as long to find a new job. The number expected to join their ranks is...

Over the year ending 31 March 2017, apartment prices across Switzerland dropped by 6.8%, according to a property price report published by the Zurich-based research and consulting firm Fahrländer Partner FPRE. Close to half of the decline (-3.2%) occurred in the first quarter of 2017. © Sylgal | Dreamstime.com Mid-range apartments hardest hit Across the year, the price of mid-range apartments fell most (-9.4%), followed by high-end ones (-6.3%) and smaller lower cost ones (-0.9%). The largest...