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Switzerland’s leaders are concerned by the current volatility of electricity prices and have started planning for a potential disaster scenario, reported RTS. Photo by Pok Rie on Pexels.comThe war in Ukraine has impacted energy provision across Europe, said Swiss energy minister Simonetta Sommaruga on Thursday. Price movements have reached historical levels and could worsen if gas supplies from Russia stop. If the price of gas spikes, some electricity suppliers could experience a...

In 2021, the total number of bankruptcy proceedings opened against businesses and individuals rose by 9.1% compared with 2020, reported the Federal Statistical Office this week. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.comAt a cantonal level, Aargau recorded the greatest relative increase (+24.6%). The number of debt collection proceedings increased slightly, but remained within the average range of the past five years. The recent increase in bankruptcies is probably related to measures...

A recent survey run by ZHAW finds that the price of housing is too high for the majority of people wishing to own their own home in Switzerland. Aspiring home owners would like to see greater support. Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.comSwitzerland is a nation of renters, something reflected in low home ownership rates by international standards. Across Switzerland, only 36% of the population lived in a home owned by it occupants in 2020. Homeownership ranged from 15% in Basel-City to...

On 5 April 2022, the European Patent Office (EPO) released data on European patent applications for 2021. With 8,442 filings across the year, Switzerland was ranked seventh overall behind the US (46,533), Germany (25,969), Japan (21,681), China (16,865), France (10,537) and South Korea (9,394). Photo by Chokniti Khongchum on Pexels.comHowever, on a per capita basis Switzerland was first by a wide margin with 969 applications per million residents. Switzerland had nearly double the per...

According to the newspaper Le Matin Swiss health insurance premiums could rise by 7% to 9%, reported RTS. Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.comThe future rise in the cost of health insurance is estimated based on data on the rising healthcare costs being passed on to health insurance companies. According to the data, costs rose during the second half of 2021. Across all of 2021 costs were up by 5.1% and the trend appears to have continued. Several politicians interviewed on the...

On 1 April 2022, Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office published March inflation data, which show prices 2.4% higher than one year ago. © Bigpressphoto | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.6% in March 2022 compared with the previous month. Inflation was +2.4% compared with the same month of the previous year. Swiss prices were driven higher by rising energy costs, which fed through into the cost of heating, transport – air transport in particular,...

Under public pressure Swiss food giant Nestlé announced it would pull certain brands in Russia. © Aleksei Filatov | Dreamstime.comAfter fierce criticism from Ukrainian politicians and members of the public the firm said it would continue to sell essential foods while pulling popular brands such as KitKat and Nesquik. A growing number of western brands have suspended their operations in Russia in protest at the war in Ukraine. A spokesperson for Nestlé said “We are fully complying...

Data published on 17 March 2022 showed a 15.4% jump in Swiss exports in February 2022. The sharp rise in exports when combined with a 2.9% fall in imports led to a monthly trade balance of CHF 5.7 billion. This is the first time in history that Switzerland’s monthly trade balance has exceeded CHF 5 billion. Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.comIn February 2022, Switzerland exported CHF 24.0 billion worth of products while importing CHF 18.3 billion, creating a net trade balance of CHF...

Responding to the coronavirus is likely to have added between CHF 25 and 30 billion to Swiss federal borrowing, a sum that will only be known when the final calculation is made at the end of 2022. Paying this back is expected to take 11 to 13 years. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comThe federal government said that repaying this money is critical for ensuring the nation is prepared for future crises and for maintaining the financial standing of the nation, something that attracts foreign...

During 2020, 10.3% of Switzerland’s population moved. The average distance moved was 12.5 km. However, the likelihood of movement and the distance moved varied significantly by age and nationality. Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.comPeople in the age band between 20 and 40 were the most likely to move. There was also a small bump in numbers between the ages of 62 and 65. Roughly 27% of 25 year olds moved in 2020, compared to only 2% of 94 year olds. The most mobile canton was Basel-City....