Tag Archives: 3.) Swiss Business and Economy

The Hermitage fraud became an international cause célèbre after the death in custody of Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. Keystone High-profile Kremlin critic and investor Bill Browder has threatened Credit Suisse and UBS with legal action for breaching US sanctions if they unfreeze accounts belonging to three Russian clients accused of a huge tax fraud against his investment company. The two Swiss banks hold assets worth more than $24 million (CHF21.8 million),...

From tip-top transport in Basel to housing headaches in Geneva, foreign residents share what they love and loathe about the four Swiss cities featured in the Expat City Ranking 2020. Of the 66 cities in the latest list, published by InterNations on Thursday, Basel rates highest (24th), ahead of Lausanne (28th), Zurich (37th) and Geneva (48th). The Expat City Ranking 2020 The Expat City Ranking is based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations, a global...

Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis, left, and Afghan finance minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal. Keystone / Valentin Flauraud At an international conference in Geneva to source funding for Afghanistan, Switzerland has renewed its annual CHF26 million ($28.48 million) pledge for another four years. The Swiss contribution, which will amount to CHF104 million up to 2024, is earmarked for projects to promote the rule of law, agriculture, and education, the foreign...

Interior Minister Alain Berset at the press conference on Wednesday Keystone In summer 2019 the social partners agreed on a reform of the Swiss occupational pension scheme. The government on Wednesday adopted this compromise unchanged; the ball is now in parliament’s court. Occupational pensions have been under pressure for a while as a result of rising life expectancy and low interest rates. Following the rejection by voters of the pension reform in September 2017,...

Clariant has its headquarters in the Swiss city of Basel but operates in more than 50 countries. Keystone/Gaetan Bally Swiss speciality chemicals firm Clariant has announced further job cuts amid a series of divestments. The programme foresees a reduction of approximately 1,000 positions in service and regional structures, it said on Wednesday. About one-third of the reductions will be included in the divestment transfers, adding that it would set aside provisions of...

The man worked as an expert inspector at Mühleberg nuclear power plant in 2010 Keystone The Federal Court has dismissed the appeal of a former employee of two Swiss nuclear power plants who was diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer. The man took legal action after the national accident insurance fund refused benefits for an occupational illness. The now 52-year-old man worked at the Leibstadt nuclear power plant in 2003 and 2004. In 2010 he worked as an expert...

Few companies know where all of their products originate let alone the conditions for people producing or extracting them. Keystone / Nyein Chan Naing Big multinationals in Switzerland have been nearly unanimous in their rejection of an initiative to make companies more accountable for their actions abroad. What are they afraid of? In a letter released a couple weeks ago, several board members of major Swiss multinationals urged the Swiss to vote against the...

Thiam radically reshaped Credit Suisse Keystone Tidjane Thiam, who resigned as CEO of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in February, has been tasked with using his connections to build up the Rwandan capital Kigali as an international business location, according to Swiss business newspaper Handelszeitung. Ivory Coast-born Thiam, who also holds French citizenship, has been named president of Rwanda Finance Limited, a government company that is to set up the Kigali...

Just 16% of Swiss would immediately get vaccinated against coronavirus, according to a recent survey Keystone Faced with considerable public scepticism towards a Covid-19 vaccine, the Federal Office of Public Health is preparing an information campaign about vaccinations. However, the country’s top hospital hygienist thinks offering incentives is a better way to make people get a jab. Just 16% of Swiss would immediately get vaccinated against coronavirus, according...

A proposal to make Swiss-based multinationals accountable for their business practices abroad is tabled for a nationwide vote on November 29. An initiative aimed at restricting investments in the arms industry is the second issue on the ballot sheet. The political left is trying to push through amendments to the Swiss constitution to impose sustainable standards on Swiss companies and institutions, which has triggered opposition from the political right and the...