Tag Archives: 3.) Swiss Info

Despite concerns about global warning, coal is still being mined and burned all over the world. Keystone / Sascha Steinbach The Swiss financial market invests too much in oil and coal production, according to a review of nearly 200 financial institutions. Some 80% of the banks and asset management firms surveyed by the report have coal mining companies in their investment portfolios. “On average, the Swiss financial centre thus supports additional expansion of...

Checking the stock markets in Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse Keystone Shareholders in Switzerland want a rethink on how managers are paid and demand that priorities regarding corporate governance, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) be redefined, a survey has found. “Investors consider compensation systems not to be sufficiently aligned with social and environmental priorities and judge adjustments to bonus payments due to Covid-19 highly...

The former Raiffeisen CEO has been dogged by suspicions of conflict of interest during his tenure as Raiffeisen boss, during which he personally invested in subsidiaries of the banking group. Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller The Zurich public prosecutor has accused the ex-CEO of Swiss bank Raiffeisen Pierin Vincenz of fraud, embezzlement and bribery following a two-year criminal investigation. In a statement released on Tuesday, the district attorney general said that it...

Swiss-US trade has been booming in recent years. Would it be better for the Alpine country to stick with the current set-up or trust in a potentially more conciliatory new American president?   Swiss business with the US has never been better. Exports from Switzerland rose by a fifth between 2017 and the end of last year. Half of this trade was from the pharmaceutical and chemical sector. Precision tools, machinery and electrical manufacturing also saw trade with...

The biotech company and the pharmaceutical giant want to develop and market a drug with a unique approach for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19. Keystone/Alexandra Wey Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis says it has signed a deal with biotech firm Molecular Partners to develop, manufacture and commercialise an anti-Covid-19 treatment drug. The Basel-based company said the option and licence agreement was aimed at boosting a programme consisting of two...

Hildebrand Keystone/Peter Klaunzer The Swiss government has nominated Philipp Hildebrand, a former head of the country’s central bank, to lead the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “His experience in the highest levels of the private and public sectors, both in Switzerland and internationally, make him the ideal candidate for this prestigious position,” Economics Minister Guy Parmelin told a news conference on Wednesday. “This candidacy...

Just over half of respondents to a survey said a repair label would play a decisive role in the purchase of an electronic product. © Keystone / Adrian Reusser No less than 98% of people polled by a consumer protection alliance are in favour of a labelling system that evaluates the repairability of electronic and household appliances. Most of them were also prepared to pay more for a product that offered specific repair guarantees. A vast majority of survey...

The home to the European headquarters of the United Nations jumped ten spots up the ranking thanks to its fiscal attractiveness. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi Canton Geneva has made the biggest jump in the annual Credit Suisse ranking of attractive business locations, moving up ten spots to sit just behind Zurich. According to the Credit Suisse location quality survey published on Tuesday, canton Zug, home to big multinationals like Glencore, took back its top spot...

The rapid testing will be done by health workers from nose or mouth swabs. Keystone / Denis Balibouse Swiss drug firm Roche says it is to launch a new Covid-19 antigen test before the end of the year, allowing faster, higher-volume testing. One of the most potent use cases could be at airports to ease the severe restrictions on air transport. “These fully automated systems can provide test results in 18 minutes for a single test, with a throughput of up to 300 tests...

Former Credit Suisse boss Tidjane Thiam apparently never felt at home in Switzerland. After losing a power struggle with Chairman Urs Rohner, he left the bank in February. © Keystone / Walter Bieri A recent story from the New York Times implied that the resignation of Ivory Coast-born Tidjane Thiam at the helm of Credit Suisse earlier this year had racist undertones, and he was the only Black CEO among the world’s biggest banks. How does the banking world –...