Tag Archives: 3.) Swiss Info

Swiss companies that receive state bailouts during the coronavirus pandemic will still be allowed to pay dividends to shareholders. A divided parliament eventually rejected calls to ban the billions that are expected to be paid out by firms this year. During a hotly debated session on Thursday, the House of Representatives initially backed a proposal to prevent companies issuing dividends if they receive taxpayer money to cope with the pandemic. But the Senate...

Is this what the new normal looks like for business? (Keystone / Alessandro Crinari) “Our analysis of what the biggest global companies in Switzerland are up to. This week: the new normal for business, luxury watches, and biotech dilemmas.” Switzerland is easing up on the lockdown but what the new normal looks like for big companies is still a work in progress. Last week, the Swiss government announced it was taking its foot off the brakesexternal link and re-opening...

Shut for business: a restaurant in Bern.  (Keystone / Peter Klaunzer) Most Swiss students rely on part-time jobs during their studies, but the shutting of restaurants, bars, cinemas and gyms during the coronavirus pandemic has led to many of them losing a source of income. Around three quarters of students have a part-time job during their studies, with around half of them working on average two days a week, according to the Federal Statistical...

Children walk along the road from Kolwezi to Musonoi  where there are numerous copper mines with huge tailings piles. (Courtesy of Meinrad Schade – Brot für alle/Fastenopfer) Swiss cobalt traders Glencore and Trafigura deal very differently with small-scale miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many of whom are children. Eight kilograms of cobalt are needed for every electric car battery. More than 70% of the increasingly sought-after metal is mined in...

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) have asked governments to increase air capacity for postal services. A 95% decrease in passenger flights coupled with an almost 30% increase in online purchasing is putting pressure on postal services delivering international mail, the UPU and IATA said in a statement on Monday. They warned that air capacity for postal services is insufficient to meet demand. Maintaining...

Through a blood sample, the test can detect antibodies to the new coronavirus, which could signal a person may have already been infected. (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency approval for use of the serological test developed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, the company announced on Sunday. The test is designed to determine whether a person has been exposed to the new...

Maurer (left) has publicly voiced concern over the costs caused the economic lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Keystone/Peter Klaunzer) Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer wants the country’s central bank to contribute to the reduction of the debt caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “I suggest the Swiss National Bank spends the money from an annual surplus to reduce coronavirus-related debts,” he told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper on Wednesday. The central...

Swiss International Air Lines is a subsidiary of German group Lufthansa. (Keystone / Ennio Leanza) The Swiss aviation sector, including the airlines SWISS and Edelweiss, is set to receive financial aid of almost CHF1.9 billion to help it through the liquidity crisis caused by Covid-19. Some CHF1.275 billion ($1.31 billion) is directly for the two airlines, while up to CHF600 million will be for other companies vital to the functioning of the sector, the government...

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, but motor fuel has grown increasingly scarce in the past year due to US sanctions aimed at ousting President Nicolas Maduro (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Several Swiss companies and banks have found themselves in the line of fire as the United States ramps up pressure on the Venezuelan government. Washington has sanctioned numerous top officials for money laundering and drug...

Some of around 600 cows climb the Glattalp last year, watched by spectators (Keystone) The traditional driving of cows up to mountain pastures for the summer will still take place this year in Appenzell, northeastern Switzerland, despite the coronavirus pandemic. However, the processions will not be publicised so as not to attract tourists and spectators. From the beginning of May to mid-June, farmers march hundreds of thousands of cows from their valley farms to...