Tag Archives: 3.) Swiss Info

Best of neighbours: the HQs of UBS and Credit Suisse in Zurich. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) Switzerland’s two largest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, have asked shareholders to accept a delay of several months for half of their dividend payments this year. The move follows a request from the financial regulator to hold on to more cash during the coronavirus pandemic. Both banks now want to split the distribution of dividends, each worth hundreds of millions of francs,...

Workshops and studios for textile design, object design, jewellery design and graphic design are eligible for emergency funding (Keystone) People who work in the cultural sector in Switzerland can now apply for funds to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Swiss government last month adopted a package of measures totalling CHF280 million ($287 million). On Monday the Federal Office of Culture explainedexternal link how the money is to be divided up:...

On April 3, the Swiss government doubled its coronavirus emergency loan scheme to CHF40 billion after being flooded by requests for help by businesses. The Swiss government should scale up its efforts to help businesses overcome the coronavirus crisis, according to the director of the KOF Swiss Economic Instituteexternal link. Transport companies are also calling for more assistance. “If many companies are over-indebted after the crisis, they will not invest for...

An empty restaurant in Lucerne on March 20 (Keystone) The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed the economic outlook for Switzerland within a very short period of time, with Swiss CFOs more pessimistic than ever before. Neither during the euro crisis nor during the Swiss franc shock were chief financial officers as negative about economic prospects as they are today, according to the latest half-yearly surveyexternal link published on Monday by consultants...

Hospitals are battling to cope with coronavirus, and now they are under financial pressure as well. (Keystone) Cash-strapped Swiss hospitals, in the front line of the fight against coronavirus, are calling for financial help and an end to the ban on non-emergency procedures which has sapped revenue, reports the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. It quotes the director of Valais Hospital Hugo Burgener as saying “we need liquidity to pay salaries”, and writes that the...

Exports to China dropped by half in February compared to the year before.  (© Keystone / Peter Klaunzer) The closure of shops caused by the spread of the coronavirus worldwide will cost Swiss watch firms dear, but exports are expected to rebound next year. “The Swiss watch industry will experience the largest decline in the past 50 years,” says a study published by private bank Vontobel on Wednesday. The projections are based on the assumption that stores will be...

[embedded content] Production has been stepped up at a company in eastern Switzerland that makes breathing machines, as health services struggle to help a growing number of coronavirus patients. Switzerland is one of the countries most affected by the virus, with more than 17,800 positive tests and more than 488 deaths. There are 82 intensive care units, which have a total of 950-1,000 beds; around 850 of these are equipped with respirators. The army has around 100...

With less surgeries taking place, some doctors and healthcare professionals don’t have enough work. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) With the ban on non-emergency surgeries and other procedures, some hospitals and medical practices are applying for partial unemployment support for at least 20,000 healthcare workers. On Thursday, the German language paper TagesAnzeigeexternal linkr reported that due to the social distancing restrictions and ban on non-urgent medical...

Swiss commodity traders are hard at work so that people can continue to buy basic goods.  (Keystone) The strategic importance of commodities and experience in handling fluctuations has helped commodity firms weather the coronavirus storm better than most. swissinfo.ch caught up with Florence Schurch, general secretary of The Swiss Trading and Shipping Association (STSA), to find out how the commodities sector is handling the crisis and what it means for Switzerland....

[embedded content] While most businesses have temporarily shut down, others are starting up or finding new ways to reach the public in their homes. Some Swiss farm shops, like Thierry Miauton’sexternal link in Oleyres, canton Fribourg, are delivering local produce to people’s doorsteps, so the clients don’t have to risk possible contact with virus-contaminated shoppers in supermarkets. The well-stocked farm shop can hardly keep up with demand and has taken on...