Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

© Spacedrone808 | Dreamstime.com The unemployment rate in Switzerland rose to 3.3% in April 2020, up from 2.9% the month before, a rise of nearly 14%. By 30 April 2020, there were 153,413 people registered as unemployed at Switzerland’s regional placement offices. Young workers were the hardest hit. Unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 rose by 18.1% compared to March 2020 and by 61.3% compared to April 2019. By the end of April 2020 there were 17,191 people in this...

The number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by nearly two-thirds in March as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the country. Hotels recorded just 1.26 million overnight stays compared to 3.4 million in the same month last year. The dramatic downturn was expected due to the government-imposed lockdown and border restrictions. The figures, released on Thursday, show that Swiss residents had also shunned hotels in their own country, having been urged to stay at...

© Syda Productions | Dreamstime.com Restaurants in Switzerland will be able to reopen on Monday 11 May 2020. But they’ll need to follow strict rules that were published this week. The seven pages of detailed restaurant rules will make dining in the time of Covid-19 quite different to what we’re accustomed to. Rules put together by the industry and Switzerland’s federal government will require diners to wash their hands as they enter restaurants and provide their...

Prosecuting authorities resorted to telecommunications surveillance in about 1.5% of all criminal cases. (© Keystone ) The annual report on Swiss surveillance operations in 2019 mentions the use of state-controlled monitoring software, known as GovWare, for the first time since it was authorised in 2018. The criminal prosecution authorities and the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) reported the use of spyware for the first time with 12 such completed interventions...

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...