Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Another 37,000 coins featuring tennis star Roger Federer – the first living person to receive that honor – went on sale on Thursday, according to Swissmint. Also up for grabs is the “smallest gold coin in the world” inspired by Albert Einstein and a bimetallic coin featuring the European hare. “Roger Feder is probably Switzerland’s most successful individual sportsman, the world’s greatest tennis player and the perfect ambassador for Switzerland,” noted the...

Entrepreneurs are thriving in Switzerland, with a record number of companies launched in 2019 and unprecedented investment pumped into start-ups. Switzerland saw 44,482 companies founded last year, the highest number to date and a 3% increase on 2018, according to the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. Investments in start-ups also grew strongly in 2019, topping CHF2 billion ($2.06 billion) for the first time. In recent years innovation parks have multiplied to...

The Swiss financial sector accounted for roughly 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has banned the former chief executive officer of a Swiss bank from financial activities over a “serious case of insider trading”. FINMA also ordered the confiscation of CHF730,000 ($752,000) of “unlawfully generated profits” from the ex-CEO, whom FINMA did not name. The long-term bans were...

Switzerland’s vocational training system is one of the reasons for its top position in the index (Keystone) Switzerland continues to lead the world in talent competitiveness, having held the number one spot since the annual Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) was launched in 2013. According to the 2020 indexexternal link, the three main reasons for Switzerland’s top position are the country’s high quality of life (interesting jobs, high salaries and good...

© Christian Heinz | Dreamstime.com A Swiss parliamentary commission, tasked with looking at the introduction of an environmental tax on flights departing from Switzerland, recently voted in favour a such a tax. A majority of 17 to 8 members voted in favour of the move. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 per passenger depending on flight distance and class. Passengers transiting through Switzerland would not pay the tax. Those travelling in private aircraft...

 © Michael Hiatt | Dreamstime.com Speaking to CNN Money, Markus Will, a senior economist at St. Gallen University, described Trump’s speech, in which he didn’t mention climate once, as a “contradiction to the values of Davos.” “It was a nationalistic, domestic, state of the union address from Davos rather than an improving of the state of the world speech which you should do in Davos”, he said, before adding, “you should disinvite him cordially for next year. He’s an...

Employees test jelly sweets in the laboratory of fragrances and flavours manufacurer Givaudan in Dübendorf in 2013. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) Nestlé, Givaudan, Panalpina and the Bern Cantonal Bank are among 179 companies given a top “A” rating in a global survey of transparency and action on climate change. On Monday, non-profit group Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)external link published its study of 8,000 companies worldwide. Only 2% of them made it onto the...

Neon appears to be aiming to be Switzerland’s answer to Revolut. (Neon) Swiss financial services company Neon says it will scrap card fees for customers shopping abroad to spearhead an ambitious drive to boost the number of clients to 250,000 in the next two years. The Zurich-based fintech company has laid down a challenge to foreign competitors, such as Revolut and N26, with its announcement. From Monday (January 20) customers will no longer have to pay a combined...

This year, as the WEF marks its 50th anniversary, a new urgency hangs over the Alpine town. (Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller) World leaders, chief executives, thinkers and celebrities are gathering in the Swiss mountain town of Davos for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. The event, which begins on Tuesday, has earned a reputation for high-altitude pontificating as the global elite gather to pitch their takes on topics picked by WEF founder Klaus Schwab, from...

Air Force One carrying US President Donald Trump, landing at Zurich airport in 2018, the last time he came to WEF (Keystone / Walter Bieri) American secret service agents have been granted access to Zurich Airport’s control tower as they prepare for US President Donald Trump’s visit to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the NZZ am Sonntag reports. WEFexternal link, which starts in the Swiss mountain resort on Monday, attracts wealthy, high-profile business and...