Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Vehicles imported into Switzerland are subject to a 4% tax, with the exception of electric vehicles that attract none. This week, the government decided to end the exception from the beginning of next year. Photo by Hyundai Motor Group on Pexels.comThe import tax, along with fuel and other taxes, is used to build and maintain roads. Given current federal budget pressures, and the logic of charging all road users, the federal government has decided to tax the...

Zurich has less-demanding requirements over the transparency of company audits © Keystone / Walter Bieri Chinese companies are flocking to Switzerland to raise capital after being discouraged from listing in the US by geopolitical tensions and in Britain by tougher audit standards. Nine Chinese companies floated in Zurich last year, raising $3.2 billion (CHF3 billion) in the European country, according to SIX, the operator of the Swiss stock market. That far...

© Keystone / Michael Buholzer One of Credit Suisse’s longest-standing shareholders has sold its entire stake in the scandal-hit Swiss bank after losing patience with its strategy amid persistent losses and a client exodus. US investment manager Harris Associates, whose deputy chair and chief investment officer David Herro was for years among the Swiss bank’s most prominent supporters, owned as much as 10 per cent of Credit Suisse’s stock last year. Harris started...

For journalists and historian, Swiss banking data remains behind locked doors. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Swiss banking secrecy used to be the bane of foreign countries trying to catch tax cheats. Now it’s the turn of Swiss journalists and historians to cry foul of laws that can hinder their work. When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch’s business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in...

The number of new foreign workers moving to Switzerland on long-term contracts increased by a quarter last year compared to 2021, according to official statistics. In 2022, 166,919 foreign workers immigrated to Switzerland, comprising 76,286 people (+15%) for temporary work and 90,633 workers (+26%) on longer contracts. + Switzerland’s allure for wealthy foreigners The increase in longer-term stays was driven by job vacancies mainly in the industrial, construction...

Age-related macular degeneration is an eye disease that can blur your central vision. It happens when aging causes damage to the macula — the part of the eye that controls sharp, straight-ahead vision. (Symbolic photo) Keystone / Martin Ruetschi An appeals court in France has overturned a record fine imposed by the French competition authority against the Swiss pharmaceutical companies Novartis and Roche. The verdict was announced by a court in Paris on Thursday....

Coal piled up at a thermal power plant in Berlin. Glencore says it benefited from large coal price moves last year. Keystone / Clemens Bilan Profits at Swiss mining and trading group Glencore last year were boosted by the explosion in commodity prices. Thanks to a more than threefold increase in net profit, the Zug-based giant wants to double its shareholders’ remuneration, in particular through a share buyback. “The unprecedented developments in global energy...

The government wants to boost relations with ASEAN countries (Archive photo from 2017 with Swiss foreign minister and representatives from ASEAN countries). © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer The Swiss government has for the first time adopted a regional strategy for the Asia-Pacific region for the period 2023-2026. The move takes into account the growing importance of the southeast Asia region and complements the government’s China strategy, according to a government...

Under pressure: Credit Suisse headquarters in Zurich. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer Disappointing results leave no more room for accidents as the bank carries out restructuring. It has been a year since Axel Lehmann took over as chair of accident-prone Credit Suisse and about half that since Ulrich Körner became chief executive. But they have yet to stem the problems at Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, caused by a succession of historic scandals and mismanaged...

Nicolas Gisin in his lab at the University of Geneva in 2013. The president of the new Swiss Quantum Commission is also co-founder of ID Quantique, which markets quantum systems for encrypting computer messages. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi Quantum physics is moving out of the lab and into the marketplace. Switzerland, a strong researcher in this field, doesn’t want to miss out and is launching its own quantum initiative. For now, though, it will have to make do...