Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis listen to the debate in the House of Representatives on Monday (Keystone) Switzerland should only make another billion-franc “cohesion” payment to the European Union if the EU doesn’t discriminate against Switzerland, parliament has agreed. The House of Representatives on Monday approved the CHF1.3 billion ($1.3 billion) that will help...

Sunrise is working in Switzerland with Chinese tech giant Huawei on the new generation of “5G” mobile Internet connectivity. (Keystone) The US has expressed concern over the use of Chinese technology in Switzerland, suggesting it may be used for espionage, reports the Sonntagszeitung newspaper. Sonntagszeitung cited the Swiss foreign ministryexternal link as saying that the US embassy in Bern had conducted “an exchange...

Sunrise is working in Switzerland with Chinese tech giant Huawei on the new generation of “5G” mobile Internet connectivity. (Keystone) The US has expressed concern over the use of Chinese technology in Switzerland, suggesting it may be used for espionage, reports the Sonntagszeitung newspaper. Sonntagszeitung cited the Swiss foreign ministryexternal link as saying that the US embassy in Bern had conducted “an exchange...

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has temporarily suspended payments to a civil society platform on migration issues. Financial conflicts of interest and accusations of pro-migration bias are being investigated. On Thursday, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) confirmed that the Swiss Civil Society Platform on Migration and Developmentexternal link will not be receiving any further...

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has temporarily suspended payments to a civil society platform on migration issues. Financial conflicts of interest and accusations of pro-migration bias are being investigated. On Thursday, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) confirmed that the Swiss Civil Society Platform on Migration and Developmentexternal link will not be receiving any further...

© Valeriya Potapova | Dreamstime.com Today, Switzerland’s parliament decided to bring in a system of regular increases in the deductibles for basic compulsory Swiss health insurance, according to the newspaper Le Matin. However, a plan to raise the the minimum deductible to CHF 500 was rejected by a clear majority. Between 1996 and 2004, the minimum deductible went from CHF 150 to CHF 300. Higher deductibles up to a...

© Scanrail | Dreamstime.com Mercer’s 2019 livability ranking looks at 231 cities across the globe. Vienna comes top for the tenth year in a row, while Bagdad ranks last. Three Swiss cities are among the global top ten. Zurich is 2nd, Geneva 9th and Basel 10th. Bern, a fourth Swiss city, is not far behind in 14th place. No other Swiss cities were included in the survey so there is no way of knowing where Lausanne...

The Hong Kong SFC accused UBS of substandard due diligence and failure to address red flags. (Keystone) Swiss bank UBS has been fined HK$375 million (CHF48 million) for irregularities involving three IPOs it had help list on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2009. Its licence to sponsor IPOs in the city was also suspended for one year. On Thursday, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced the measures...

A ‘real’ cannabis plant, which remains illegal. It’s low-THC sibling is taxed. (Keystone / Alessandro Della Bella) The Federal Administrative Court has upheld a decision by Swiss customs to tax legal marijuana leaves to the same extent as tobacco. In its decision published on Wednesdayexternal link, the St Gallen court said that “fake” marijuana – i.e. cannabis containing less than 1% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – was...

Before 1956, Swiss Railways (SBB/CFF) offered third-class rail tickets in so-called ‘wooden class’ Swiss railway companies should introduce a third-class category for passengers on a budget, a report commissioned by the Federal Office of Transport has recommended. The NZZ am Sonntag newspaper said on Sunday that a recent federal government report, commissioned by an external expert group, had recommended introducing...