Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Shady business: state-owned PostBus pocketed millions in federal and cantonal subsidies (Keystone) Switzerland’s reputation as a place to do business took a serious hit last year following various scandals, from corporate bank fraud to illegal subsidies. The Swiss Economy Reputation Index 2018external link, published on Tuesday by Basel-based consultancy Commslab and the fög research institute at the University of...

Despite its vast reserves of oil, Venezuela has to import fuel. (Keystone) Switzerland’s attorney general has opened an investigation into a corruption case involving Venezuela, according to a weekend report published by Schweiz am Wochenende. The Latin American nation is in the grips of a major political, economic and social crisis. According to the prosecutor’s statement to the weekly, proceedings were initiated at...

Switzerland’s trains are renowned for their punctuality, but do they deserve this reputation? (Christian Beutler / Keystone) Trains operated by the state-owned Swiss national railway operator are less punctual than company statistics make believe. A private websiteexternal link, launched in 2017 and compiled from data provided by the transport ministry, found that on average one in six intercity trains – or just under...

A press conference to announce the results of the auction was held on Friday (© KEYSTONE / ANTHONY ANEX) The Swiss government has raised CHF380 million ($379 million) from auctioning fifth-generation (5G) mobile radio frequencies, it said on Friday. The three Swiss main providers, Swisscom, Sunrise Communications and privately owned Salt, each received part of the spectrum after newcomer Dense Air dropped out of the...

Left to right: board chair Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation Urs Berger (Mobiliar), foundation managing director Peter Staehli, Johann Schneider-Ammann, Didier Denat (CS), Lukas Gähwiler (UBS) Start-ups and innovative small and medium-sized businesses are to be encouraged to stay in Switzerland thanks to a new fund of up to CHF500 million ($499 million). The initiative, from Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundationexternal link...

Sunrise had 3.4 million customers in 2017, including 2.4 million mobile phone customers (© KEYSTONE / THOMAS DELLEY) Switzerland’s Sunrise Communications Group has confirmed it is in talks to buy Liberty Global’s cable operator UPC Switzerland. The company said in a statementexternal link on Tuesday: “Sunrise confirms it is in discussions with Liberty Global regarding a possible acquisition of UPC Schweiz. Sunrise will...

The SKS consumer group says there are enough rules regarding unsolicited phone calls in Switzerland, but they are not properly enforced (© KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY) According to a consumer group, over 18 million unsolicited telephone calls are made every month in Switzerland. The SKS consumer group for German-speaking regionsexternal link has addressed the problem of unsolicited phone calls in a letter sent to a Swiss...

Overnight stays in Swiss Alpine resorts have increased for four consecutive seasons since winter 2016/17, with summer destinations doing better than winter destinations. Lucerne topped an international study of 145 resorts. Overnights in the Swiss Alpine region grew by 5% in 2017 and 3.3% in 2018, according to a study, BAK Topindexexternal link, by the BAK Economics research institute. The Topindex looks at the...

Bicycle couriers have been offered protection against lower-paid competitors. (© KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER) Swiss bicycle couriers have signed a ‘Europe-first’ collective bargaining agreement deal aimed at protecting them from cheaper rivals, such as the food delivery service Uber Eats. The courier employer’s association Swissmessengerlogistics (SML) negotiated the contract with the trade union Syndicomexternal link...

© Charlieaja | Dreamstime.com A recent survey by the Federal Statistical Office shows the overall median pay gap in Switzerland’s private sector shrunk to 12% in 2016, down from 12.5% in 2014 and 15.6% in 2010. In 2016, median pay for women was CHF 6,011 francs a month and median pay for men was CHF 6,830. The gap rose to 18.54% for the highest management positions. Here median pay for men was CHF 10,878 and CHF 8,861...