Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Currently, across EU and EFTA countries, unemployment benefits are paid by the country of residence. Last week, the EU announced plans to make the country of employment pay unemployment benefits instead. ©-Meryll-_-Dreamstime.com-1 - Click to enlarge This change could be costly for Swiss cantons with large numbers of cross-border workers, workers who live in the EU but work in Switzerland. In March 2018, there were...

© Andrii Chernykh | Dreamstime.com The 2017, a wealth report, published by Capgemini, shows there were 389,000 US$ millionaires in Switzerland, around 4.5% of the population, or close to 1 in 20. If children under the age of 15 are excluded, Switzerland’s millionaire percentage rises to 7.3%. In addition, these figures include only investable wealth, which does not include the value of family homes. If this wealth was...

Tools downed temporarily at a construction site earlier this year, there is a mood for strikes, unions say Unions on Friday threatened warning strikes for the building sector this autumn if the current retirement age of 60 for construction workers is dropped. At a press conference on Friday, Switzerland’s biggest trade union Uniaexternal link, and the union Synaexternal link called for early retirement, as well as more...

Cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, have been criticised by the Bank for International Settlements for having a series of perceived technical flaws (Keystone) Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology they run on are currently far too primitive for the Swiss central bank to consider issuing a digital franc, says board director Thomas Moser. Moser’s comments on Thursday reflected the previously stated stance taken by...

Cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, have been criticised by the Bank for International Settlements for having a series of perceived technical flaws (Keystone) Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology they run on are currently far too primitive for the Swiss central bank to consider issuing a digital franc, says board director Thomas Moser. Moser’s comments on Thursday reflected the previously stated stance taken by...

UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti received CHF14.2 million in compensation for 2017, up from CHF13.7 million in 2016. (Keystone) The gap between the top-paid and least-paid employees of the 39 largest companies in Switzerland remains high, despite a 2013 vote against excessive executive pay. According to Switzerland’s largest trade union, Unia, in 2017 the average ratio between top and bottom in these companies was...

Switzerland was the most expensive in Europe for food and non-alcoholic drinks in 2017 (+68% more than the EU average) (Keystone) Switzerland has been ranked the second-most expensive European country behind Iceland for consumer goods, which are 59% higher than the European Union average. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are particularly pricey. For the third year in a row, Switzerland was the most expensive in Europe for...

The number of people who applied for a Swiss driving licence dropped by 2% last year, with applications from 18- to 24-year-olds down 3%. Some 5.8 million people owned a driving licence for cars in 2017, the Federal Roads Officeexternal link said on Tuesday. This 1% increase was due not only to new drivers but also to foreign licences being exchanged for Swiss ones and natural population growth, it explained. + Why...

In Switzerland, much in life revolves around the canton. Cantons have their own health, social and education systems, parliaments and tax rates. Federal government, based in Bern, is a layer that sits over the top, bringing the cantons together as Switzerland. For some cantons, nationhood has a cost. For others it means extra money. Every year, based on a collection of complicated formulae, the federal government...

Swiss Federal Railways workers releasing balloons and demands in Zurich. Some 1,400 rail workers took to the streets across the country on Monday to protest a package of cuts and reforms planned by the Swiss Federal Railways. The demonstrations, called for by the Union for public transport workers (SEV), were spread across several Swiss cities: Geneva, Lausanne, Olten, Bern, and Zurich, where the largest event brought...