Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Increasing use of digital technology can unlock many opportunities but also present new threats to countries’ vital health and energy systems and infrastructure. (Keystone) In the wake of several major cyber security attacks, the government has released minimum standards for companies and organisations to help protect the country’s critical energy, food, and water infrastructure. Some critics question whether a minimum...

A referendum calling for four weeks of paternity leave is currently working it’s way through the system. ©-Aleandr-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge This week, a government commission gave its verdict on the vote, recommending two weeks of paternity leave instead of the four set out in the referendum’s text. Their commission’s main concerns are centred on the impact on companies and the cost of funding it. A recent...

Willingness to relocate has declined worldwide, according to the Boston Consulting company. (Keystone) Switzerland has lost some of its appeal for foreign labour, according to a survey by an American multinational management consulting firm. Compared with 2014, Switzerland finished in eighth place – down three positions. The authors of the Decoding Global Talent reportexternal link say the drop is due to a loss of...

The survey includes small arms and light weapons, accessories as well as ammunition. (Keystone) Switzerland has come out top in a ranking about the world’s most transparent small arms exporters. With a score of 21.75 out of a possible 25 points, Switzerland came first ahead of the Netherlands, Britain, Italy and Serbia, according to the 2018 Transparency Barometerexternal link, published on Wednesday. Switzerland has...

The imposing facade of a Credit Suisse building in Oerlikon, Zurich. (Keystone) The Swiss Credit Suisse bank froze some CHF5 billion ($5 billion) of assets linked to Russia earlier this year in an effort to toe the line with US sanctions levied against Moscow. The bank froze the funds in the second quarter of 2018, according to Reuters, in response to sanctions introduced by Washington in April. The sanctions were...

A shortage of skilled labour continues to affect the Swiss job market, according to the latest surveyexternal link by employment agency Manpower. Among reasons given for difficulties in finding the right candidates, 30% of employers surveyed cited a lack of technical skills, 29% a lack of candidates, 17% blamed a lack of professional experience and 14% cited missing interpersonal skills. Among the most sought-after...

Swiss health insurance companies are aiming to change laws to make it easier for them to unilaterally end complementary insurance contracts, according to the newspaper Le Matin. © Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge Health insurers have managed to get this possibility included in a project aimed at revising Switzerland’s laws on insurance contracts, set for discussion by a parliamentary committee this...

Harvest figures are expected to droop somewhat after the 2018 drought. Bread wheat, barley, and rapeseed harvests look set to be considerably lower in Switzerland in 2018 compared to previous years, due to the prolonged heat and drought-like conditions this summer. The figures, collected by the Swiss granum organization, were based on data supplied by 29 cereal collection centres, covering 35% of the Swiss barley...

Coal-fired power plants are key contributors to global warming. Professors and researchers from Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) have joined the chorus of civil society actorsexternal link calling for the Swiss state pension fund to divest from fossil fuels. In a letterexternal link to Publica, one of the largest pension funds in Switzerland, 166 experts from ETH Zurich, including 128 professors,...

The Zürcher Kantonalbank agrees to pay $98.5 million as part of a settlement with US tax authorities after a seven-year investigation into the bank’s activities with US customers. The Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) has agreed to pay the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) $98.5 million (CHF97.7 million) to resolve a long-running investigation into its role in tax evasion by wealthy Americans using undeclared Swiss...