Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally High energy prices have forced a steel mill in Switzerland to prepare for short-time working to avoid layoffs. The Stahl Gerlafingen steel plant in the canton of Solothurn has been granted permission to resort to short-time working from October to December as a preventive measure. The mill consumes as much electricity as 70,000 households and is expecting a bill of CHF45 million for October, writes the NZZ am Sonntag. This is more than the...

Sygnum bank is extending its reach into Web3 and decentralised services by launching in the Decentraland metaverse. Sygnum Swiss digital assets bank Sygnum will open a branch in the metaverse to reach more clients seeking blockchain-based financial services. Sygnum was one of two banks that were awarded licenses in 2019 to connect traditional finance with cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. Blockchain and other Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) databases provide a...

Solar energy systems supplied 6.5% of the electricity required in Switzerland in the first half of 2022 © Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott Fears of an electricity shortage in Switzerland appear to have had a positive effect on the expansion of solar energy. The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) expects the market to grow by around 50% in 2022. New photovoltaic construction in Switzerland rose by 43% to 683 megawatts in 2021, revealed SFOE statistics on solar...

The strong franc only goes so far in protecting Switzerland from inflation. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The cost of goods and services in Switzerland rose 3.5% in August compared to the same month last year, but the inflation rate still remains below that of many other countries. Prices for imported goods leapt 8.6%, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), while domestic products went up 1.8%. Rising energy and fuel costs are the main drivers of inflation –...

Turning down heating in households could help stave off energy rationing, the government says. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Swiss government has appealed to the population to save on household energy ahead of anticipated electricity and gas shortages this winter. On Wednesday, the government launched a campaign entitled “Energy is scare, let’s not waste it” along with the formation of an Energy Saving Alliance. The plans are backed by cantons, business associations,...

Refined gold bars have their origins monitored, but purchase of raw materials for smelting can slip through the net. Keystone / Martin Ruetschi Swiss legislation is lagging behind in the fight against money laundering, and “seldom anticipates developments at international level”, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) has warned. SFAO audits have “revealed weaknesses and, hence, financial and reputational risks for the Swiss authorities,” the office said in a report...

Health doesn’t come cheap: and the Swiss are worried about it. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Healthcare costs, the pension system and climate change are the top three burning issues for the Swiss, according to a survey published by the Tamedia group. Covid has slipped out of sight and mind. The cost of healthcare was most pressing for over two-thirds (67%) of the 26,000 respondents, while pensions and the climate were cited by 60% and 56% respectively, wrote Tamedia...

Swiss sockets: currently waiting nervously for the winter ahead. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The head of the Swiss Federal Electricity Commission (Elcom) reckons a winter energy crisis is virtually unavoidable. However, he said the cause of the problem – war in Ukraine – was also difficult to predict. Speaking to SRF public radio on Saturday, Werner Luginbühl said the “exorbitant rise in electricity prices” was already putting certain Swiss businesses into existential...

In Switzerland, almost 1.7 million people were aged 65 or older at the end of 2021, a figure that makes up 19% of the population, according to data published on 28 August 2022. Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com In 2021, one woman in five and one man in six was aged over 64, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Switzerland’s dependency ratio, which is the percentage of the population over 64 divided by the working age population1, reached 31.1% in 2021,...

MOB – GoldenPass The GoldenPass Express (GPX) panoramic train, which will link Montreux to Interlaken without any station changes, will make its debut on December 11. The train will link three popular tourist destinations: Montreux, Gstaad and Interlaken, Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway Company (MOB) said in a statement on Thursday. The journey will take three hours and 15 minutes and passengers can choose between three classes (First, Second and Prestige). The...