Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

This week, 118,555 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, down 25% from the 157,683 cases reported a week earlier. The reported number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised also fell 20% from 492 to 392 across the week. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.comCovid-19 deaths were also down. Across the week, 61 Covid-19 related deaths were reported, a figure 13% lower than the 70 reported the week before. In addition, the number of Covid-19 patients in...

Glencore says that the market is deteriorating for lead smelters with no active mine. (Image of Sudbury nickel smelter.) Courtesy of Glencore. Glencore expects to resolve bribery and corruption investigations in the UK, US and Brazil this year and has set aside $1.5 billion (CHF1.4 billion) to cover potential fines and costs.   Neil Hume, Financial Times News of the provision came as the London-listed miner and commodity trader announced record earnings on the...

This old farm building in the Valais has been converted into a holiday home. Hallenbarter AG Many people dream of owning a mountain home, especially in Switzerland, where the Alps are within easy reach of major towns and cities. But few come on the market and, when they do, they can be quite expensive. Trained as a picture journalist at the MAZ media school in Lucerne. Since 2000 she has worked as a picture editor in various media concerns and as a freelancer....

[caption id="attachment_858222" align="alignleft" width="400"] © Szabolcs Stieber | Dreamstime.com[/caption] Switzerland was ranked tenth in the latest 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by Transparency International this week. The index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, with results ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). This year’s...

© Stocksolutions | Dreamstime.com The price of wood pellets in Switzerland is up 20% over the last 12 months, according to Patrick Schmutz, a wood pellet expert, reports RTS. According toSchmutz, the price rise is due to a cold 12 months, especially last spring, and the success of wood pellet heating. More and more pellet-based heating systems are being installed in Switzerland. In addition, global demand for wood has been high, particularly in the US where the...

[caption id="attachment_858217" align="alignleft" width="400"] Exporting, or perhaps importing, on the Rhine in Basel. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally[/caption] Swiss exports climbed to record levels in 2021, with chemicals and pharma driving much of the growth. Watches, especially luxury ones, also had a good year. Exports came to a total value of CHF259.5 billion ($284.5 billion) in 2021, marking a 15.2% increase on the pandemic year 2020 and a 7% increase on...

© Sudok1 | Dreamstime.com On 25 January 2022, a study published by Zurich University Hospital found that 97% of Covid-19 ICU patients since the start of Switzerland’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign were unvaccinated. The study evaluated hospital data from 964 Covid-19 patients who were treated in intensive care units in Swiss hospitals in the nine months since the start of Switzerland’s vaccination campaign. Of these only 33 (3%) were vaccinated with one of the two...

© Zsv3207 | Dreamstime.com This week, Switzerland’s government set a date for the introduction of more generous tax deductions for childcare. From 1 January 2023, parents will be able to deduct up to CHF 25,000 per child in childcare costs from their annual taxable income, reported RTS. Currently, the maximum is CHF 10,100 per child. The change is the result of a new law that was created in autumn last year. Only external expenses incurred for the care of children...

© Bekirugur Bekir Ugur | Dreamstime.com In October 2021, Switzerland’s government created a law requiring online streaming services to pay money into a Swiss cinema fund. Under the law, from 2024, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ will need to pay a levy equivalent to 4% of their Swiss turnover into the fund, which would be spent on producing Swiss films. A group of young politicians objecting to the 4% surcharge on streaming services decided to organise...

Olivier Santi, managing director of Dakar’s Outarde Bank, says there is no doubt that Swiss experience is a “label of quality” within the banking world. ©SWI/Pauline Turuban After working in finance in Geneva for 15 years, Olivier Santi emigrated to Dakar in 2017 to head a new bank founded by one of Senegal’s richest businessmen. His career to date demonstrates both the central role Switzerland plays in the finance and raw materials sectors, and the vitality of West...