Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

By the end of May 2021, the percentage of Switzerland’s workforce registered as out of work had fallen to 3.1%, down from 3.3% in April 2021. © Rafael Ben Ari | Dreamstime.com The figures are based on those registered as unemployed at regional employment centres and exclude many of those that have been out of for more than two years and have exhausted their rights to collect unemployment benefits. Many measures of unemployment, such as the one recommended by the...

On 4 June 2021, Swissmedic, Switzerland’s drug approval authority, announced it was extending authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to 12-15 year olds. © Irina Zharkova | Dreamstime.com The vaccine, also known under the brand name Comirnaty®, has had temporary ordinary authorisation for use in Switzerland on people aged 16 or over since 19 December 2020. Swissmedic started looking at approving the vaccine for use on younger people on 7 May 2021 and reviewed...

As we move through time scientific research improves our understanding of the world. The resulting revelations often point to changes that could lead to progress. However, these changes are rarely painless. © Prot Tachapanit | Dreamstime.com Shifting away from the use of antibiotics on livestock and the agricultural use of pesticides are not small adjustments. They underpin current farming methods on many Swiss farms. And using these substances has clear short term...

Calm waters, but for how long? Zug is one Swiss canton that could come under pressure to raise corporate taxes Keystone / Alexandra Wey The decision by the leading industrial nations (G7) to support a global minimum tax of 15% for large corporations is not good news for Switzerland, according to Swiss economists. Certain cantons in particular would come under pressure. “The tax havens – often very small states – will suffer, but that’s also the goal,” Jan-Egbert...

The Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom) has again voiced concern about Switzerland’s ability to secure sufficient power supplies in the coming years. The majority of Switzerland’s electricity is produced by hydropower. © Keystone / Christian Beutler While there is no immediate danger of shortfalls in the Alpine state, the electricity watchdog said on Thursday that more should be done to ensure domestic energy security in the mid to long term. Switzerland is...

Business and human rights experts argue that Switzerland should seize the opportunity to require responsible sourcing of cobalt, an in-demand mineral whose risks to human rights are often overlooked. Cobalt must be included in Swiss Responsible business Legislation - Click to enlarge The government is holding consultations on a new law to hold companies accountable for the adverse impact of their operations on people after the Responsible Business Initiative failed...

A computer image of the planned underground logistics network. Cargo sous terrain Goods that are normally trucked on busy Swiss roads are a step closer to travelling underground on driverless vehicles after an ambitious cargo project got a first legislative go-ahead. Born in London, Simon is a multimedia journalist who has worked for www.swissinfo.ch since 2006. He speaks French, German and Spanish and covers the United Nations and other international...

On 23 December 2021, a 90-year old resident of Luzern, was the first person in Switzerland to be vaccinated against Covid-19. In the roughly 5 months since then, more than 3 million people in Switzerland have received at least one dose of vaccine, representing around 36% of the population. © Alexey Novikov | Dreamstime.com By 1 June 2021, 1.75 million (20% of the population) were fully vaccinated and a further 1.32 million (15% of the population) were partially...

Today, airplanes account for 2-3% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but their share has been growing rapidly and is expected to triple by 2050. © Keystone / Christian Beutler The Swiss aviation sector, which includes Swiss International Air Lines and Zurich Airport, has pledged to slash CO2 emissions and make flying net zero by 2050. On Tuesday, Zurich, Geneva and Basel airports, together with SWISS, Easyjet, and the umbrella organisation Swiss Business...

David Solo’s role in supply-chain firm Greensill’s pursuit of Swiss riches was pivotal Keystone / Steffen Schmidt In late 2014, David Solo lent A$12.2 million (CHF8.5 million) to a little-known supply-chain finance group with eye-catching claims. Greensill Capital, which was trying to muscle in on a corner of finance dominated for decades by banks, vowed to make “finance fairer” and declared that it would be “democratising capital”. The cheque was helpful, but the...