Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, CEO and vice-chair of Ems Chemie, is one of five leaders of top Swiss firms. © Keystone / Walter Bieri The proportion of women in Swiss company boardrooms and management ranks continues to rise, according to an annual survey of the largest employers in both private and public sectors. The share of management positions held by women increased from 10% in 2019 to 13% last year, says the latest edition of the Schilling ReportExternal link...

Zurich/Basel, 5 March 2021 – The Annual Report 2020 provides comprehensive and detailed information on the firm, its strategy, business, governance and compensation, financial performance and risk, treasury and capital management, as well as on the regulatory and operating environment for the 2020 financial year. It presents the fully audited results for the year ending 31 December 2020. UBS’s net profit attributable to shareholders for 2020 was USD 6,557 million...

The Japanese robot “Pepper”, which Lexi is based on, is used in schools, hotels and businesses. © Keystone / Urs Flueeler Covid-19 has accelerated the transition to online teaching, raising questions about the role of robots in classrooms. Switzerland is rolling out its own robot learning programs, but it’s still a long way off before they will replace teachers. “Hi everyone, I’m Lexi”, a humanoid robot greets a full house at the University of St Gallen. Sabine...

© Nikiforov Oleg | Dreamstime.com The economic impact of the Covid-​19 pandemic has hit low-income households far harder than those on high incomes, according to a study published by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich. Infection rates rise with income More people in the higher income range reported being infected with Covid-19 than those in lower income groups. Among those with incomes below CHF 4,000, 4% said they had tested positive and a further 8%...

Hildebrand had to concede defeat having failed to generate enough support for his candidacy. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer Former Swiss National Bank (SNB) chairman, Philipp Hildebrand, has pulled out of the race to become the next secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Hildebrand announced that he had withdrawn his candidacy on Twitter on Thursday evening. “It was a privilege and an honour to have been Switzerland’s...

© Tanya Keisha | Dreamstime.com In 2020, the number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by 40% to 23.7 million, a fall of 15.8 million nights compared to 2019. The fall, driven by Covid-19, is the largest fall in overnight stays in Switzerland since the end of the 1950s, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. Plummeting hotel stays were driven mainly by a large slump in foreign visitors. Hotel nights spent by Swiss tourists dropped by only 8.6%...

Swiss President Guy Parmelin (right) and Health Minister Alain Berset at Wednesday’s press conference to confirm the relaxation measures on Wednesday Keystone / Peter Klaunzer Is the government showing some backbone or being cowardly by keeping to its gradual pandemic reopening plans? The Swiss media can’t agree. For the German-speaking Neue Zürcher ZeitungExternal link broadsheet, the government – which confirmed its measures on Wednesday – is simply being...

Off-piste in Klosters, canton Graubünden. © Keystone / Christian Beutler The head of the Switzerland Tourism organisation reckons the decision to open ski resorts in the country this winter has – so far – proven to be a good one. “There were no big [virus] outbreaks, no ski resort became a hotspot, there was no major reputational damage for Switzerland – none of these fears materialised,” said Martin Nydegger in an interview with the CH-Media group on Tuesday....

Will cash machines soon be a thing of the past? © Keystone / Christian Beutler Cash has lost its appeal among the Swiss population as the coronavirus pandemic led more people to pay by bank card, mobile app or online, a recent survey has found. The survey by financial services website moneyland.ch found that for the first time, cash is no longer people’s preferred method of payment. “Moneyland.ch expects that cash will continue to lose in importance,” said...

A restaurant that has been shut in Geneva Keystone / Martial Trezzini Several cantons have called for restaurants to be re-opened a month earlier than the official nationwide plan presented by the government earlier this week. Canton Graubünden wants restaurants to open their terraces from March 1. The canton has done a lot to fight the pandemic with its mass testing pilot programme, its officials argue. “In the end the government will have to give some...