Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Sixth formers use Lego Mindstorms to make robots at a school in Glarus, Switzerland, on May 17, 2018. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Alpine nation has slipped one place to sixth in the “World Digital Competitiveness ranking” compiled by the Lausanne-based IMD business school. The United States and Singapore came first and second in the ranking, which analyses how well economies employ digital technologies. They were followed by Denmark, Sweden and Hong Kong, IMD said...

The data comes just days after Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan signalled that even larger interventions may be on the cards in the future. Keystone / Anthony Anex The Swiss National Bank (SNB) spent CHF90 billion ($97.8 billion) in the first half of the year, more than it has spent in the past three years combined, to hold down artificially the value of the wealthy alpine state’s currency. In official data released for the first time on Wednesday, the...

Greenland’s glaciers are melting at an alarming rate and the Alpine Initiative says Manor’s “Berg” water contributes to global warming. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. A mineral water from Greenland glaciers sold by Swiss retail chain Manor has been dubbed worst climate offender in this year’s “Devil’s Stone” award by the Swiss Alpine Initiative. Every year the Alpine Initiative asks people to vote on three candidates for the most absurd...

Zurich, 30 September 2020 – The UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index, a yearly study by UBS Global Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Office, indicates bubble risk or a significant overvaluation of housing markets in half of all evaluated cities. Prices increased on average, with Europe showing most cities at risk The Eurozone stands out as the region with the most overheated housing markets. Munich and Frankfurt top the ranking. Paris and Amsterdam...

Millions of litres of radioactively contaminated water are stored in water tanks at the tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima, in Japan. Keystone / Kimimasa Mayama Researchers in Zurich have developed a filter membrane made of whey proteins and activated carbon that can clean contaminated radioactive water. They hope to deploy their invention at the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Four years ago, scientists at the federal...

A childhood pastime – playing the Maggi aviator board game. swissinfo.ch Switzerland is the home of many major multinational companies, many of which date back to the late 19th century, the high tide of colonialism. But is there a link between the rise of great Swiss corporate names and European colonial expansion? The issue turns out to be a complex one. I found a board game a few weeks ago in the apartment that belonged to my grandmother. I vaguely remembered it...

© Abdul Sami Haqqani | Dreamstime.com Today, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) added 18 regions to its compulsory quarantine list. Anyone arriving in Switzerland from these place from 28 September 2020 will be required by law to quarantine for 10 days. From 14 September 2020, Switzerland shifted from a system of listing entire countries to one which lists whole countries and regions within them. New additions to the list from 28 September 2020...

Zurich Airport is reportedly looking into pre-boarding tests Keystone German airline Lufthansa will introduce rapid tests before certain flights to detect Covid-19 in passengers. If the trial, set to start in October, is successful, it will be expanded to Lufthansa subsidiaries Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and Edelweiss. The tests are being developed by the Basel-based pharmaceutical company Roche, according to reports in the NZZ am Sonntag and...

A worker stacks goods at a warehouse belonging to the pharmaceutical industry service provider Alloga in Burgdorf, canton Bern, on March 4, 2020. © Keystone / Christian Beutler Government economists say the impact of the pandemic in Switzerland is slightly less severe than previously feared. This is partly thanks to the mix of industries in Switzerland and the decision to rapidly lift coronavirus restrictions, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs...

© Arturs Budkevics | Dreamstime.com As winter approaches the federal and cantonal governments of Switzerland are hoping a larger number of people than normal will get the seasonal flu jab as the spread of Covid-19 continues, according to RTS. In a regular year Switzerland orders 1.2 million doses of the seasonal flu vaccine. These doses have already been ordered and will be delivered in late September and early October. This year the federal government is aiming for...