Tag Archives: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

Keystone / Jens Buettner The Swiss company behind the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 has received a four-month extension to try to repay its debts. The Zug cantonal court in Switzerland, where Nord Stream 2 AG is headquartered, granted the company a second extension, according to an entry in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce published on Thursday. The firm has until January 10, 2023 to turn things around and avoid bankruptcy proceedings. In May, the court...

Switzerland has returned as a popular destination for foreigners looking for work after two years of Covid-19 restrictions. Over 75,000 people have immigrated to Switzerland so far in 2022, driven largely by an economic boom and unemployment levels falling to a 20-year low. Alexander Thoele began working for SWI swissinfo.ch in 2002. He is of German and Brazilian origin. He was born in Rio de Janeiro and completed studies in journalism and computer science in...

“You cannot say we have passed the zenith and now it is certainly heading lower,” Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan told a Finanz and Wirtschaft financial conference on Thursday. © Keystone / Anthony Anex The president of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), Thomas Jordan, says the inflation outlook is more uncertain than normal and it is premature to say prices have peaked. “You cannot say we have passed the zenith and now it is certainly heading lower,”...

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally Switzerland has a social security network that covers risks in many areas – work, health, family and old age. The Swiss social security system cannot be easily compared with that found in other countries, as it comprises a variety of insurance schemes with very different mechanisms. Its funding is characterised by a relatively low use of tax revenues, a focus on individual pension plans, and the influence of private institutions....

Consumer spending continued to rise in the spring, but may dampen as the price of goods picks up. © Keystone / Christian Beutler Switzerland’s economic output slowed to 0.3% between April and the end of June, compared to the first quarter of the year. The manufacturing, construction, trade and financial services sectors all showed signs of weakening in the face of energy shortages and rising inflation. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) reported a...

Car sharing firm Mobility is providing 50 Honda electric cars for this innovative project. © Keystone / Christian Beutler An innovative pilot project testing the potential of electric cars to stabilise the power grid has been launched in Switzerland. For one year, the power of 50 electric vehicles will be fed back into the grid from their batteries when they are not running, car-sharing company Mobility which leads the project said on Tuesday. The “V2X Switzerland”...

The company has faced a string of scandals and mounting legal costs. It is currently undergoing what it calls a transition phase with a new CEO. © Keystone / Melanie Duchene Embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse is planning to cut around 10% of its workforce as part of a major cost cutting drive, according to several media reports. Reuters reported on Thursday that someone with direct knowledge of the matter indicated that 5,000 positions are expected to be slashed,...

© 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...