Tag Archives: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

Electricity consumption in Switzerland remained at normal levels last month despite a government appeal for households and industry to make savings. On August 31, ministers urged the population to voluntarily reduce consumption ahead of anticipated shortages this winter. Recommended measures included turning heating down and switching off lights. Both the Tages Anzeiger and Neue Zürcher Zeitung showed figures on Saturday that suggests this plea has so far fallen...

The Swiss franc has hit an all-time high against the euro. Even though it trades at an unprecedented CHF0.95 to the euro, the strong franc no longer poses a threat to the Swiss economy. What has changed in the last ten years? More from this author On September 6, 2011, at 10am, the then president of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) Philipp Hildebrand made an important announcement to the media: “With immediate effect, the SNB will no longer tolerate a...

Landlords and tenants are opposing government calls to reduce household heating to 19 degrees Celsius, warning it might spark a flurry of lawsuits. The Swiss Real Estate Association, which represents landlords, warns that turning down the heating in rented accommodation could result in a legal backlash. The 19 degree heating target was a specific measure contained in a voluntary energy saving campaign launched by the government in August. But legal experts point...

Not one hacker managed to penetrate the Swiss Post’s e-voting system during a security test, according to Swiss Post. The system withstood 60,000 attacks. Some 3,400 hackers probed the system to find security gaps, Swiss Post said on Wednesday. No findings of medium, major or critical severity were received. One finding had a severity level of low. Swiss Post said this did not affect any safety-relevant aspects but was fixed. In the so-called intrusion test,...

The biggest two Swiss Banks have each been fined $200 million (CHF199 million) as part of a large-scale US investigation into the failure to preserve electronic communications. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said in separate statements on Tuesday that they had fined 16 financial firms a combined total of $1.8 billion after staff had discussed deals on their personal devices and apps. Beyond the two...

Parliament wants to deal a fairer set of cards to Swiss pensioners. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Pensions in Switzerland should in future be topped up to fully account for the rising cost of consumer goods, parliament has agreed. Parliament on Monday voted to modify the way payment adjustments are calculated from 2023. Currently, top ups take both inflation and rising wages into account. From the start of next year at the latest, payments should focus purely on...

Troubled Swiss bank Credit Suisse has sought to quieten rampant speculation about its upcoming strategic revamp following leaks to the media and concerns of its staff. The bank is due to announce restructuring details when it announces its third quarter earnings results on October 27. On Monday Credit Suisse took the unusual move of issuing a statement ahead of its planned strategic review update next month, mentioning a “high level of media and market...

While the pension reform, which raises the retirement age for women from 64 to 65, was narrowly accepted in Sunday’s vote, the Swiss Abroad were more strongly in favour. The majority of voting expats were also in favour of abolishing factory farming and withholding tax unlike resident citizens. My specialty is telling stories, and decoding what happens in Switzerland and the world from accumulated data and statistics. An expatriate in Switzerland for several...

Voters in Switzerland’s biggest canton have overwhelmingly approved a new article to promote a cleaner and more efficient use of resources. Just under 90% of Zurich citizens on Sunday said yes to the idea, which the cantonal government proposed as an alternative to an initiative by the young Green Party. All political parties were in favour of the idea. The canton’s constitution will therefore be adapted to include an article calling on authorities to create...

Voters have thrown out a decision by parliament to scrap withholding tax on interest from Swiss bonds. Final results show 52% of voters coming out against the reform, which was aimed at boosting investment in Switzerland as well as strengthening the country’s competitiveness and its finance industry. Cédric Wermuth, co-president of the left-wing Social Democratic Party which helped force the referendum, said voters had understood that the plan by the government and...