Tag Archives: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

High losses had been expected, but the figure is higher than economists had predicted. © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has taken a hit of CHF95.2 billion ($100 billion) for the first half of this year, mainly owing to losses on foreign currency positions. After a loss of CHF32.8 billion in the first quarter, another CHF62.4 billion was added in the second quarter. High losses had been expected, but the figure is higher than economists had...

Swiss pharma sales to Russia hit an all time high in June this year. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Swiss exports of medicines to Russia have risen sharply since the start of the Ukraine war, according to an analysis by business news agency AWP. This analysis, based on government foreign trade data, shows Swiss pharma generated record revenue of over CHF330 million ($342 million) in June alone from sales to Russia. Russia has been subject to numerous sanctions owing to...

SWISS flights to Germany are affected by the one-day strike at Lufthansa on Wednesday. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Swiss national carrier is cancelling around a dozen flights to Germany on Wednesday, owing to a one-day strike by ground staff at its German parent company Lufthansa. Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has cancelled flights from Geneva to Frankfurt (three return flights) and Zurich to Düsseldorf (also three return flights), airline spokeswoman Karin...

© Keystone / Walter Bieri Swiss retail banks make the most profit per customer among wealthy nations, according to an international ranking. The Swiss banks are followed at a respectable distance by their Australian and Belgian competitors, according to a study by consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) published on Wednesday. According to the study, Swiss retail banks will have earned an average of CHF546 ($559) per customer by 2021, compared with CHF299 for...

The reservoir with the elegant dam near Château-d’Oex is one of more than 50 artificial lakes in the Swiss Alps. Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella Switzerland could face electricity and gas shortages in winter despite sufficient supplies at the moment and considerable reserves, experts say. “We’re witnessing the first global energy crisis, with Europe at the centre,” the head of the Federal Office of Energy, Benoît Revaz, told a news conference on Wednesday. He said...

Julius Bär has been charging negative interest on Swiss franc, euro and Danish krona deposits. Keystone / Ennio Leanza Wealth manager Julius Bär has joined a growing list of Swiss banks that will no longer pass on the cost of negative interest rates to clients. The decision to scrap charges from August 1 on Swiss francs, euros and Danish kroner follows an interest rate rise by the European Central Bank this week and a similar move by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in...

A deal allowing Ukraine to resume its grain exports is urgently needed. The harvest season starts in July, but storage facilities are still full of last winter’s grain. Meanwhile in Somalia, which used to import all its wheat from Ukraine and Russia, hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of famine. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved United Nations and Turkey-led negotiations with Moscow and Kyiv to allow Ukrainian grain exports to resume...

Two thirds of the illegal shipments of medical products contained potency preparations for men. Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella Switzerland’s customs and border security authorities have seized more than 230 packages of illegally imported counterfeit medical products. The confiscations were conducted during a week-long international campaign in June against the illegal online trade in fake medicines. Two-thirds of the illegal shipments contained counterfeit erectile...

The Ukraine war has heightened volatility and reduced client appetite for risk. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The ongoing war in Ukraine has been partly blamed for losses at a prominent Swiss asset management company. The entire Swiss industry suffered a dip in fortunes in the first six months of year as extreme market volatility reduced the value of investments and caused clients to play safe with their money. Independent asset manager GAM Group warns that it expects to...

Since the start of the Ukraine war, Russia has clamped down on critical media and opposition inside the country. Sputnik Russia has threatened Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung with legal action after it published critical reports and a caricature of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a letter to NZZ editor Eric Gujer published on Saturday on the Russian Embassy in Switzerland’s press service website, it said it was “outraged” by publication of an “insulting...