Tag Archives: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

This old farm building in the Valais has been converted into a holiday home. Hallenbarter AG Many people dream of owning a mountain home, especially in Switzerland, where the Alps are within easy reach of major towns and cities. But few come on the market and, when they do, they can be quite expensive. Trained as a picture journalist at the MAZ media school in Lucerne. Since 2000 she has worked as a picture editor in various media concerns and as a freelancer....

[caption id="attachment_858217" align="alignleft" width="400"] Exporting, or perhaps importing, on the Rhine in Basel. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally[/caption] Swiss exports climbed to record levels in 2021, with chemicals and pharma driving much of the growth. Watches, especially luxury ones, also had a good year. Exports came to a total value of CHF259.5 billion ($284.5 billion) in 2021, marking a 15.2% increase on the pandemic year 2020 and a 7% increase on...

Olivier Santi, managing director of Dakar’s Outarde Bank, says there is no doubt that Swiss experience is a “label of quality” within the banking world. ©SWI/Pauline Turuban After working in finance in Geneva for 15 years, Olivier Santi emigrated to Dakar in 2017 to head a new bank founded by one of Senegal’s richest businessmen. His career to date demonstrates both the central role Switzerland plays in the finance and raw materials sectors, and the vitality of West...

Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch Despite the demise of many antiquarian bookshops in Switzerland, the trade is alive and well in the Alpine country. Dealers in Geneva, Basel and Zurich give a glimpse into this exclusive business, where a gentleman’s code still rules. Thomas Kern was born in Switzerland in 1965. Trained as a photographer in Zürich, he started working as a photojournalist in 1989. He was a founder of the Swiss photographers agency Lookat Photos in 1990....

Philomena Colatrella has been the chief executive officer of CSS Insurance since 2016. Switzerland has the second-lowest score for female CEOs, the study found.​​​​​​ Fabian Biasio The proportion of women in leading positions at major European companies rose slightly last year but progress is slow, according to a new study that compares 19 countries. Switzerland was ranked near the bottom of the 2021 “Gender Diversity Index”. Female representation at board level in...

All-time record for Swiss Post: it processed more than 200 million parcels last year. Keystone/Laurent Gillieron The state-owned Swiss Post processed a record number of parcels last year, but the downward letter mail continued. Parcel deliveries increased by 9.6% to 202 million in 2021, according to the state-owned company. “This rise is due to the boom in online retail, which has been driven in part by Covid restrictions and working from home,” it said on Tuesday....

Game changer? Baillod’s tourbillon watch has already made waves in the watch community Baillod Entrepreneur Thomas Baillod has just launched a “Swiss Made” tourbillon watch for under CHF5,000 ($5,450), a marketing coup which shows that mid-range watches still have a place in a watch industry increasingly focused on ultra-luxury. Patented in 1801 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the tourbillon still fascinates lovers of fine mechanical watchmaking. The mechanism, a small...

Credit: Zoonar Gmbh / Alamy Stock Photo The number of new electric cars sold in Switzerland continues to accelerate – even faster than predicted, according to the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) car association. 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 years, I have also worked as a multimedia journalist for the Swiss national broadcaster....

Convicted fraudster Dieter Behring standing outside a Swiss courthouse during his trial in 2016. © Keystone / Ti-press / Pablo Gianinazzi Administrators clearing up a CHF800 million ($877 million) collapsed pyramid scheme have managed to recover just CHF12.7 million from one of Switzerland’s largest fraud cases. Financier Dieter Behring ripped off 1,700 investors between 1998 and 2004External link with a scam that promised oversized financial returns. Instead, it...

Many company executives are attracted by the scenery, high paying jobs and low tax rates offered in Switzerland. © Keystone / Christian Beutler Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has hinted that cantons might lower income taxes for well-heeled executives as the country braces for the impact of a minimum corporate tax rate. Speaking to the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, Maurer said cantons are discussing the idea of reducing upper rates for high earners. As in many...