Tag Archives: Business & Economy

On 22 March 2023, the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court, decided that Uber drivers are employees and the companies that employ them must deduct and pay social security taxes, according to a press release. The decision concerns drivers for UberX, UberBlack, UberVan and UberPop working for Uber B.V. and Rasier Operations B.V. and the money paid to them in 2014. Photo by Airam Dato-on on Pexels.comIn 2019, Zurich’s compensation fund decided drivers working for Uber Switzerland...

On 22 October 2023, Switzerland will hold its four-yearly parliamentary federal election. A poll published on 23 March 2023 suggests the biggest loser, compared to the last vote in 2019, could be the Green Party. Photo by Louis on Pexels.comThe Swiss People’s Party (26.6%) and Socialist Party (17.8%), which continued to lead the poll, both progressed by 1 percentage point compared to 2019, while the PLR/FDP (15.6%) in third place gained 0.5 percentage points, reported RTS. The biggest...

On 23 March 2023, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) lifted its policy rate by 50 basis points (half a percent) to 1.50%. The SNB said that it was tightening its monetary policy further to counter the renewed increase ininflationary pressure. In addition it said that it could not rule out additional rises as part of its focus on ensuring price stability over the medium term. Inflation has risen again since the beginning of the year, and stood at 3.4% in February, above the range the SNB...

On 16 March 2023, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) published updated economic forecasts for the year. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comA team at SECO focused on business cycles largely reaffirmed its previous assessment. Growth for the Swiss economy is projected to come in significantly below average at 1.1% in 2023, rising to 1.5% in 2024. The energy situation in Europe has eased in recent months. However, inflationary pressure remains high internationally....

It’s been a tough week for share and bond owners of Switzerland’s second largest bank. Shares in Credit Suisse Group started the week at CHF 2.46 and ended the week at CHF 1.86, a fall of 24%. However, at one point they were down 37% at CHF 1.56. Credit Suisse © Yulan | Dreamstime.comOn 15 March 2023, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and regulator FINMA published a statement asserting that the problems experienced by certain banks in the US do not pose a direct risk of contagion for the...

Toblerone, the iconic Swiss chocolate brand, will soon be forced to remove the Matterhorn mountain peak logo from its branding, reported RTS. Photo by Safwan C K on Pexels.comThe Toblerone chocolate brand is owned by the US company Mondelez, which plans to move production of the product from Switzerland to Slovakia this year. Strict Swiss rules introduced in 2017 restrict the use of national symbols to promote milk-based products that are not made exclusively in Switzerland. Slightly...

On 8 March 2023, a case was brought against the boss and three employees of the Zurich office of Gazprombank in a Zurich court. The four face charges of alleged money laundering that may be linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin, reported RTS. © Leigh_1 | Dreamstime.comThe case has garnered international interest as it may provide insights into how Putin hides the huge fortune it is claimed he has. The public prosecutor in Zurich alleges that between 2014 and 2016 four bankers,...

In Europe, Gruyère, the name of a cheese and a small picturesque Swiss town (Gruyères), is legally reserved for specific cheeses from parts of Switzerland and France made to strict recipes. However, in the US it is also applied loosely to a type of cheese that differs from the Swiss and French originals. European producers have tried to end the confusion by legally reserving the name for their product. But on 3 March 2023, a US court of appeal upheld a lower court ruling in favour of...

On 15 February 2023, Switzerland’s federal government published finalised figures showing it spent CHF 4.3 billion more than it received in 2022. Excluding extraordinary expenses related to the Covid pandemic left an underlying operating deficit of CHF 1.9 billion, the first shortfall of this kind since 2005. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s federal government is required to operate under a system known as a debt brake. This requires it to achieve a breakeven budget over a...

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published on 31 January 2023, shows that most countries are failing to stop corruption. The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). © Ngampol Thongsai | Dreamstime.comThe global average remains unchanged for over a decade at just 43 out of 100. More than two-thirds of countries score below 50, while 26 countries...