Tag Archives: Business & Economy

Even before high inflation hit people’s pockets many Swiss households were over extended. In 2020, almost one in six residents lived in a household with debt arrears, according to data released this week by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comThe most common overdue payments were taxes (7.5%), health insurance premiums (5.5%), phone bills (4.1%), utility bills (3.4%), credit cards and other loans (2.7%) and rent or mortgage payments (2.3%). In addition,...

In Switzerland, it is possible to pay delinquent debts with large sums of cash. Some criminals are using the loophole to launder money, reports Le Matin. Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.comSwiss broadcaster SRF investigated several official debt enforcement offices across Switzerland and found that large sums of cash were passing through some of them. In Geneva, CHF 24 million of cash passed through its cantonal offices des poursuites in 2021, some of it dirty, according to SRF. It...

This week, the Swiss franc rose to beyond parity with the euro as traders sought safe haven assets as concerns about risks to global growth grew. © Cameracraft8 | Dreamstime.comThe Euro-Swiss Franc pair fell below 1.00 franc per euro during the morning of 29 June 2022 and remained below 1.00 until the morning of 1 July 2022 when the value of a euro exceed that of a franc. The pair has not been this low since 2015. The rise has been driven by the franc’s haven status and the Swiss...

Ueli Maurer, Switzerland’s finance minister, is concerned about Switzerland’s finances after a recent round of decisions to substantially increase public spending. Swiss finance minister Ueli MaurerDuring June 2022, Switzerland’s parliament agreed to significant increases to spending on the army, healthcare and the environment. The situation is not sustainable Maurer told SRF. In June, parliament agreed to boost military spending by CHF 2 billion, raising it from CHF 5 to CHF 7 billion...

This week, a project to build an underground freight tunnel network stretching from Geneva to St Gallen, was given a start date of 1 August 2022 by the Federal Council, reported RTS. The Cargo sous terrain (CST) project will connect Switzerland’s key hubs starting in 2031. CST aims to take the strain off the road and railway networks, reduce the environmental impact of transport and improve the delivery of goods across the country. The project, which was launched in 2013, includes a...

Switzerland has four national languages but most of the population is fluent in only one of them. When politicians come together in Bern they generally speak in their home language assuming others present understand them, even if they cannot really speak the language spoken. This week, Pierre Nebel, a reporter at RTS, explored the level of French comprehension among non-French speakers in the Federal Palace. © William87 | Dreamstime.comThe most widely spoken language in Switzerland is...

This week, Switzerland’s upper house rejected proposals to cut the tax on fuel to counteract the impact of sharp price rises, reported RTS. Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.comNeighbours France, Germany, Italy and Austria have all cut the tax on fuel. But Switzerland hasn’t. The Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) has been pushing for one, arguing that its justified by the high financial burden of high fuel prices on commuters, middle class families, rural residents and businesses. However,...

On 16 June 2022, the Swiss supermarket Migros announced that its members had voted in favour of maintaining a ban on the sale of alcohol in its stores, restaurants and takeaway outlets across all 10 of its regional cooperatives. © Adriana Stampfl | Dreamstime.comWith record voter participation of more than 630,000 members (29%) – members were offered free chocolate for voting – the result was clear. 80% of voters in the Aare and Zurich regions voted to keep the alcohol ban. Basel (76%),...

On 16 June 2022, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised markets with a 50 basis point rise to its policy rate. The move marks the first time Switzerland’s central bank has raised rates since 2007. SNB Governing Board – Fritz Zurbruegg, Thomas Jordan, Andréa Maechle – © Schweizerische NationalbankAimed at taming inflation, the announcement led to a 2% jump in value of the Swiss franc against the Euro to 1.02 CHF to EUR in morning trading with technicals pointing towards further...

On 15 June 2022, Swiss airspace was closed after a computer malfunction. © Nui7711 | Dreamstime.comAt 6:30 am the Swiss air navigation service provider Skyguide reported a technical malfunction and announced the closure of Swiss airspace for safety reasons. Two hours later at 8:30 am Skyguide reported that the technical malfunction had been resolved. The outage affected several thousand passengers who were forced to wait in Geneva and Zurich, while incoming flights were rerouted to...