Tag Archives: Business

swissinfo.ch Swiss citizens look set to vote on a people’s initiative to try to ensure their economy never becomes cashless. What do the campaigners behind the idea really want? More from this author Cash is widely used in Switzerland, much more so than in many other countries. In Sweden, only 9% of people still pay with notes and coins; in the United States the figure is around 60%. Meanwhile, 97% of people in Switzerland still keep some cash at home or...

Widespread analysis of what went wrong at Credit Suisse converges on a constant theme: an international bank that lost touch with its Swiss roots, led by people who put profits ahead of prudence. This has resulted in massive financial losses and a restructuring drive that will see 9,000 staff lose their jobs. Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Körner is leading a major restructuring of the bank. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer What happened? Credit Suisse has lurched from...

Demonstrators in Lausanne on February 9: Vaud is the third-largest (by population) of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. © Keystone/ Valentin Flauraud Around 3,500 public sector workers in the western Swiss canton of Vaud took part in a strike on Thursday. They are calling for wage indexation to keep up with inflation and rising living costs. Thursday’s demonstration in Lausanne is the fourth in two months by public sector workers. It comes after an even bigger gathering in...

Won’t go to waste: but plastic in Switzerland is not always so well recycled. Keystone / Urs Flueeler The Federal Audit Office says there needs to be more transparency around the various fees and taxes which fund Switzerland’s recycling system. The auditors wrote on Wednesday that CHF176 million ($192 million) in recycling taxes and fees were collected in 2019: these included state-organised prepaid disposal fees on glass and batteries, and voluntary, private...

SWISS will again operate regular flights to Shanghai from March 3 and boost services to Hong Kong. © Keystone/Christian Beutler Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) says it will resume passenger flights to the Chinese city of Shanghai early next month following an easing of travel restrictions. In a first step, the national flag carrier will schedule one flight a week before increasing the frequency to three flights a week in April. SWISS stopped operating...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) booked a CHF132 billion ($143 billion) loss in 2022 and suspended profit-sharing transfers to the Confederation and cantons. What does that mean exactly? And how does the SNB fare in international comparison? Last year, the SNB lost more money than ever before. And it is not alone: central banks around the world also recorded heavy losses. As a consequence, money from central banks in many countries ceased to flow to governments. Have...

Swiss journalists say they have less freedom to report on the financial sector than counterparts in other countries. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Swiss journalists could in future receive leaked bank data without fear of criminal prosecution if a parliamentary motion is incorporated in banking secrecy legislation. On Thursday the government supported a proposal from the House of Representatives that the media would be exempt from prosecution if their reporting is...

Reuters The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will make a loss of CHF132 billion in 2022, and distribution of profits to the confederation and the cantons will be suspended. What does this mean for the stability of the SNB and what would happen if it faces another large loss? The SNB still has money. However, not quite as much as at the beginning of last year. Because of last year’s loss, its equity capital has fallen from CHF198 billion to CHF66 billion. In the event of...

It’s that time again when the US government has to prepare itself for an internal battle to raise the debt ceiling so it can meet various obligations. This is a merry dance that has been danced before, as we mention below. For sure, every time it happens fewer and fewer people are convinced of the trustworthiness of the US dollar. This combined with the recent announcement by Saudi Arabia of its willingness to consider trading in currencies other than the US Dollar...

The crypto sector appears to be suffering an existential crisis, shedding jobs, client funds and credibility. Switzerland looks to have escaped with a glancing blow – if industry data is anything to go by. The collapse of the Terra stablecoin and the FTX crypto exchange last year sent negative ripples across the globe. Big name crypto firms such as the Coinbase and Huobi exchanges, Silvergate bank and Genesis are laying off large chunks of staff. That’s to avoid the...