Tag Archives: Business

Not up to scratch, says FINMA of CS’s efforts to run a clean operation (© KEYSTONE / WALTER BIERI) Swiss bank Credit Suisse has failed to meet its obligations to prevent money laundering, says Switzerland’s financial supervisory authority. According to FINMA, the Financial Market Supervisory Authorityexternal link, the misconduct is related to the alleged corruption cases around FIFA, world football’s governing body,...

In a ranking of 170 media brands, Facebook had the lowest credibility. The Swiss appear to be switching off from social media, according to a survey, which suggests that the image of Facebook and Twitter have taken a hit. Some 55% of the Swiss population used social media in 2017, down 4% compared with a year earlier, a media brand study for the consultancy firm Publicomexternal link revealed. The report, published on...

The Swiss economics minister is in Beijing to meet his Chinese counterparts. It is unfair that whilst Chinese investors can buy Swiss companies the reverse is not possible, says economics minister Johann Schneider-Ammann, who is currently on a visit to China. In an interview with the “Schweiz am Wochenende” newspaper, he reiterated his view that this must be rectified. For infrastructure like electricity supply and...

Many older people who lose their jobs are struggling in Switzerland. Despite recent government optimism about the Swiss economy, older people who lose their jobs are struggling, reports Sunday newspaper “Le Matin Dimanche”. The paper cites figures from the Bern University of Applied Sciences that found only 13.9 per cent of unemployed people over 50 in Switzerland find a stable job again. Many end up on social...

Melting glaciers can provide a windfall of water for hydropower plants, such as Zervreila (pictured) in Graubünden. Although rapidly melting glaciers provide a temporary boost to Swiss hydropower production, their disappearance does not pose a threat, finds a study from the University of Lausanne. Forecasts predict that glacier melt will slow down between 2070 and 2090. But “fears of a threat to power generation are...

The president of pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced job cuts in an interview with Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. Jörg Reinhardt said the Basel-based company wants to streamline its production sites and administration worldwide. - Click to enlarge The president of pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced job cuts in an interview with Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. Jörg Reinhardt said the Basel-based...

The cantonal banks are 24 Swiss government-owned commercial banks. (Keystone) Swiss finance minister Ueli Maurer says state-guaranteed cantonal banks are an obstacle in ongoing negotiations with the European Union. “This point still needs to be clarified before a framework agreement can be accepted,” the minister is quoted as saying in an interview published on Saturday. The European Union does not permit the kind of...

When multinationals google “the best Swiss canton” in future, the results may show markedly different results. (Keystone) Proposed changes to Switzerland’s tax rules could have a dramatic effect on which cantons remain attractive locations for multinational companies in future. As a result, factors such as the cost of premises or concentration of high tech facilities, will play a greater role, according to UBS bank....

End of the runway: financial problems have forced SkyWork to wind down. (© KEYSTONE / PETER KLAUNZER) The last SkyWork flight landed in Bern Airport on Wednesday night, as ongoing financial difficulties forced the company to declare itself bankrupt. Some 11,000 passengers are affected. The company, founded in 1983, cited the failure of negotiations with a potential partner to pull the company from recurring funding...

Martin Hess, SBA chief economist, outlines the conditions for Swiss banks. (Keystone) Swiss banks are withstanding the pressure of ongoing headwinds, but real progress continues to be stalled by political and economic roadblocks, the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) said on Thursday. Releasing its annual Banking Barometer, which measures the performance of the sector in 2017, the SBA found that aggregate profits (profits...