Tag Archives: Business

Tailbacks to enter the Gotthard tunnel going south on Saturday reached a record since 1999, and drivers are being advised to use alternative routes. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Traffic queues of up to 28 kilometres were reported at the northern entrance to the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday, owing to a long weekend and the closure of another major Alpine road tunnel because of a fire. The San Bernadino...

Swiss plans to reduce freight road traffic are set to miss targets. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge An increasing number of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are being pulled over for motoring offences at border crossings. Customs officials have reported 83% more violations in the last eight years, rising from 17,997 on 2010 to 32,967 last year. A further 24,464 fines and cautions were issued against HGVs according...

Making its way to a Swiss home near you: an Amazon package The government has defended the deal struck that will see Swiss Post delivering packages for retail giant Amazon. There is no question of preferential treatment, it said. The response by the government came in response to a parliamentary question raised by politician Olivier Feller (Liberal-Radical), querying the deal that will see Swiss Post delivering Amazon...

Schneider-Ammann told reporters in Bern that he would be happy if EFTA-Switzerland secure a free trade deal with Mercosur six months after the EU (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Switzerland is close to concluding a free trade agreement with the four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay – within the framework of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Swiss Economics Minister Johann...

Swiss wealth managers are still struggling to attract new assets, according to Deloitte (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Switzerland remains the world’s largest wealth management centre for international assets, but the air is getting thinner at the top and other financial hubs are gaining ground, according to a global report. A total of $1.84 trillion (CHF1.85 billion) of international assets were managed in...

On Wednesday, some 40 trade union members from as far as Australia and Africa protested the Swiss-based commodities giant’s treatment of workers. The demonstration took place on the occasion of Glencore’s annual general assembly in Zug, and included protestors from Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Canada, Australia, as well as other countries, according to a statementexternal link (in French) by Swiss...

A Starbucks coffee shop in Lucerne, Switzerland (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The Swiss food giant Nestlé is set to pay Starbucks $7.1 billion (CHF7.1 billion) to market the American firm’s products outside Starbucks’ coffee shops. Under the alliance deal, announced on Monday, Starbucks and Nestlé have agreed to work together on marketing strategies and innovation. “This transaction is a significant step for...

A worker checks the organic fresh food selection at a Coop supermarket in Wetzikon in 2007 (Keystone) - Click to enlarge One in ten fresh food items sold in Switzerland last year was organic, according to the Federal Office for Agriculture. The market share of organic products rose from 4.6% in 2007 to 9% in 2017, while the share of fresh organic food sold in Switzerland rose from just under 6% to 11.5% over...

French rail unions have called a series of on-off strikes to the end of June to protest the government's reform plans. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Rail services between Switzerland and France are limited on Saturday, owing to a strike by French workers against railway reforms. Most high-speed train (TGV) services have been cancelled, with the exception of six return journeys between Paris and Zurich (2),...

More than a quarter of tenants in Switzerland are unhappy with their accommodation, but are unable to move – especially for financial reasons. A survey published by online price comparison portal comparis.chexternal link on Thursday has found that 26% of Swiss tenants consider their housing situation to be unsatisfactory. Of the 4,000 tenants surveyed, 67% said that they could not afford to move to a better place....