Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

By 2017, 40.5% of those married in 1987 were divorced, compared to 33.2% of those married in 1977 and 24.7% of those married in 1967. ©-Bacho12345-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge Divorce in Switzerland starts early. 9.4% of those married in 1987 were divorced after five years, as were 8.1% of those married in 1977 and 4.8% of those who tied the knot in 1967. However, rates of divorce among the more recently...

In 2017, 15,906 couples in Switzerland got divorced after an average of 15.1 years together. The majority (56%) split before their 15th anniversary. © Bacho12345 | Dreamstime.com In 2017, 40.5% of those married for more than 30 years were divorced, compared to 40.3% in 2016. Breaking up after 30 years of marriage has been rising since records began in 1920 and has risen from 24.7% to 40.5% over the last 20 years. However, while the rate of divorce after 30 years of marriage has risen, the...

More bad news for Swiss household budgets was released today for residents of all but three Swiss cantons. ©-Hai-Huy-Ton-That-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge Health insurance premiums in 2019 will be on average 1.2% higher than in 2018 across Switzerland as a whole. However, within this figure there are significant cantonal variations. Hardest hit will be residents of Valais (+3.6%) and Neuchâtel (+3.1%), while...

More bad news for Swiss household budgets was released today for residents of all but three Swiss cantons. © Hai Huy Ton That _ Dreamstime.com Health insurance premiums in 2019 will be on average 1.2% higher than in 2018 across Switzerland as a whole. However, within this figure there are significant cantonal variations. Hardest hit will be residents of Valais (+3.6%) and Neuchâtel (+3.1%), while those of Appenzell Inherrhoden (-1.5%), Uri (-1.5%) and Zug (+0%) will be spared a shock induced...

Recent government figures show a 13% rise in the number of vacant homes over the 12 months to June 2018. The number has more than doubled since 2009 when there were close to 35,000 vacant dwellings. By 1 June 2018, there were more than 72,000, a vacancy rate of 1.62%1 This might sound like good news for home buyers and renters, however it depends on where you hope to live. The municipality of Horw_© Laurentiu Iordache _...

Recent government figures show a 13% rise in the number of vacant homes over the 12 months to June 2018. The number has more than doubled since 2009 when there were close to 35,000 vacant dwellings. By 1 June 2018, there were more than 72,000, a vacancy rate of 1.62%1 This might sound like good news for home buyers and renters, however it depends on where you hope to live. Drilling down to a regional level, home-shortage hot spots begin to appear. Greater Geneva (0.6%) and Lausanne (0.7%)...

After listening to the culprit claim she had committed the fraud to help her family, the judge sentenced her to deportation, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. © Edward Olive | Dreamstime.com For the judge, the woman’s latest act of fraud, claiming unemployment benefits while working, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This was the woman’s third welfare fraud offense. She would have been deported earlier if she hadn’t been pregnant. Previously, her husband had been deported but...

Ticket machines once replaced many of the people selling ticket from counters. Now the internet and mobile phones threatens ticket machines. © Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.com As more and more people use dash past ticket machines with an electronic train ticket in their pocket, Swiss Rail is looking at phasing out some machines according to various newspapers including 20 Minutes. The 150 machines selling fewer than 20 tickets a day have been singled out, reported Keystone-ATS. These...

Switzerland’s agricultural sector costs the country CHF 19.9 billion while contributing only CHF 3.4 billion, concludes a study published by the think tank Avenir Suisse. © Denis Linine | Dreamstime.com The CHF 19.9 billion cost is made up of tax breaks and direct federal and cantonal payments to the sector (4.9b), the cost of artificially inflated consumer prices due to import restrictions (4.6b), environmental damage (7.3b), and the cost to export businesses (3.1b) from agricultural trade...

The idea is simple. Keep costs low by flying point-to-point, thus avoiding costly hubs, use one model of aircraft to contain pilot and aircraft maintenance costs, and charge passengers for everything from coffee to checked-in luggage. Southwest Airlines was first to launch the model and copycats like EasyJet followed. First transatlantic flight of an Airbus A321LR © Airbus Now a new, yet to be named, airline plans to offer direct flights from Basel-Mulhouse to cities in North America, with...