Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

At the end of March 2018, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), held 8.93 million A class shares compared to Mark Zuckerberg’s holding of 8.91 million, according to the newspaper Handelszeitung. © Bumbleedee | Dreamstime.com However, most of Zuckerberg’s shares are B class shares, a class of shares which is not quoted and give the founder control of the business. Zuckerberg holds 393.9 million of these. Together his A class and B class shares give him a 13.8% stake in the business, valued at around...

Comparing the most recent statistics on Swiss consumer inflation to those in 1993 reveals a steep drop in the percentage of spending allocated to food. © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge When statisticians calculate consumer price rises they look at the prices of a standard basket of goods. In 1993, food and non-alcoholic beverages made up 14.3% of the value of this standard basket. By 2018, the...

Comparing the most recent statistics on Swiss consumer inflation to those in 1993 reveals a steep drop in the percentage of spending allocated to food. © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com When statisticians calculate consumer price rises they look at the prices of a standard basket of goods. In 1993, food and non-alcoholic beverages made up 14.3% of the value of this standard basket. By 2018, the percentage had fallen to 10.4%, a 27% drop. The chart below compares the percentages spent on food...

When Geneva’s finances make the news it is typically bad. At the end of 2016, the canton had debts of CHF 12.5 billion, equal to 153% of its income. In January 2018, the rating agency Standard and Poors gave Geneva a negative outlook citing risks related to the canton’s poorly funded public pension scheme. © Sam74100 | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge This time the news is good. The CHF 80 million budget deficit...

When Geneva’s finances make the news it is typically bad. At the end of 2016, the canton had debts of CHF 12.5 billion, equal to 153% of its income. In January 2018, the rating agency Standard and Poors gave Geneva a negative outlook citing risks related to the canton’s poorly funded public pension scheme. © Sam74100 | Dreamstime.com This time the news is good. The CHF 80 million budget deficit predicted for 2017 turned into a CHF 69 million surplus, CHF 149 million better. So what happened?...

A boost to investment and net exports from the tailwind of strong external demand, together with faster expansion of household spending owing to rising employment, are forecast to lift GDP growth to around 2¼ percent in 2018, said the IMF in a statement referring to Switzerland issued on 26 March 2018. © Tibor Ritter | Dreamstime.com On the downside the IMF said: rising international trade tensions could impact Switzerland’s externally-oriented economy. More uncertain geopolitics could...

The Swiss company RUAG made the news last week when investigators were called in to look at information relating to the sale of ammunition. But what is this company? RUAG Ammotec stand at Berlin Airshow 2016 © Sergey Kohl _ Dreamstime.com According to RTS, the investigation revealed contracts for the sale of ammunition to Russia that had not been properly declared, RUAG triggered the investigation itself when a whistle blower reported irregularities and has filed a criminal complaint. The...

In Switzerland, married couples file one combined tax return. Because tax rates rise in line with income it means that second incomes of married couples are taxed at a higher rate than those of single cohabitating ones. © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge Those campaigning to have this changed argue that it is unfair and acts as a disincentive for second income earners. In 1984, Switzerland’s Federal...

Last week, State Councillor Peter Hegglin (PDC/CVP) withdrew his motion demanding Switzerland’s retirement age automatically rise with life expectancy. Retirement-Switzerland_©-Famveldman Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge He argues that Switzerland urgently needs to find a way to ensure the financial health of its pension system and raising the retirement age is the main way to do this. Across most of the OECD...

In Switzerland, married couples file one combined tax return. Because tax rates rise in line with income it means that second incomes of married couples are taxed at a higher rate than those of single cohabitating ones. © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.com Those campaigning to have this changed argue that it is unfair and acts as a disincentive for second income earners. In 1984, Switzerland’s Federal Court ruled that this unequal treatment was unconstitutional when the disparity reached a...