Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

© Marekusz | Dreamstime.com According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Switzerland has economically navigated the Covid-19 pandemic well so far. In 2020, the Swiss economy shrank by 2.9%, far less than many other advanced European economies. France (-8.2%), Germany (-4.9%), Italy (-8.9%) and the UK (-9.9%) all performed far worse. According to the IMF, the impact of the pandemic in Switzerland was cushioned by solid public and household finances, competitive...

At the beginning of the pandemic there were calls to avoid using cash for sanitary reasons. Contactless electronic payment was the recommended method of transacting. © Maksym Kapliuk | Dreamstime.comLast spring cash withdrawals from cash machines sank by 50% in Switzerland, according to the SIX Group. Across the whole of 2020, cash withdrawals from Swiss cash machines was down 23% and contactless payments were up, according to Le Temps. However, despite rising cashless payments and...

© Hideko1979 | Dreamstime.com The French region of Bourgogne-Franche Comté has contacted several Swiss cantons and asked them if they would take Covid patients, according to RTS. Jacques Gerber, the minister of health in the canton of Jura told RTS that there had been a request from France to prepare in case French hospitals become overloaded. New cases have only been rising moderately in Switzerland since mid March. In France the number has risen steeply, reaching...

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Switzerland has economically navigated the Covid-19 pandemic well so far. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comIn 2020, the Swiss economy shrank by 2.9%, far less than many other advanced European economies. France (-8.2%), Germany (-4.9%), Italy (-8.9%) and the UK (-9.9%) all performed far worse. According to the IMF, the impact of the pandemic in Switzerland was cushioned by solid public and household finances, competitive export industries,...

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Swiss economy. GDP fell by 2.9% compared to 2019. However, despite the fall in economic output the number of bankruptcies fell by 6.7% compared to 2019. © Deaconsdocs | Dreamstime.comIn addition to a fall in the number of bankruptcies, the sum lost from closed bankruptcies fell 27%, after adjusting for the CHF 6.5 billion lost from the collapse of the Erb empire, Switzerland’s second largest bankruptcy after Swissair. Rolf Erb, the last CEO of the...

During 2020, average annual inflation was –0.7%, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Since the beginning of 2021 it has begun to rise. © Vlad Ispas | Dreamstime.comIn January 2021 inflation was 0.1%. In February it rose to 0.2% and it March it was 0.3%. Since the end of 2020, Swiss prices have risen by nearly 0.6% (0.56%). If the current inflation rate were to continue until the end of the year annual inflation in Switzerland would hit 2.25%. The sharpest...

Statistics from Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office show a dramatic fall in the number of crimes during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. © Releon8211 | Dreamstime.comAcross all of 2020, 421,678 crimes were recorded, 2.4% fewer than the year before. Drug crimes (-9%), immigration crimes (-12%) and burglaries (-10%) were all down. At the same time violent crimes rose 3%, in particular serious acts of violence (+9%), which were driven up by suicide attempts (+22%), rape (+5%)...

This article was first published on 365 club.ch Residents of Switzerland have long grumbled about the nation’s high prices compared to neighbouring countries.  On 19 March 2021, the government moved a step closer to removing two of the competitive barriers inflating Swiss prices. © Ocskay Mark | Dreamstime.comThere are many factors behind Switzerland’s high prices. Chief among them are exclusive import arrangements that allow foreign brand owners to force higher prices on to...

© Germana Marengo | Dreamstime.com As Switzerland’s population ages the number of people paid state pension is rising relative to the number of workers funding it. Since 2014, more has been paid out than has been paid in. The most effective way to fix this imbalance is to raise the pension age. If the average life expectancy of a retiree is 15 years, then raising the pension age by one year will cut the cost by nearly 7%. Switzerland is one of a few countries that...

Researchers in Switzerland have developed an invisible lock made of a printed transparent electronic material. [embedded content] The transparent touch sensitive material can be placed anywhere, which means, unlike a traditional keypad, making it very difficult for an intruder to even know where to press. The team at Switzerland’s EMPA research centre is focused on developing thin film photovoltaics. The polymer film has electronic circuits made from conductive metal oxide-based...