Tag Archives: Latest News

Top gear: The items up for auction were worn or used during important matches Keystone / Ennio Leanza Millions of Roger Federer fans around the world might be salivating at the prospect of owning some mementos of the Swiss great’s incredible career after he announced he is auctioning off a collection of personal items this summer. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, regarded by many as the greatest player ever to wield a tennis racket, is putting various items under the...

In in seven employees of Switzerland’s second-biggest telecoms company is set to lose his or her job. © Keystone/Christian Beutler Switzerland’s second biggest telecoms group, Sunrise UPC, says it will cut 600 jobs by the end of 2022, following UPC’s CHF6.8 billion ($7.4 billion) takeover of Sunrise Communications last year. About 450 redundancies are expected, representing 13.5% of the company’s 3,350 full-time posts, Sunrise UPC said in a statement on Monday. About...

The WEF’s annual get-together of business, political and civil society leaders is planned for January 17-22 Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is set to take place in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos again next year. However, reasonable hotel rates are a prerequisite and the Covid-19 situation is also a decisive factor, according to organisers. “We want to remain true to tradition and Davos,” WEF spokesman Yann Zopf...

Major infrastructure building projects abroad are could be an opportunity for Swiss companies to expand their business activities. Keystone/Joerg Sarbach The government has pledged CHF7.8 million ($8.5 million) over the next three years to help Swiss companies participate in major infrastructure projects abroad. The aim is to coordinate cooperation between the private sector and the government administration to help Swiss companies gain international visibility and...

Switzerland has signed a number of deals with the UK as part of its “Mind the Gap” strategy to maintain bilateral relations as much as possible in the wake of Brexit. (Swiss Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and the UK’s Brexit Minister Stephen Barclay seen here in 2019) Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved The Swiss government has approved an agreement with Britain on mutual recognition of companies with “AEO” customs security approval,...

Switzerland has remained an attractive destination for foreign firms © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer Switzerland has remained an attractive location for foreign firms, creating more jobs last year than in 2019 – despite the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Swiss public television SRF and RTS have reported. Foreign firms accounted for 11% more jobs in 2020, bringing the total to almost 1,200, even if the total number of companies moving to the country dropped...

The $2 trillion (CHF1.89 trillion) infrastructure investment programme unveiled by Biden on Wednesday is intended to help improve the ailing national power grid, water systems, schools, bridges and road networks. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved US President Joe Biden’s major infrastructure plan is raising high hopes for Swiss firms in the construction and building industry. Although first contracts are expected to go to local firms, experts...

Children working at a brick factory on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2019. Switzerland has joined a global platform to combat child labour, forced labour and human trafficking. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Economics Minister Guy Parmelin and the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, have concluded an agreement on development cooperation. Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this...

Last year a government report indicated that the law on Swissness contributes more than CHF1.4 billion ($1.48 billion) a year to the Swiss economy. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally Major industry associations have joined forces with public agencies to combat free-riders who abuse the “Swiss brand” abroad. The association for Swissness enforcement is intended to foster coordinated action against the wrongful use abroad of Swiss indications of source. It comprises 13 members,...

The “geoforensic passport” was developed jointly with the University of Lausanne and co-financed by the Swiss government’s innovation agency. Keystone/Sandro Campardo Metalor, one of the world’s biggest gold refiners, has developed a way to quickly confirm where gold had been mined, potentially stopping illegal gold from entering supply chains. The Swiss-based company announced that it has devised the method with the University of Lausanne in a 26-month-long research...