Tag Archives: Personal finance

Switzerland’s four largest buildings insurers estimate the costs of recent weather events could reach half a billion francs across Switzerland, reported RTS. © Angela Schmidt | Dreamstime.comAccording to Grégoire Deiss, who works for the cantonal buildings insurer ECAB in Fribourg, the cost of recent storms and flooding could be around CHF 500 million across all of Switzerland, a figure he based on claims that have been made so far. However, the final bill remains uncertain. More...

The youth chapter of the PLR (FDP) has successfully collected enough signatures for an initiative to raise the official retirement age in Switzerland to 66 years old, reported RTS. © Skypixel | Dreamstime.comOn 16 July 2021, initiative organisers submitted 145,000 voter signatures as part of the formal process of launching a referendum in Switzerland. Under referendum rules a minimum of 100,000 valid signatures must be collected within 18 months. The official retirement age in...

Normally, those who borrow must pay out more money than they are lent in the form of interest and repayments. Currently, for the Swiss government it is the other way around. Lenders are paying the Swiss federal government to give it money. © Valeriya Luzina | Dreamstime.comOn 14 July 2021, the Swiss Confederation announced the success of its latest issue of government bonds. The government recently issued bonds with a face value of CHF 934 million in return for CHF 1,078 million, netting...

On 9 July 2021, the Swiss price comparison website Comparis revealed that it had been the victim of a ransomeware cyber attack on Wednesday, 7 July 2021. © Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.com According to Comparis, the attack occurred in the morning. Comparis took down several of its sites as a security measure. The attackers demanded money in exchange for decrypting data. Comparis said that based on the information available most of their databases containing customer...

On 9 July 2021, the Swiss price comparison website Comparis revealed that it had been the victim of a ransomeware cyber attack on Wednesday, 7 July 2021. © Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.comAccording to Comparis, the attack occurred in the morning. Comparis took down several of its sites as a security measure. The attackers demanded money in exchange for decrypting data. Comparis said that based on the information available most of their databases containing customer information were...

Switzerland has a mechanism that automatically increases taxes on fossil fuels if emission reduction targets are not met. And the small reduction in emissions in 2020 is not enough to avoid triggering a CO2 tax rise in 2022. © Jean-michel Feinen | Dreamstime.comData published this week by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) confirms the slow progress in reducing emissions in Switzerland. Emissions from heating oil and gas did not fall enough in 2020 to avoid triggering a rise in...

On 8 July 2021, the Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) published unemployment figures for June 2021. © Fizkes | Dreamstime.comBy the end of June 2021, there were close to 132,000 people registered as unemployed across Switzerland, 11,000 fewer than at the end of May 2021, bringing Switzerland’s overall unemployment rate down from 3.1% to 2.8%. Youth employment dropped particularly sharply compared to a year earlier. Unemployment among this age group (15-24) was down 32% year on...

In 1999, social expenditure in Switzerland was CHF 13,370 per resident. By 2019, the same figure had reached CHF 21,300, a rise of nearly 60%. © Alexey Stiop | Dreamstime.com Over the same period, total inflation was around 11%. Applying inflation to CHF 13,370 brings the figure to CHF 14,480. Why has the cost risen beyond this and how has the extra spending been funded? One of the key drivers behind the rise in social expenditure is increased spending on pensions as...

In 1999, social expenditure in Switzerland was CHF 13,370 per resident. By 2019, the same figure had reached CHF 21,300, a rise of nearly 60%. © Alexey Stiop | Dreamstime.comOver the same period, total inflation was around 11%. Applying inflation to CHF 13,370 brings the figure to CHF 14,480. Why has the cost risen beyond this and how has the extra spending been funded? One of the key drivers behind the rise in social expenditure is increased spending on pensions as Switzerland’s...

The Covid-19 pandemic plunged Switzerland’s budget into the red in 2020 and 2021. The federal government expects to return to normality with a balanced budget in 2022. © Asdf_1 | Dreamstime.comOn 30 June 2021, the Federal Council approved the outlines of a federal budget for 2022 and a financial plan for the period from 2023 to 2025. The balanced 2022 budget follows two years of pandemic-induced negative results. By the end of June 2021, the federal government had approved nearly...