Tag Archives: Personal finance

In 2018, the percentage of the population in Switzerland living below the poverty line fell from 8.2% (2017) to 7.9%, returning to the same level as it was in 2010. © Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.comMost affected by poverty were those aged under 18 (9.6%) and those aged over 64 (13.7%). Single parent families (19.3%), those without tertiary education (12.7%) and those without Swiss citizenship (11.6%) were more likely to have incomes low enough to place them below the poverty line....

Following the success of the pre-sale of Roger Federer coins at the beginning of December 2019, a further 37,000 will be issued by Swissmint in various minting qualities on 23 January 2020. The coins are commemorative. In addition to coins featuring the well-known tennis star from Basel, there is a tiny (3mm diameter) gold coin sporting an image of the famous theoretical physicist Albert Einstein who lived and studied in Switzerland. Einstein was a Swiss citizen from 1901 until his...

© Christian Heinz | Dreamstime.com A Swiss parliamentary commission, tasked with looking at the introduction of an environmental tax on flights departing from Switzerland, recently voted in favour a such a tax. A majority of 17 to 8 members voted in favour of the move. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 per passenger depending on flight distance and class. Passengers transiting through Switzerland would not pay the tax. Those travelling in private aircraft...

A Swiss parliamentary commission, tasked with looking at the introduction of an environmental tax on flights departing from Switzerland, recently voted in favour a such a tax. © Christian Heinz | Dreamstime.comA majority of 17 to 8 members voted in favour of the move. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 per passenger depending on flight distance and class. Passengers transiting through Switzerland would not pay the tax. Those travelling in private aircraft would be charged...

SNB building in Bern According to provisional calculations, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) expects to make a profit of around CHF 49 billion in 2019. Most of this comes from the rising value of the SNB’s foreign currency positions (+CHF 40 billion) and a valuation gain on gold holdings (+CHF 6.9 billion). After adjusting reserves, the SNB will have CHF 88 billion available for distribution. Since the announcement SNB shares have risen 2% to CHF 5,600. The central bank...

Periodically, the Economist magazine judges the value of currencies based on the prices of Big Macs. © Rosalie Anareta | Dreamstime.comThis time around the burger price comparison found only two currencies to be overvalued relative to the US dollar: the Norwegian krone and the Swiss franc. The franc was almost 20% overvalued according to their analysis – click here for chart. Earlier in the week the US Treasury added Switzerland to its “monitoring list” of trading partners whose...

The Swiss government is currently considering how to reform work-related pensions, known as 2nd pillar pensions. © Viacheslav Iacobchuk | Dreamstime.comPension finances are strained by longer life expectancy and low interest rates. Another issue is the low work-related pension savings of low earners and part time workers, groups women are far more likely to fall into than men. In 2017, the median monthly 2nd pillar pension payment for women was CHF 1,221 compared to CHF 2,301 for...

According to provisional calculations, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) expects to make a profit of around CHF 49 billion in 2019. SNB building in BernMost of this comes from the rising value of the SNB’s foreign currency positions (+CHF 40 billion) and a valuation gain on gold holdings (+CHF 6.9 billion). After adjusting reserves, the SNB will have CHF 88 billion available for distribution. Since the announcement SNB shares have risen 2% to CHF 5,600. The central bank plans to pay...

Anyone who has done a weekly shop in Germany, France, Italy or Austria and compared prices to Switzerland, knows how much more it costs on the Swiss side of the border. The cost difference is sometimes pinned on the higher take-home pay paid to Swiss supermarket workers. Right? Wrong. Kaufland Germany much cheaper than Switzerland – © Rene Van Den Berg | Dreamstime.com The website barometre des prix allows the public to easily compare the prices of goods at Switzerland’s main retailers with...

© Engdao Wichitpunya | Dreamstime.com Facebook’s plan to launch its digital currency Libra is unlikely to succeed Ueli Maurer, Switzerland’s president, told SRF. Maurer doesn’t think central banks will accept the basket of currencies underpinning the cryptocurrency. “The project, in this form, has thus failed” he said. Plans for the digital currency, which is to be issued and governed by the Geneva-based Libra Association and requires Swiss regulatory approval, have...