Tag Archives: Personal finance

© Erix2005 | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s unemployment rate, now 2.6%, hasn’t been so low for 10 years, according to the latest figures from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). A weakening of the Swiss franc helped boost Switzerland’s economic growth, creating more jobs. The unemployment rate among young workers (15-24) dropped 0.7% to 2.4% as did unemployment among the 50+ (-0.3% to 2.5%). All...

Between 1999 and 2017 the amount of organic food produced on Swiss farms more than doubled. © Stefano Ember | Dreamstime.com In 1999, 5.3% of Switzerland’s farm output was organic. By 2017 this figure had risen to 11.7%. In 1999, Swiss farms produced CHF 562 million worth of organic food. In 2017, they produced CHF 1.2 billion. Consumers are spending more and more on organic produce. From 1998 to 2017, the average percentage of total food expenditure on organic food rose from 4% to 9%. Based...

Switzerland’s unemployment rate, now 2.6%, hasn’t been so low for 10 years, according to the latest figures from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). © Erix2005 | Dreamstime.com A weakening of the Swiss franc helped boost Switzerland’s economic growth, creating more jobs. The unemployment rate among young workers (15-24) dropped 0.7% to 2.4% as did unemployment among the 50+ (-0.3% to 2.5%). All of Switzerland’s French-speaking cantons saw unemployment decline, however...

© Rawpixelimages | Dreamstime.com Reaching the official retirement age1 is an important milestone for many people. Some look forward to it while others dread it. Some dreading it would prefer to continue working either because they enjoy their work or would like the extra income. Some feel they are being systematically and unfairly labelled too old to work. A survey by the bank UBS showed that many people now don’t feel...

On 28 December 2018, Italy issued government bonds maturing in 2028 at an effective interest rate of 2.7%1. Interest rates like this combined with the scale of Italian public debt (157% of GDP) mean Italian taxpayers spend more on public debt interest than they do on education. In 2015, Italy spent 4.1% of GDP on public debt interest and only 2.8% of GDP on education. © Byvalet | Dreamstime.com This week, Switzerland issued bonds maturing in 2030 at an effective interest rate of -0.041%2....

Reaching the official retirement age1 is an important milestone for many people. Some look forward to it while others dread it. © Rawpixelimages | Dreamstime.com Some dreading it would prefer to continue working either because they enjoy their work or would like the extra income. Some feel they are being systematically and unfairly labelled too old to work. A survey by the bank UBS showed that many people now don’t feel old until they’re in their 80s. A one-size-fits-all official retirement...

© Ifeelstock | Dreamstime.com In 2016, Switzerland’s government decided to tighten the VAT exemption on imported purchases, a move that affects most online orders from foreign retailers. The new rules took effect on 1 January 2019 – they were originally planned for 1 January 2018 but systems and processes were not ready. Until the beginning of this year, any order attracting less than CHF 5 francs of VAT was allowed...

In 2016, Switzerland’s government decided to tighten the VAT exemption on imported purchases, a move that affects most online orders from foreign retailers. The new rules took effect on 1 January 2019 – they were originally planned for 1 January 2018 but systems and processes were not ready. © Ifeelstock | Dreamstime.com Until the beginning of this year, any order attracting less than CHF 5 francs of VAT was allowed across the border tax free. This meant CHF 64.931 of most goods and CHF 2002...

Since the beginning of December 2018 more and more counterfeit 100 Swiss franc notes have been appearing in the Swiss canton of Valais in and around Sion and Conthey. ©-Ginasanders-_-Dreamstime.com_ - Click to enlarge The fake notes, which the local Police say can be spotted if compared to real ones, have been making their way into circulation via shopping centres, kiosks and service stations in the Sion and Conthey...

Since the beginning of December 2018 more and more counterfeit 100 Swiss franc notes have been appearing in the Swiss canton of Valais in and around Sion and Conthey. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime.com The fake notes, which the local Police say can be spotted if compared to real ones, have been making their way into circulation via shopping centres, kiosks and service stations in the Sion and Conthey region. Counterfeiting is rare in Switzerland because Swiss notes are virtually impossible to...