Tag Archives: Swiss Markets and News

The HSBC settlement brings an end to the French tax dispute. (AP) - Click to enlarge With a payment of €300 million (CHF350 million), the Swiss subsidiary of British bank HSBC has settled its tax fraud dispute with the French authorities. Investigations by the French government revealed that many French taxpayers had hidden their assets with help from HSBC’s private bank. However, HSBC Switzerlandexternal...

Dufry, which handles about one-quarter of the world's duty-free goods business, is based in Basel (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Switzerland’s federal prosecutor’s office is handling a request for mutual assistance in an investigation involving the Basel-based duty-free group Dufry. The request was sent by the government of Mauritius, which according to reports in two Swiss newspapers is looking into the...

Since 2000, average wealth per adult in Switzerland has risen by 130%, largely due to the appreciation of the Swiss franc against the US dollar (Keystone) The average fortune of a Swiss adult is $537,600 (CHF528,000), according to the 2017 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report. Switzerland continues to top the Credit Suisse global list for wealth per adult, followed by Australia ($402,600), the United States ($388,600)...

The bank has had various disputes with US authorities in recent years. (Keystone) Credit Suisse bank has been ordered to pay a fine of $135 million (CHF134.5 million) to the US authorities after an enquiry into the Swiss bank’s practices in setting foreign exchange rates. The figure was reached in a consultation between both parties. The bank confirmed the fine, as well as its willingness to pay it, in a...

Switzerland's justice minister Simonetta Sommaruga is part of the country's executive body (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Following revelations in the so-called “Paradise Papers” of questionable deals done by Swiss-based commodities companies in Africa, Switzerland’s justice minister has said that the country – historically hands-off in regulating the sector – needs new legislation to force those companies to...

Fewer people are moving to Switzerland from elsewhere in Europe. Between January and September this year, immigration from European Union states was down by 26%, compared to the same period last year. (RTS/swissinfo.chexternal link) For example, according to Swiss Public Television, RTS, 7,891 Portuguese arrived in Switzerland while 7,912 left, citing various reasons for their departure. Some said it was too expensive...

Bolivian President Evo Morales will visit Switzerland in December to sign an agreement about a major South American rail project (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The following stories were reported in Switzerland’s Sunday press on November 12, 2017. A major South American rail deal The SonntagsBlick newspaper reports that Bolivian President Evo Morales will head to Switzerland on December 14 to sign a...

A doctor looks at an X-ray of a torso with her patient Just over 20% of Swiss residents decided not to see a doctor last year for medical treatment due to the high costs, according to a new report. This is one of the findings of the Health at a Glance 2017 report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Friday. The share of the population foregoing a doctor’s consultation due to...

Daniel M. (standing) at the trial. A Swiss man on trial in Frankfurt has been found guilty of spying on the tax authorities of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). ‘Daniel M.’ was handed a suspended sentence of 22 months and a fine of €40,000 (CHF46,600). The verdict brings to a premature end the twists and turns of a case that brought scrutiny on Swiss-German diplomatic relations since the arrest of the...

The case against the Munich-based luxury car manufacturer was first sparked by a customer complaint in 2010. (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Switzerland’s highest court has confirmed a CHF157 million ($158 million) fine against German luxury carmaker BMW for blocking car shipments to Switzerland. The fine was originally levied on BMWexternal link by Switzerland’s Competition Commissionexternal link (COMCO)...