Tag Archives: Swiss Markets and News

La baisse du taux de conversion à 6% ne serait-elle qu’un début? Avec Prévoyance 2020, vos rentes LPP pourraient bien subir un jour ou l’autre quelques réajustements supplémentaires. Il suffirait d’une nouvelle crise financière… Alors que des milliers de foyers helvétiques comptent sur les revenus de leurs capitaux LPP pour maintenir leur niveau de vie à la retraite, de telles espérances pourraient très bientôt...

Nestlé Skin Health plans to transfer manufacturing activities from the Egerkingen site to manufacturing facilities around the world(Keystone) - Click to enlarge Nestlé Skin Health will cease operations at its Egerkingen factory in canton Solothurn and move manufacturing activities abroad, threatening 190 positions. “Production volumes in Egerkingen are and have been very low, resulting in underutilisation of assets and...

Zurich remains the dearest location for Swiss property at CHF12,250 ($13,000) per square metre. However, houses in Lucerne have gained the most in value over the past decade, with one square metre costing CHF8,500, up 82% on 2007. In particular demand are homes in lake regions, according to a report published on Thursday by the federal institute of technology ETH Zurich and the online comparison service Comparis. The...

After last year’s vote to speed up procedures in national centres, the government now plans to cut subsidies for rejected asylum seekers. (Keystone) The government wants to cut its financial contributions to asylum seekers as part of efforts to tighten the asylum procedure in Switzerland. The payments for individuals, currently around CHF6,000 ($6,312), could be reduced by a third, according to the Swiss News Agency....

Martin Hess believes Swiss banking fortunes can lift despite ongoing challenges (Keystone) - Click to enlarge The Swiss banking sector shrank once again last year in terms of banks, profits, share of offshore wealth under management and number of employees. The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) nevertheless believes there are positives to be found amidst the bleak figures. “In an environment where banks have to cope...

Any deal would have significant implications for Switzerland’s largest telecom, Swisscom. (© KEYSTONE / GAETAN BALLY) The cantonal government of Graubünden has demanded that the cabinet sign Switzerland up to European Union rules abolishing roaming charges. Without such an agreement, the Swiss tourist industry is at a disadvantage, the Graubünden government said in a letter sent last week to Swiss president, Doris...

The number of cyber-attacks in Switzerland is reportedly on the rise (Keystone) Around 21,000 passwords and personal details used to access online services have been stolen and could be used illegally, Switzerland’s cybercrime monitoring centre has reported. The Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance (MELANI) said on Tuesday that a confidential source had sent copies of the stolen data to the cybercrime...

The growth of diesel-powered cars is stagnating in Switzerland (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Swiss citizens are calling on their government to more quickly require stricter anti-pollution tests for diesel cars. Some 7,200 people submitted a petition to the Federal Chancellery on Tuesday. The petition, also supported by various environmental and consumer lobby groups, asks Swiss Transport Minister Doris Leuthard to...

Alpiq’s hydropower portfolio includes the Grand Dixence, the tallest gravity dam in the world (Keystone) Swiss energy concern Alpiq has changed its mind about selling up to 49% of its hydropower portfolio due to a tough market environment. In March 2016, Alpiq declared that it was planning to sell a large share of its hydropower assets to investors, provoking strong reactions in the power sector and media. Hydropower is...

« La vie humaine est devenue plus sacrifiable » : pourquoi l’esclavage n’a-t-il jamais rapporté autant d’argent. Une nouvelle étude montre que l’esclavage moderne est plus lucratif que jamais, les trafiquants du sexe engrangeant des bénéfices records. Aujourd’hui, les marchands d’esclaves enregistrent un retour sur investissement 25 à 30 fois plus important que leurs semblables aux 18e et 19e siècles. Siddharth Kara, un...