Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz says the country may need a third economic stimulus package if the economy fails to recover in 2010.
This content was published on
1 minute
The government announced a stimulus package of about SFr650 million ($588.63 million) on Tuesday, its second to counter the crisis, as it forecast Switzerland was heading into its worst recession since 1991.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) said the economy would shrink by 0.8 per cent in 2009, but recover in 2010 with 1.0 per cent growth.
“I won’t venture a forecast but I have no reason to doubt that of Seco,” Merz said in the weekly Sonntag newspaper.
“If the forecasts are not accurate then we would have to launch a third support package in certain circumstances.”
Merz declined to comment on the size of a possible third package, but said it could be put together relatively quickly.
On Saturday, Seco’s chief economist, Aymo Brunetti, acknowledged that the forecast for 2010 was uncertain.
Brunetti was quoted in the Bund newspaper of Bern as saying that economic forecasts for the next two years were “almost in the realm of science fiction”.
Brunetti said it was not impossible that the economy would rebound in the second half of 2009 but it was not certain.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss watch exports start to wind down
This content was published on
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry in Biel reported that the value had fallen to SF1.52 billion ($1.42 billion) from SFr1.79 billion the year before. In a statement on Thursday, the federation said the decline “clearly illustrates the curb on growth suffered by the industry as a result of the world economic climate”. Exports…
This content was published on
But a leading UBS economist has warned that the public might have to accept extraordinary measures, including expensive economic stimulus packages, as the world slips into a recession many fear will last a long time. The results of the “financial monitor” survey, published on Wednesday, showed overwhelming support for tax cuts, government frugality and an…
This content was published on
Unemployment, healthcare costs and retirement provisions remained the top three concerns in Credit Suisse’s 2008 Worry Barometer, published on Monday. But the year-on-year highest growing fears among respondents were inflation and overall economic development. Credit Suisse says the results of the survey, for which 1,008 face-to-face interviews were carried out in September, were “clearly influenced”…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.