The number of Swiss start-ups launched has risen significantly in the first six months of 2021 while the number of companies filing for bankruptcy has decreased, studies have shown.
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In the first half of 2021 over 26,000 new companies were added to Switzerland’s commercial register, an increase of over 20% compared to the year before, a new report by Dun & Bradstreet has found.
This boom was felt in almost every sector of the economy and constitutes a new record for the number of Swiss start-ups founded in a six-month period, the report claims.
The Covid-19 pandemic is credited as the cause of the increased company registration, Dun & Bradstreet said. In June 2021 the Swiss government scaled up its plans to support small companies that had been hit by Covid-19, adding an additional CHF300 million ($330 million) to its hardship payments fund. The report also says that the number of Swiss companies filing for bankruptcy has fallen by one percent compared with last year.
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Hardship funds boosted for struggling Swiss companies
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Hardship payments were set up to support the worst hit firms, such as restaurants and bars, that have been forced to close for longer than other businesses. Nearly CHF3 billion has been paid out to more than 30,000 companiesExternal link so far. The majority of payments (CHF2.7 billion) are in the form of subsidies that…
Despite this, a recent study by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, part of the federal technology institute ETH Zurich, indicates that bankruptcies may now be on the rise again. The number of companies going bust increased significantly in May of 2021. Particularly affected are sectors such as the hospitality or entertainment industries that have faced structural shifts as a result of changing consumer behaviour brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trend of increasing bankruptcy amongst Swiss companies is likely to continue, the ETH report claims.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Swiss trial shows organic farming is 85% as productive as conventional agriculture
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This is shown by the results of a globally unique open-air trial that has been running for 47 years in Therwil in the canton of Basel-Landschaft.
Nestlé fined by Swiss canton for illegally filtered water
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Nestlé has been fined CHF 500,000 in the canton of Vaud for the unauthorised use of activated carbon filters in the production of mineral water. The filters were used to produce Henniez water from 2008 to 2022.
Swiss government proposes restrictions on Ukrainian refugees
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Only those whose life and limb are at risk in Ukraine and who flee to Switzerland are to be granted S status in future. The remaining Ukrainian refugees should apply for asylum. This is what the Federal Council is proposing.
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The Fribourg parliament approved a sum of CHF6.4 million to renovate the ramparts, the walkway and the towers, as well as to replace the exterior lighting.
Swiss rental housing listings increase for the first time in three years
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For the first time in three years, the number of advertisements for rental accommodation is on the rise, but this does not dampen demand, quite the contrary. In Ticino, the average duration of an advertisement published on the main portals is 30 days.
Switzerland doing relatively well when it comes to child vaccination rates
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Progress in child immunisation has stalled. For decades, the number of children vaccinated against measles, polio and other diseases has risen. But since 2010, vaccination rates have stagnated in many countries, according to a study.
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Human remains were found and recovered on Tuesday as part of a search operation in the buried Valais mountain village of Blatten. Formal identification is underway, according to the Valais cantonal police.
Switzerland and the EU sign declaration on transitional arrangements
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They set out the terms of cooperation for the period until the desired entry into force of the package of bilateral agreements.
Covid-19: More than 40,000 catering jobs lost in 2020
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More than 40,000 people in the Swiss hospitality and catering industry lost their jobs last year owing to Covid-related closures.
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