Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern!
It’s a pumpkin soup kind of day here in Bern. I may have to cook it over a campfire soon if the predictions about electricity shortages come true. In the absence of an electricity agreement with the European Union, Swiss companies and consumers are being asked to prepare for power outages.
While experts predict we still have a few years before such a scenario, it can never be too early to stock up on supplies and get some tips, such as these in the Tages-Anzeiger, about what to do if the lights go out.
In the News: Covid-19 booster decision on the horizon and foreign trade is back on track.
- For the first time, the Swiss medicines regulator, Swissmedic, is giving a tentative timeline for booster shots. In an interview on Swiss public television SRF last night, the head of the agency’s regulatory affairs said that boosters could be approved for certain groups by the end of October. That’s a relief to many people who received their first jab more than 6 months ago. The number of infections and deaths among vaccinated people is a growing concern but Swissmedic has consistently said that it wants more evidence about when and for whom boosters are needed.
- In other corona news, the association of Swiss ski lifts has said that there will be no blanket Covid certificate requirementto go skiing. If you recall, last season, Switzerland was one of the few ski regions that kept lifts running despite a second (or was it the third?) corona wave. The association said that the ski season will open with a mask requirement only but that a certificate will still be required to eat at restaurants even if it’s in a chalet on top of the ski piste. After the announcement though, Swiss public health authorities toned down the message saying that it is too early to make a final decision on this.
- Switzerland’s trade balance is back on track after the pandemic led to a sharp drop in foreign trade. Today the customs office announced that exports reached a new all-time high of CHF63.11 billion ($69 billion) in the third quarter of this year thanks in large part to chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Imports also rose, helping the trade balance reach a historic level with a quarterly surplus of CHF12.56 billion.
The rich find more riches setting up family offices in Switzerland.
There’s been a boom in the number of family offices since the financial crisis and Switzerland is at the centre of it thanks to its status as one of the world’s leading private-banking centres. The wealth management arms at Switzerland’s two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, have increasingly been catering services to these new family offices.
Some of these family offices, which are institutions set up to manage the financial assets of rich families or sometimes collections of families, invest in financial markets while others do such “concierge services” such as diary keeping, tax planning and even checking children’s school reports.
The “niche” sector though remains shrouded in mystery according to the Financial Times. “Operating out of public view remains a hallmark of family offices”, writes the FT in an in-depth report. “A lack of transparency and regulation, combined with increased competition among banks for clients, has generated more hidden risks.” This was apparent by the implosion of Archegos Capital that costs some Swiss banks billions in losses.
Some banks are scrutinizing family offices more, but the reality is that many have little insight into the risk positions of family offices because there are so few disclosure requirements.
Ex-banker goes on a hunger strike to avoid deportation to Russia.
“I’d rather die in Geneva than appear before a court in Moscow” reads the headline in the Tages-Anzeiger this morning. That’s the view of ex-banker Oleg Schigajew who was arrested in Switzerland over allegations in Russia that he embezzled around CHF50 millionExternal link. He denies the allegations and says that there is no chance for a fair trial in Russia.
His requests for asylum have been refused in Switzerland, where he has lived for several years with his wife and three children, one of which is Swiss. In response to concerns about the human rights situation in Russia, the Swiss federal court halted plans to deport him. But in September it changed the verdict and gave the green light for Schigajew to return to Moscow.
He was immediately arrested in Switzerland and since that date in mid-September the 58-year-old Russian has been on a hunger strike in a Geneva prison. With his health deteriorating after losing 20 kilos, the Swiss Federal Court is seeking guarantees from Moscow of humane prison conditions. But some Swiss legal experts told the paper that there’s no way to ensure the Russian government follows through with this. What happens next is anyone’s guess.
Pets are friends for life….and after death?
There’s been a pet boom in Switzerland thanks in part to all the time spent at home during the pandemic. It’s not only the traditional pets like cats and dogs but chickens can be found in yards throughout some Swiss cities including where I live in Bern. Some people now have a chance to honour these furry (or feathery) creatures with a proper burial.
Swiss public television SRF has reportedExternal link that the Nordheim cemetery in Zurich “is paving the way across Switzerland” for pets to receive their own plots with an inscription. In addition, pets can be buried before their owners. SRF writes in this way “owners can honour their deceased animals with dignity in the cemetery until they themselves are buried in this grave and are connected with their pets beyond death”.
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