Switzerland Today

Hello from Bern,

Today’s talk of the town is all about a handshake, a golden cube, and an interest rate hike. More on this in today’s briefing from Switzerland.

This content was published on September 22, 2022 - 18:00

4 minutes

I report on the Swiss pharmaceutical industry and healthcare topics such as access to medicine, biomedical innovation, and the impact of diseases like cancer. I grew up just outside San Francisco and studied international affairs with a focus on development economics and healthcare policy. Prior to joining SWI swissinfo.ch in 2018, I was a freelance journalist and a researcher on business and human rights.

In the News: Dealing with inflation, expensive medicine, and a risky bank.

The Swiss National Bank raised interest rates into positive territory for the first time in seven years with a 0.75% hike today. The bank said that it is responding to the growing threat of inflation by moving the headline rate to 0.5% as of tomorrow (Friday). Swiss inflation hit 3.5%, which is lower than in many countries but is still affecting households. My colleague Pauline Turuban has done a good explainer on what inflation looks like in Switzerland. One interesting finding: the price of heating oil, used by around 40% of Swiss households, has almost doubled, and gas has jumped by nearly 60%. Basic food items are about 10% more expensive.
Swiss pharma giant Novartis told investors today that it plans to focus on high-value medicines and the US market as it shifts to become a “pure-play” innovative medicines company after spinning off its generics unit Sandoz in 2023. In a statement, the company said that it is taking a ‘US-first’ mindset with the aim to “improve competitive positioning” and “become a top-five player in the US by 2027”. Novartis has lagged behind US-based companies such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, ranking tenth in terms of sales in the US market.
Credit Suisse has drawn up plans to split its investment bank in three and resurrect a “bad bank” holding pen for risky assets, as the Swiss lender attempts to emerge from three years of relentless scandals. The board and executive team are planning to unveil the new strategy — which is expected to include thousands of job cuts — at the bank’s third-quarter results on October 27.

The handshake that shook Twitter

A day after Swiss President Ignazio Cassis condemned Russian plans for referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine at the UN General Assembly, Cassis was seen smiling and shaking hands with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. Following bilateral talks in New York, in which Cassis offered, once again, Switzerland’s good offices, the Russian foreign ministry circulated a photo of Cassis and Lavrov together.

This didn’t go over well with some Swiss politicians, causing the foreign ministry to explain that photos are taken before every meeting at the UN. However, the daily paper Blick didn’t hesitate to point out that no other leader of a Western democracy was pictured shaking hands with the Russian foreign minister.

A Twitter user also responded to SWI swissinfo.ch’s own post about the photo saying “this is such a bad image for Switzerland”. The photo comes at a time of heated debate about how and where Switzerland draws the line on neutrality.

It seems that the photo made more of a splash than the bilateral talks. Apparently, there was no agreement about whether Switzerland will represent Ukraine’s interests in Russia.

What is that huge golden cube in the centre of Zurich?

If you’re in Zurich today, there’s a good chance that you’ll see swarms of people gathering around a golden cube, about the height of a stool. It’s on the Rathausbrücke for all of 14 hours before it jets off to its next unnamed destination.

The cube is an artwork by Niclas Castello, which debuted in Venice in April during the Biennale art exhibition. The so-called “Castello Cube” is there “to be touched, so that it gets new imprints and traces at every location” explains the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.

But this isn’t just a shiny block. The cube weighs 186 kilograms and is made of pure 24-carat gold. The material alone ensures that it is worth around CHF12.2 million. The estimated price as a work of art is far beyond this at CHF70-80 million. It also took 4,500 hours of work to make.

The block also has strong ties to Switzerland. Not only does Castello live in Zurich, but the cube was made in a factory in Aargau and is financed by the company Hoga Capital based in Zug, which describes the work of art as the most expensive cube of all time.