Archive – Banking & Fintech

Tourism booms in 2007

This content was published on Jul 3, 2008 In total, foreign visitors forked out SFr14.6 billion in 2007 – SFr1.1 billion more than the previous year, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday. Swiss holidaymakers spent SFr12.3 billion on their vacations abroad, which was a rise of 6.4 per cent. The Statistics Office said the strong global economy and strength of the euro…

US wins court order for UBS bank records

This content was published on Jul 2, 2008 The order gives the US Internal Revenue Service permission to serve a summons on UBS to obtain information on possible fraud by people whose identities are unknown. Some observers see the decision as putting further pressure on Switzerland’s traditional banking secrecy laws. US district judge Joan Lenard granted the so-called “John Doe” summons a day…

Use-by date demanded for web browsers

This content was published on Jul 1, 2008 In a paper entitled “Understanding the web browser threat”, they revealed that 637 million internet users worldwide surfed with vulnerable software. The problem, according to the researchers, is that most users are unaware that they are not using the latest version of their browser. The authors therefore suggest that, as a critical component of software,…

Directors step down at embattled UBS

This content was published on Jul 1, 2008 No reason was given for the departure of a third of the bank’s board two months after its annual general meeting. UBS shares dipped temporarily below SFr20 ($19.6) for the first time since the bank was created over ten years ago, before finishing the day at SFr20.30. Stephan Haeringer, Rolf Meyer, Peter Spuhler and Lawrence…

More worried investors turn to ombudsman

This content was published on Jul 1, 2008 In normal economic conditions, those types of requests generate 15 to 20 per cent of inquiries, ombudsman Peter Häni on said Tuesday. The ombudsman also said that the number of inquiries his office received stabilised in 2007 at 1,470 compared with 1,467 in 2006. Of the cases submitted to the ombudsman in 2007, 39 per…

Authorities wage war on citizen pirates

This content was published on Jul 1, 2008 Counterfeited and pirated goods entering, leaving or passing through Switzerland are subject to stricter legislation as of July 1. “Counterfeited products should no longer circulate from July 1,” Felix Addor, Deputy Director-General for the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property told swissinfo. The problem costs the Swiss economy roughly SFr2 billion ($1.96 billion) annually. The regulations…

Stock exchange barometer marks 20th birthday

This content was published on Jun 30, 2008 The SMI was launched on June 30, 1988, by the Zurich stock exchange, listing 24 of the most liquid firms – featuring heavyweights from the banking, insurance, pharmaceutical, watchmaking, manufacturing and other industries. These companies represent around 84 per cent of the entire market capitalisation of all Swiss and Liechtenstein equities listed on the Swiss…

New rail record set

This content was published on Jun 29, 2008 Meyer told the Aarau-based newspaper Sonntag that the figure had risen by about five per cent in comparison with the same period in 2007, with some 900,000 passengers per day. He said that although the railways carried an extra 1.5 or two million extra passengers during the Euro 2008 period, these additional numbers had not…

“EU citizens help finance our social security”

This content was published on Jun 28, 2008 Should the labour agreement with the European Union on the free movement of people be extended to include Bulgaria and Romania? In a guest contribution, Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey explains why the answer to that important question should be a decided “yes”. On two occasions in the past the Swiss people have had an opportunity…

Donating a new life

This content was published on Jun 27, 2008 Not everyone is as lucky as 24-year-old Sara Calzavara. Three years ago she received a new lung, and with it a new life. Fifty people on the waiting list died last year, despite a law to improve the situation that came into force on July 1, 2007. With only 10.8 donors per million, Switzerland falls…

Archive – Banking & Fintech

Popular Stories

Most Discussed