The Swiss Market Index (SMI) closed the week down 4.2%. After the US stock exchange was closed on Monday for a public holiday, the SMI fell every day. The week was marked by concerns about the US economy, which sent markets around the world into a tailspin which even the rather defensive Swiss stock exchange was unable to escape. After a gloomy week,...

On Friday, a committee in the House of Representatives voted narrowly in favour of scrapping the generous pensions enjoyed by ex-government ministers and federal judges. The general public does not understand why ministers, the Federal Chancellor and federal judges are so privileged compared to other insured persons, said the text authored by Rémy Wyssmann...

Appointed in April as the European Union’s incoming ambassador to Switzerland, Slovak man Miroslav Lajčák will ultimately not take up the post this year. The reason is that Lajčák’s mandate as Brussels’ Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues has been extended. As a result, the current ambassador,...

The outgoing head of the Swiss National Bank, Thomas Jordan, says the country should aim to preserve its leading financial position – but that to do this, it must accept the risk of systemically important banks. The SNB does not guarantee any financial institution, Jordan said in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung paper on Saturday. However,...

Hundreds of tourists who are still stuck in the Saas Valley in canton Valais after Thursday's landslide can be evacuated. Special helicopter flights are planned for Friday afternoon. Around 2,200 people, mainly Swiss tourists, are currently trapped in the valley, which was cut off from the outside world after the storms. Simon Bumann, spokesman for...

The Federal Court in Lausanne ruled that a Swiss town went too far in banning prostitution within a 100-metre radius of certain sensitive locations. The provision of the municipal by-law of the town of Lucens in western Switzerland was challenged by a property firm. At a public hearing on Friday, the 2nd Court of Public Law partially upheld the appeal...