Switzerland

Tag Heuer has followed its first Connected smartwatch with a new model that features a unique twist. The Swiss watchmaker is back with a new and highly-customizable model: the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45, based on an Intel chip. Unlike the original Connected though, just about every part of the Modular 45 can be swapped, from the straps, to the buckles, and lugs, and even the watch module itself. That’s right, you can change the electronic module with a mechanical watch module, which not only gives you extra customization options, but it ensures that your expensive watch won’t become obsolete in just a few years.

Swiss researchers have created a flexible quadcopter that recoils during a crash, influenced by Mother Nature. Wasps in particular have special joints that allow their wings to reversibly crumple during an accident. This transition into a flexible state during times of stress drastically minimizes any sustained damage.

Roboticists from EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, have developed a new drone to mimic the elasticity and durability of insects. Researchers achieved this by using a "squishy" material that’s able to be rigged while flying but become malleable when it comes in contact with something. This flexibility absorbs potentially damaging impacts and eliminates them.

Swiss-based power and automation group ABB cut its 2016 profit report by $64 million after saying that internal controls failed to catch suspected fraud in South Korea.

It revised net income to $1.89 billion, ABB said in its annual report, down from $1.96 billion reported in February. The pre-tax impact was $73 million, less than the roughly $100 million previously reported, due to insurance recoveries.

Switzerland’s parliament made an unprecedented decision on Wednesday to prevent the state from "financing any organization which supports racism, anti-Semitism, or the BDS ( Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement)."

Switzerland’s National Council, its lower chamber in Parliament, passed a bill on Wednesday by a vote of 111-78, that would cease all funding to non-governmental organizations (NGO) promoting boycotts against Israel and incitement to hatred.

The Bern leadership provides approximately one million Swiss francs each year to the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat in Ramallah, which then moves the money along to more than 30 pro-Palestinian Authority NGOs.

UBS published its Annual Report 2016 providing detailed information, showing that it lowered the total pay for its chief executive Sergio Ermotti in 2016, a year in which the bank’s net profit was cut nearly in half compared with a year earlier.

Zurich-based UBS said on Friday that total compensation for CEO fell to 13.7 million Swiss francs ($13.5 million) in 2016 from 14.3 million francs a year earlier. Mr. Ermotti’s base salary remained unchanged at 2.5 million francs, according to a public filing, and he received a smaller bonus compared with 2015.
Overall, UBS decreased its 2016 bonus pool by 17% compared with the year before, to 2.9 billion francs.

The headline Swiss unemployment rate declined to 3.6% for February from 3.7% the previous month. The rate was unchanged from the 3.6% recorded in February 2016. The seasonally-adjusted rate was unchanged at 3.3% for the month and there has been no change in the adjusted rate for nine months. Youth unemployment, which applies to the 15 to 24 age group, declined 6.7% on the year which will help boost confidence in the labour market.

The stock of vacancies declined significantly on the month, although there was still a small 0.3% increase on the year and there was a significant increase in new reported vacancies on the month which is also an encouraging sign.

More Americans are traveling to Switzerland, visiting cities and mountain regions alike. U.S. arrivals and overnights increased again in 2016 compared to the previous year. For the seventh consecutive year, there has been an increase, showing total growth of more than 30% since 2009. Last year the Alpine country welcomed 854.687 americans tourists. The number of overnight hotel stays by US visitors also grew in 2016 to 1.84 million, a 5.5% increase from 2015.
“Switzerland is the best country in the world, according to a recent study by U.S. News &World Report. This will hopefully motivate even more Americans to find their way – or their way back – to Switzerland,” said Alex Herrmann, Director Americas, Switzerland Tourism.

The European Patent Office (EPO) granted a record number of European patents in 2016, while the US led the charge for applications. According to a report released on Tuesday, the EPO granted 96,000 European patents in 2016, an increase of 40% year-on-year, which is due to “effective measures” to improve the EPO’s productivity.

“The figure is an indicator of the growing demand for patent protection from businesses worldwide,” said the EPO. It also recorded an “unprecedented” level of patent filings in 2016, reaching more than 296,000, an increase of 6.2% compared with 2015.