Switzerland

Novartis may spin off its struggling Alcon eye care business and is to launch a share buyback programme worth up to $5 billion, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday in reporting fourth-quarter results that lagged market expectations.

Its sales were flat in the fourth quarter while posting a $120 million operating loss, forcing a critical look at whether to sell eye care division. "We’ve not ruled anything out, all options are on the table," Chief Executive Joe Jimenez said on a results news conference call.

Despite the push toward a cashless society in many countries, residents in Switzerland are still in love with their cash, which is used regularly to purchase all sorts of things, both small and large.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the love of cash in Switzerland doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The Alpine country bowed to pressure from international anti-money-laundering organizations and implemented a cap on the amount of cash a person can use on a single purchase without raising red flags and requiring extra paperwork. If the transaction is over 100,000 Swiss francs, a retailer has to confirm identities and report the transactions that they deem to be suspicious.

Switzerland remains the best all-round destination for pursuing a career abroad while Hong Kong ranks number one for those looking to fast-track their career; this, according to new data released from HSBC’s latest global Expat Explorer survey of 26,871 expats from over 100 countries.

For the second year in a row, Switzerland is ranked the best all-round destination for a career abroad. In addition to being a top spot for earnings, 69% of expats in Switzerland see an improvement in their work-life balance and 61% say the work culture is better than in their home country.

Part of the world`s largest and longest-running research series on expat life, the Expat Explorer Careers Table ranking is based on eight criteria: the chance to acquire new skills, career progression, job security, earnings, benefits packages, work-life balance, work culture and fulfilment at work.

Wholesale reinsurance provider Swiss Re today said it has received approval from the Insurance Regulatory approval to open a branch in India, the world’s second largest reinsurer said on Monday, part of the Swiss company’s growth aspirations in the world’s second most populous country.

The branch, which opens operations on February 1 in Mumbai, has been licensed to sell non-life, life and health reinsurance solutions directly to clients and brokers in India.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Britain should look to Switzerland on how to handle relations with the European Union, for a post-Brexit model of "close co-operation", according to Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ) on Sunday.

"Britons should take as an example how cleverly Switzerland has linked national sovereignty and close cooperation with the European Union," he said, Britain needed a "wise political solution" to Brexit added.
A series of bilateral deals have been struck between Switzerland and the EU meaning it accepts free movement of people and certain rules on trade.

China and Switzerland have enjoyed a longstanding win-win partnership and China has an optmisstic economic outlook, the Swiss minister of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Johann Schneider-Ammann said in an interview with Xinhua, chinese media on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

"I am very proud that Chinese President Xi Jinping could come to my country and stay four days," Schneider-Ammann said "In April last year we established such good personal relationships, and I’m proud of this success."

Half a decade into its search for a new handgun, the US Army has chosen Sig Sauer’s version of the Modular Handgun System, according to a Thursday announcement from the Army. The $580 million contract announced yesterday covers procurement over 10 years. Sig Sauer is a German Swiss company and will provide thousands of new handguns to the US military under the contract over the next decade, the Defense Department explained.

Invented in 1986 as a light-hearted guide to purchasing power parity, the Big Mac Index compares the cost of a McDonald’s Big Mac burger in countries across the world, published by the Economist.
Using the US dollar as the base rate, Switzerland won the top spot again for the most expense burgers. A Swiss Big Mac costs $ 6.35 (CHF 6.50), compared to $ 5.06 in the US, meaning the Swiss franc is overvalued by 25.5%.