Pandemic Products

The southern Swiss canton of Ticino, bordering Italy, is shuttering cinemas, ski resorts, gyms, nightclubs and non-compulsory schools. Other cantons may follow with similar measures, announced the federal health office on Thursday. The hardest-hit Swiss canton is attempting to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. It was here that first infections were detected, and the virus appears to have since started to spread locally.  By declaring a “state of necessity”, the cantonal authorities are taking a series of unusual emergency measures that discourage but do not ban participation in public life for people at particular risk.  On Wednesday, the same day that the Geneva-based World Health Organization labelled coronavirus as a pandemic, the Ticino cantonal authorities said its emergency measures would stay in place until March 29. The shut-down does not affect higher education or vocational training establishments. Among the 12 measures introduced in Ticino is one that …

The number of patents filed by Swiss companies with the European Patent Office (EPO) hit a record high last year. Switzerland also had more applications per capita than any other nation. Patent applications from Switzerland rose by 3.6% to 8,249 in 2019, compared with 7,961 in 2018, announced the EPO on Thursday. The EPO received more than 181,000 patent applications from all over the world last year, 4% more than the previous year. This growth was driven by newly registered patents from China (+29%). But there were also significant increases from South Korea (+14%) and the US (+5.5%). The top countries represented were the US (46,200 applications), Germany (26,800), Japan (22,100), China (12,200), France (10,200), South Korea (8,300) and Switzerland (8,249). According to the EPO’s figures, there were 988 applications per million inhabitants from Switzerland; followed – at considerable distance – by Sweden (433), Germany (334) and Austria (265). Some 10% of the Swiss patent …

Serbia closed its borders on Tuesday for travellers from countries most affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including Switzerland, to prevent spreading of the disease, the government said in a statement.  The temporary ban applies to people arriving “from Italy, certain provinces in China, South Korea, Iran and parts of Switzerland”, it said. The government did not say when the ban would be lifted. On March 12, the Serbian embassy in Bern issued a statement in which it clarified that for China, South Korea and Switzerland the ban applies “exclusively to the persons coming from the Hubei Province of the People’s Republic of China, the city of Daegu and the North Gyeongsang Province of the Republic of Korea and the Canton of Ticino in Switzerland.” The temporary ban on entry into Serbia for foreign nationals coming from Italy and the Islamic Republic of Iran remains in effect, it said. The embassy said the airlines Air Serbia and Swiss had currently blocked flights from …

Switzerland is losing ground to other countries as an attractive place to do business due to the complexity of hiring young, foreign talent. A study calls for innovation permits and loosening business travel restrictions. Switzerland comes last out of eight global business locations when it comes to attracting global talent, according to the latest global talent survey, released on Thursday by consultants Deloitte Switzerland and the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. The study points to high hurdles in hiring foreign talent such as complicated approval processes and unnecessary red tape, especially for young professionals who do not yet have extensive work experience. Companies have been known to withdraw offers to foreign talent because of the complexity, cost and unpredictability of the permit approval process, the study points out. Business locations like Ireland are beating out Switzerland thanks to measures such as special arrangements for foreign graduates of domestic …

​​​​​​​ The federal health office said on Thursday that emergency measures introduced in Ticino on Wednesday could soon be extended to the rest of Switzerland.  Already on Wednesday, the southernmost canton of Ticino declared a “state of necessity”, which comprises a series of emergency measures, including the closure of some schools, on account of the coronavirus pandemic. These will be in effect until the end of March.  “The rest of Switzerland will certainly do what’s being done in Ticino now. The wave has now arrived in Switzerland,” Daniel Koch, the head of infectious diseases at the Federal Office of Public Health told Swiss public radio, SRF.  He reiterated the importance of protecting the elderly and the chronically ill. “Because for them the virus is dangerous. They need hospitals. And if there are too many patients, the hospitals will not be able to cope with the situation.” Koch later clarified that such decisions would be taken on a cantonal, not a federal …

Four Swiss nationals who had been stuck on the Grand Princess cruise ship outside San Francisco have returned to Switzerland.  The foreign ministry tweeted on Thursday that the US government had arranged for the four Swiss, plus three Germans, to fly to Kiev in Ukraine. From there, a flight organised by the Swiss government had brought the seven to Switzerland.  None was reported to have been infected by Covid-19.  On March 7 the foreign ministry had announced that there were four Swiss citizens aboard the liner that was barred from docking in San Francisco owing to the coronavirus.  Samples had been taken from 46 people and 21 of them – 19 crew and two passengers – tested positive for the coronavirus, said US Vice-President Mike Pence, who is running the White House’s response to the outbreak.  One of the Swiss on board, a 55-year-old man, told Swiss newspaper Blick that everyone had to stay in their cabins. “It’s like a ghost ship. It’s spooky!” he said.  A 71-year-old man …

The Swiss Market Index (SMI) ended Thursday down 9.64% on 8,270 points, having broken the 10% mark just before the close of trading. There was red across the board, with banks and insurance companies doing the most damage.  Credit Suisse finished the day down 16%, Swiss Re down 15.6%, Swiss Life down 14.8% and UBS down 13.2%.  A similarly large intraday loss was last seen in 2015, when the Swiss National Bank (SNB) scrapped a cap on the euro exchange rate. The SMI, first published on July 1, 1988, did not exist during the biggest stock market crash of the post-war period on October 19, 1987, when speculation on interest rate hikes caused the Dow Jones Index on Wall Street to collapse by 23%.  The following is an overview of the SMI’s highest percentage losses since then:  The 1990s and 9/11   October 16, 1989: The SMI falls by 11%, following Wall Street, where financing difficulties in a company sale trigger a crash.  August 19, 1991: A coup against the then Soviet …

Canton Ticino, which borders Italy, has extended its emergency measures to combat the spread of coronavirus by closing down all schools, including compulsory education establishments. The announcement on Friday follows a series of measures taken earlier in the week as the canton declared a “state of necessity”, giving the authorities power to act in the interests of public health. Cantons Vaud and Fribourg also announced similar measures. In Switzerland, education is the responsibility of the cantons, so they can make decisions over school closures. However, the epidemics law would allow the government to step in and order blanket or partial school shut downs if necessary. Ticino is one of the worst affected cantons from the coronavirus outbreak. The authorities have already shuttered cinemas, ski resorts, gyms, nightclubs and non-compulsory schools. From Monday, all schools from kindergarten to secondary level will be suspended. The authorities said school buildings would be …

YAPEAL has become the first financial institution in Switzerland to receive a fintech banking license. The new digital bank plans to challenge the traditional retail banking sector with personalized accounts tailored to individual clients. The bank is building a community-style customer base known as “Yapsters” who will be among the first to try out its services based around their own needs. This might include a new style of account for customers’ children or a robo-advisory service that balances income, fixed household costs and a client’s desire for different goods. YAPEAL says it will charge simple flat fees rather than the complex system of opaque fees that high street banks typically charge clients. It also pledges not to lend out customer’s money unless they first give approval. YAPEAL also stated on Friday that it intends to launch a Visa debit card. “YAPEAL is very pleased to have reached this fundamentally important milestone,” co-founder Andy Waar said in a statement.

Austria has reintroduced border controls with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, while banning flights from Switzerland, Spain and France, in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.   The Austrian government announced the move on Friday, saying it will take effect from the beginning of next week. Austria had previously introduced similar border measures with another neighbouring country, Italy. Swiss travelers are already being rejected by the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Serbia on a temporary basis. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to more than a thousand in Switzerland with seven confirmed deaths by Friday afternoon. Austria’s tightened border is part of a package of measures introduced by the government, including a quarantine of two regions, the closure of bars, restaurants, cafés and non-essential shops plus a recommendation that all people should work from home if possible.