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Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss spending is showing a mixed picture, with the UBS index for May remaining well below its average: 0.91 in April, down to 0.77 in May, in contrast to its average of 1.50 covring several years. The retail sector, meeting at a conference in Zurich, says its sales rose 4.4 percent in 2008, to CHF95.6 million, reports TSR (Fre). The increase is the best since 1991. Migros and Coop, the two large supermarket chains, account for 30 percent of retailing in Switzerland.

The UBS index shows that new car sales, down more than 15 percent over May 2007, were largely responsible for dragging down the index. The index is calculated using five criteria: new car sales; business activity in the retail sector, the number of domestic overnight stays in hotels by Swiss residents, a consumer sentiment index, and the volume of credit card transactions via UBS at points of sale in Switzerland.

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