RIEHEN, SWITZERLAND – A retrospective of the controversial American artist Jeff Koons opened to the public Sunday 13 May at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, near Basel, and the artist encourages viewers to engage in a dialogue with his work.
Koons’ work, presented here for the first time in Switzerland, includes “hybrids”, as he calls them, of some of his most renowned pieces such as the shiny “Hanging Heart”. It gained notoriety in 2007 for being, at $23.6 million, the most expensive piece sold at auction of any living artist.
“Michael Jackson and Bubbles” a porcelain sculpture of the pop singer and his pet monkey, is also present, reflecting, as co-curator Theodora Vischer explains, Michelangelo’s Pietà by its layout.
Hanging Heart 1994-2006
The artist, born in 1955, was present at the show’s opening. He told journalists at a press conference that his art is the result of a “process of acceptance and discovery of the world around oneself”.
Part of that process is to break the taboo amongst artists, who would not admit to want to manipulate viewers through their art. “The objects are transponders, the art is in the viewer”, he says.
The viewer is reminded of his existence through his reflection in glittering oversized glossy metallic objects such as “Balloon Dog”,
Koons’ marriage to Italian porn star, Cicciolina and his subsequent custody battle for their son led the artist to destroy much of the explicit pornographic pieces of Koons and his ex-wife. “They were beautiful”, he says, but “they could have affected the custody rulings”.
The presence of the sexual is evident throughout the repertory on display at the Beyeler. “Balloon Swan”, another glossy sculpture, “is at the same time masculine and feminine,” says Koons, ” It calls out what it means to be human, offering a male perspective of sexual harmony.”
Jeff Koons, Balloon Swan (2004-11)
Even the multiple neon-lit displays of pristine-new Hoovers filling one of the gallery’s rooms does not escape Koons’s “trail of thought”, according to Vischer, who points to the “androgenous sexual nature of the objects, with their orifices and sucking power”.
In the museum’s garden, visitors will find Split-Rocker, a half pony-half dinosaur monument made of thousands of blooming flowers, which had only previously been displayed in Avignon in 2000 and Versailles in 2006.
Split-Rocker, 2000, at the Beyeler
Beyeler director Sam Keller defends the artist, who has been lambasted by critics for commissioning the production of his pieces to others, saying that Koons resembles the “conductor of a symphony orchestra … responsible for an industrial renaissance” among qualified artisans.
The exhibit regroups the artist’s work into three phases, called The New, Banality and Celebration.
It is showing at the Beyeler in Riehen, 13 May – 2 September 2012.
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England – The English Premier League changed hands in the final seconds of the season when Manchester City scored two goals in extra time against QPR to move ahead of Manchester United, on goal difference. United won their game at Sunderland 0-1 with a Wayne Rooney goal but things were wilder at City’s ground where QPR led 1-2 despite being a man down, until the game went into stoppage time. City then scored twice amid scenes of delirium. It was City’s first League title for 44 years, and they are only the fifth team to win the EPL. Arsenal and Spurs took the next two places, which give access to the Champion’s League next season.
Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves face the drop.
In the Swiss Super League, champions FC Basel won 6-3 against Grasshoppers while Geneva’s Servette beat FC Zurich 0-1.
Links to other sites: Guardian, BBC, Premier League
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – It took three times but FC Basel has finally accepted the crown as Swiss football champions, in one of the stranger sagas of trying to make it to the top. The club defeated Lausanne 3-1 but the bigger battle was with FC Luzern, which theoretically could have overtaken the Basel club but its 2-2 draw with Zurich Grasshoppers over the weekend ended that possibility.
FC Luzern has been embroiled in a case to be decided by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) that could give the team additional points for the season.
Swiss football has been plagued in recent months by bankruptcies and scandal and disputes, the most recent of which has been Geneva Servette’s efforts to avoid bankruptcy. Financier Hugh Quennec, part-owner of Geneva Servette Hockey Club, is currently scrambling to raise the necessary money to retain the club’s license.
Hugh Quennec, fighting for Geneva Servette Football Club in a year marred by scuffles and more
Four of the top Swiss clubs saw their requests to renew their licenses turned down last week, and Neuchatel Xamax filed for bankruptcy in January 2012. One of the teams turned down is Sion, which has defied Uefa and Fifa over 36 points deducted because they fielded ineligible players in a European match. “Switzerland, famous for its organization, is the home of world governing body FIFA and European equivalent UEFA but its domestic football has endured a chaotic year with the problems centered around Sion and Neuchatel Xamax,” Sports Illustrated recently reported.
Team says decision not unexpected as it scrambles to meet requirements for appeal deadline
Sion FC trainer quits
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – These are odd days for Swiss football, with Basel winning but saying in advance that even if it won this weekend, it wouldn’t accept the title, while in Geneva, fans of Servette FC are holding their breath. Monday morning’s news, 23 April, that the Swiss Football League has refused to give the team a license for next season is the latest blow to a team struggling to get back on its feet.
Hugh Quennec, one of the owners of Geneva Servette Hockey Club, pledged a month ago to raise enough funds to save the Geneva football club as it slipped to the brink of bankruptcy after then-president Majid Pishyar conceded defeat.
He went before judge Fabienne Geisinger Thursday 19 April to ask for an extension of the deadlline, reportedly saying he is close to raising the money but needs a few more days.
The financial viability of the team is one of the conditions for obtaining a license and GSFC manager Philipp Kneubuehler said Monday the team was not surprised by the SF League’s decision not to give a license now. “We haven’t yet filled all the conditions for getting a license but we’re counting on doing it in a very short time. A complete file will be handed in, in a second request.”
Quennec would like GSFC function as the hockey club does, building a strong sense of community with the team’s fans. He’s off to an early start with a buy-a-brick plan to raise funds while building popular support. He’s also intent on building interest in the team in the expatriate community in the Geneva area; to that end GSFC just worked with So Money Productions and Patrianova Communication to publish a community service video featuring player Philippe Senderos talking in English about why the community needs the team.
Sion football trainer Laurent Roussey resigned Monday morning, the latest in an ongoing saga for the troubled Valais club.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – 8-7 was the final score, Canada over Scotland, giving Canada team skip Glenn Howard his third consecutive World Championship in curling after an extra-end win over Scotland’s Tom Brewster.
Details: RTS Swiss public broadcasting (Fre), The Scotsman (final not yet listed, 23:00 Sunday), Toronto Sun
Swiss taxi waiting for customer - Photo courtesy of TaxiSwiss
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss cantons and communes should allow greater competition among taxi services, says Comco, the Swiss Competition Commission. Services from other areas should be given more freedom, in particular the commission says.
Local authorities in several major Swiss cities are not applying federal competition regulations, says Comco, citing the federal Internal Markets Law, when it comes to allowing out-of -area taxis to work within their communes. Comco’s report, issued last week, is based on research into taxi services in Basel, Zurich and Bern.
The report recommends that authorities issue operating concessions (licenses) to taxis from other localities and that they open parking areas for taxis to all cab operators without discrimination.
A recent German study shows cab fares in Swiss cities to be much pricier than those in Germany and Austria.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – The Canadian men’s team won the opening round of the eight-day world curling championship in Basel Sunday 1 April, defeating Germany 9-2, after neatly dispensing with the American team 8-7. Canada earlier defeated France.
The game is popular in Switzerland, notes Canada’s TheSpec/Canadian Press, with 160 clubs and 800 registered players, but Canadians on hand for the finals were puzzled by the quiet and relatively small crowd. “It was so quiet during the morning game that banter between curlers could easily be heard from the stands. The occasional cheer, the steady whir of stones sliding down the ice and buzz from the brushers were essentially the only sounds in the rather cavernous 9,000-seat venue. Official attendance figures weren’t released but organizers estimated that 800 spectators were on hand in the morning. A manual head count revealed less than half that number.” The evening match, says TheSpec, appeared to pull in about 1,800.
The crowds might just be warming up, with a cheering throng in the streets for the opening parade, reports the Winnipeg Free Press.
The medal game are 8 April in Basel.
Ed. note: tickets are available online from the Men’s World Curling Championship site; CHF30 for most matches and CHF50 for next weekend’s finals.
Swiss taxi waiting for customer - Photo courtesy of TaxiSwiss
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Ever feel like it’s more expensive taking a cab in Switzerland than in other countries? It’s not your imagination. According to a comparative study of taxi rates in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, for most types of trips, the Swiss have the highest daytime cab fares.
The German portal ab-in-den-urlaub.de, compared taxicab fares in 128 cities in the three countries. The results show that taking a taxi in a Swiss city costs twice as much as in most major German cities. The highest rates are found in Basel and Bern, with Geneva and Zurich not far behind.
The survey compared the base price, standard rate-per-kilometer and cost for 20 minutes in traffic.
On average, a 5-km ride including five minutes of traffic stops costs more than CHF28 in Switzerland. In western Germany, the same trip goes for less than CHF9. In Berlin or Hamburg, it is less than CHF15. Vienna cab fares are even lower.
Hailing a cab in Bern costs CHF6.80 plus CHF3.90 for the first kilometer. The price decreases only slightly in Basel CHF6.70, Geneva CHF6.50 and Zurich CHF6.20. Lugano is the least expensive of the large Swiss cities at CHF5.20. Although Lausanne was not included in the German study, cab fares are similar to those in Zurich.
Hailing a cab in Berlin costs less than CHF4 while in Vienna it is considerably less at just over CHF3. However, don’t let the low base price fool you; sitting in Vienna traffic for 20 minutes costs CHF15.75 while in Zurich the rate is “only” CHF11.50.
Police in Vaud and Geneva join forces to combat cross-border theft
Number of assaults in Geneva fell in 2011
Violent crimes fell in Geneva in 2011: orange shows simple injuries and yellow serious plus homicides (Source: Geneva Police / OFS statistics)
GENEVA / LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Geneva tops the Swiss list for a 2011 rise in property crimes, including break-ins and theft, but Lausanne, Basel, Bern and Zurich also saw increases last year that outpaced population growth and were well above the national average of 71 per 1,000 inhabitants.
Geneva’s violent crimes, including all degrees and forms of assault, fell in 2011, however; one exception was the increase from 4 (2008) to 15 knife attacks, in four years.
Urban border regions in western Switzerland in particular have seen cross-border burglary increases and Tuesday the cantonal ministers in charge of police for Geneva and Vaud announced a joint task force to step up coordination with French police to tackle the problem.
They are also calling for tougher penalties against repeat offenders and note that the “Lake Geneva region appears to have become a privileged target for robbers.”
Two features of the cross-border crime that are worrying police in Geneva, reports swissinfo, are the number of under-age Balkans working in theft in a stretch from Milan to Paris and a shift from street crime to burglaries by a group of about 400 North Africans living illegally in Geneva.
Burglaries in Geneva rose 29 percent in 2011, break-ins 19 percent and vehicle theft 9 percent
The new European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics 2010 indicates that Switzerland has one of the highest rates of criminal problems linked to migration, but the most recent figures are five years old, covering 2003-2007, and European reporting standards differ. The UK, for example, records ethnic background rather than nationality for criminals arrested, while Switzerland, which has one of Europe’s highest rates of resident foreigners, lists nationality.
Geneva and Basel are the only two cantons with 2011 crime rates higher than 100 per 1,000: 159 for Geneva and 119 for Basel (source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office)
Crime statistics for Switzerland for 2011 were released Monday by the Federal Statistical Office in Neuchatel, and include cantonal details.
Cantonal police have been releasing highway and accident statistics in the past few days.
Overall, numbers show a mixed safety picture, with property crimes up, more foreigners entering and re-entering the country illegally and who are often linked to other crimes.
Nationwide, violent crimes are down by 7 percent and in the Lake Geneva region there were fewer road accidents.
Geneva was the subject of much media hype in 2011 about personal safety and crime but the statistics don’t bear out complaints that the city is unsafe, physically, although residents and visitors would do well to watch their cars, motorbikes and bags, with theft on the rise.
Vaud saw its overall crime rate jump 18.6 percent, with a 14 percent increase in break-ins and 7 percent increase in robberies. Country-wide the rate of break-ins rose 16 percent. Car theft was up by 4 percent.
A concern in Vaud is the “massive presence of Bulgarian and Romanian prostitutes, implying a potential problem with human trafficking,” the canton notes in a press release. Police closed down immediately 7 of the more than 700 massage parlours they checked during the year.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – A psychiatric hospital patient who escaped Tuesday evening 13 March stole a car and crashed into a number of people, killing a cyclist and injuring six other people, news agency ATS reports. Details to follow as police make them available.
In other breaking police news, 20 Minutes reports that a four-year-old boy fell 13 metres from his family’s apartment building in the Bourdonnette district of Lausanne, shortly before 18:00and he is in critical condition at the Chuv university hospitals, but the information has not been confirmed by police.
Geneva Motor Show 2011 by Mr Kio, www.facebook.com/IdefixPhotography
BASEL / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Three of western Switzerland’s biggest commercial fairs open Thursday 8 March to Saturday, the watch show in Basel, the car show in Geneva, with each expected to pull in tens of thousands of visitors, and Habitat & Jardin, a favourite with apartment dwellers but especially homeowners and wannabes.
The Lausanne show, which attracts 100,000 people, starts in Lausanne Saturday 10 March and the best deal in town is a CFF rail ticket with travel and entry reductions.
This is definitely not a weekend to complain there is nothing to do!
Geneva Motor Show 2012, smaller cars but enough glamour for a quick fix
Lamborghini and Ferrari are putting their fancy wares on display, as usual, for this show that opens the car year in Europe.
Lamborghini’s not-so-subtle press release notes that the company “is presenting the most uncompromising open super sports car of its entire history. The Lamborghini Aventador J is a force of nature on wheels — supremely powerful and supremely open. The Aventador J offers its pilot and co-pilot an utterly indescribable experience of power and dynamics. At the same time, the 515 kW / 700 hp two-seater is a first class technology showcase.”
Ferrari is unveiling its 599 GTB Fiorano replacement, the F12berlinetta.
Geneva Motor Show 2011 by Mr Kio, www.facebook.com/IdefixPhotography
For the more conservative, electric cars are looking increasingly mainstream, with General Motors’s two extended range electrics, Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera, jointly named car of the year.
Here’s what world auto industry media are saying about this year’s show as it opens:
“European crisis sheds light on automakers’ excess capacity”, Detroit Free Press“More bad news for midprice carmakers in Europe”, NY Times
“Sexy cars at the Geneva Motor Show”, CBS News Money Watch
“Volkswagen creates more oddball Up! concepts for Geneva show”, Motor Show.
Of course, some people go to see the hostesses (sneak preview in a series of photos by Philippe Tabouriech).
Details on visiting the show are available in English at the Geneva Motor Show site. Hours are 10:00-20:00 Monday to Friday and 09:00-19:00 Saturday and Sunday. Tickets: CHF9 for children to CHF16 for adults. Public transport options are excellent, so while you might have cars on the brain, take the train.
BaselWorld celebrates 40 years with a record watch year for Swiss industry
BaselWorld attracts 100,000 people; it runs from 8 to 15 March and features not just watches but luxury jewelry. This is the 40th year of the fair, with 1,800 exhibitors. The fair kicked off with a statement that 2011 was a record year for the Swiss watch industry “with 30 million
watches exported. Turnover increased by 19.2 percent to CHF 19.3 billion,” announced Jacques Duchêne, president of the exhibitors’ committee, with Asia as “a driving force in the growth of the luxury goods industry. More than half of the exports of the Swiss watch industry are to the Far East.”
Penguins at the Basel zoo (©2012 Basel Zoo)
Morges rowing classes, t-shirts on the lake, ice on the shore
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The days are getting longer in Switzerland, with the sun now rising before 07:30 and setting after 18:00. The last day of the month, 29 February, will give us an additional 20 minutes of daylight compared to 23 February.
The vast quantities of snow in the mountains and continuing chilly winds in several areas may not yet have you thinking of spring, but the signs are multiplying throughout the country:
Temperatures are expected to reach 17C this weekend in Ticino, Switzerland’s hot spot.
Max the stork passed through Geneva Monday on her way north from her winter home in Spain and Wednesday 22 February she arrived in northern Switzerland. She arrived in Tuefingen, Germany, on the northern side of Lake Constance on the Swiss-German border, where she normally mates and builds a nest.
Wednesday afternoon, school's out! Lake Geneva, St Prex, Vaud
This will be the 11th year that the 13-year-old bird raises a family here. She is the longest-tracked banded bird in the world, followed by the Natural History Museum in Fribourg.
Lake Geneva’s shoreline remains laced with ice but Wednesday saw a number of rowing students from Morges out on the water in short-sleeved shirts.
Wednesday afternoon, with school out, the lake served as a magnet for families and small children, with grass beginning to green next to the ice sculptures that decorate the waterfront.
New monkey home at the Basel zoo (©2012 Basel Zoo)
In Basel, penguins at the zoo are enjoying daily walks. The zoo in its annual report issued 23 February says that 2011 saw a record number of visitors, 1.75 million, compared to just over a million in 1999. The zoo opened its doors in 1874 and in the 138 years of its existence more than 78 million visitors have come to see the animals.
The most popular areas to visit are the monkeys and snow leopards, with a rebuilt monkey area that opened in the summer of 2011 and three leopard cubs born during the year.
Click on photos to view larger
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Basel drew attention to itself again in the football world Wednesday night, defeating powerhouse Bayern Munich 1-0 with a goal in the 86th minute by substitute Valentin Stocker. Strong work from goalkeeper Yann Sommer throughout the match kept Bayern at bay.
This is the second shock Basel has thrown the football world in less than three months. FC Basel scored a famous victory when they beat the stars of Manchester United 2-1 in the final game of the group stage of the Champions League 7 December 2011.
Basel has more recently been in the news because of its young star Shaqiri. SI/AP reported late Wednesday that “pre-match talk had centered on Basel star Xherdan Shaqiri, who will join Bayern next season after the clubs agreed a reported $15.3 million transfer this month.
Bloomberg reports that Basel last reached the quarterfinals 38 years ago.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Adrian Kohler, 53, chief executive of Ricola, the Swiss herbal sweets company, committed suicide Thursday 24 November, the company announced Friday. He sent a message to the executive committee shortly before taking his life, admitting to responsibility for accounting irregularities.
Kohler helped build Ricola's strong reputation for Swiss quality; its six herb gardens in magnificent settings around the country are popular with tourists
He joined the company 25 years ago as an accountant, then became head of finances before taking on the role of CEO in 2004.
German-language media reports are contradictory about the nature of the irregularities at the business owned by the Richterich family. Felix Richterich, board chairman, will take over the CEO duties.
Ricola’s annual turnover is CHF300,000 according to Bild.
The company told employees, who were sent home Friday, that they had lost “a popular supervisor, who was also a good colleague and a loyal friend.”
The company, in Laufen, near Basel, is one of Switzerland’s most highly regarded, often cited among the top 20 most popular brands. Its famous herb gardens in six areas around the country and linked to hiking trails, are open to the public.
Interview with Kohler at the Swiss Economic Forum in Thun in 2006, by swissinfo (Fr), about the company’s success
Room to grow: Zurich's citizen say it can go ahead with new runways and keep existing flight paths
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss voters were back at the ballot box Sunday 27 November, a month after parliamentary elections, to vote on a number of items that differed from one canton to the next.
Here are some of the highlights, as results flow in Sunday evening:
Swiss right loses most runoffs, Geneva rebuffs minimum wage
- The right-wing UDC lost heavily in cantonal runoffs for seats in the upper house of parliament
- Two key federal parliament upper house seats: in the closely watched key Zurich election Felix Gutzwiller and Verena Diener defeated Christoph Blocher; Blocher is a former federal councilor and led the UDC/SVP People’s Party to a dominant position in the last decade until he lost his seat in 2007, and in St Gallen UDC candidate and favourite to win, Tony Brunner, lost to Socialist Paul Rechsteiner
- Canton Geneva has voted against a minimum wage but Neuchatel has voted to include it in the canton’s constitution; Switzerland as a whole does not have a minimum wage
- Canton Vaud: Green Party’s Béatrice Métraux defeated UDC’s Pierre-Yves Rapaz for the cantonal upper house seat left vacant by the death of UDC councilor Jean-Claude Mermoud in September
In German-speaking ares: Zurich airport can grow, Zug taxes down and foreigners get mixed bag:
- Foreigners: they will not be given the right to vote at the communal level in Lucerne, but they were spared stiff requirements pushed by the UDC People’s Party in the city of Basel to require strong language skills in order to be naturalized, and Basel’s citizens also voted 3-1 to place the responsibility for naturalization in the hands of the local government rather than the parliament; in Schwyz, voters agreed, 2-1, to align its naturalization laws with federal law and put responsibility for this in the hands of communal commissions (TSR notes that this was necessary after a scandal in Emmen, Lucerne, where the communal council routinely turned down applications from foreigners from certain countries
- Zurich voted strongly against a motion that would have restricted the airport’s growth; it will now be able to add two new runways to and allow existing ones to be extended; the vote was a sharp rebuke to the officials from several communes who were behind a motion to limit flying over highly populated neighbourhoods and to restrict the airport’s growth
- Zug voted in a number of tax breaks, including doubling the reduction per child for families, from CHF9,000 to 18,000, and cutting the corporate tax rate to 5.75 percent from 6.5
- Lump-sum taxes for wealthy foreigners who reside in Switzerland will continue to be offered by cantons Glaris and St Gallen but the latter’s voters have chosen to tighten requirements.
- Smoking in Basel: voters rejected a proposal by restaurants to adopt less strict federal no smoking laws instead of the cantons, in a close vote with just 200 out of more than 23,000 deciding the issue.
Swiss soldiers travel on Swiss trains for free when on duty (photo: Morges station, November 2011)
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The 2012 train schedule that goes into effect 11 December will offer travellers better connections for trips abroad. Some parts of the Lake Geneva region will also see improvements. But the best news for many working travellers is that mobile connections are being improved, as is the online sales service.
The CFF rail company presented highlights of the new schedule to the press Thursday 17 November.
You’ll be able to plug in and connect better in 2012
All the new trains will have electric plugs and existing intercity trains will also get them. “All the new Duplex trains on the intercity trains will be equipped with WLAN,” says Jeannine Pilloud.
A major improvement could be the installation of equipment that amplifies signals received inside and outside the train cars, giving better access to the cell phone and Internet network.
1.8 million cell phone tickets ordered and number growing
The CFF app for ordering online tickets via cell phone is proving popular, with 1.8 million users since it was introduced in 2010, and the number is growing steadily, says the rail company.
Users of the small pocket timetables will find that some of the international ones are disappearing, in favour of online information, and that smaller stations’ stops are no longer listed, but are incorporated into regional listings. All details will be available online, however.
French-speaking Switzerland, especially commuters, to see significant improvements
A host of changes for trains in the Lake Geneva region will have a significant impact:
More double-decker trains will be used on the Geneva airport/Lucerne line, offering more seats
An additional InterRegio train will run between Neuchatel and Lausanne at 07:53 and the Neuchatel/La Chaux-de-Fonds/Le Locle line will have additional service during rush hour and a pair of trains is being added to the Neuchatel to Bienne line
Canton Vaud: the S4 line is being extended from Morges to Allaman, stopping in Saint Prex and Etoy, which will now have trains every 30 minutes instead of once an hour, Monday to Friday.
Geneva: La Plaine/Geneva, more trains will run during rush hour. Coppet–Geneva–Lancy-Pont-Rouge trains, the 30-minute schedule is being extended for weekend night and trains will run every half hour on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of the day.
New international connections, travel time cut on major links
Philipp Hildebrand, SNB, now vice-chairman of the FSB in Basel
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Philipp Hildebrand, chairman of the board of governors of the Swiss National Bank, joins Canadian Mark Carney on the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, was named the new chairman and Hildebrand the vice-chairman Friday 4 Novmber at the close of the G20 meeting in Cannes, France.
The FSB is based in Basel, hosted by the Bank for International Settlements. Hildebrand has been a member of its steering committee.
The two have been appointed to three-year terms.
The FSB describes its role as coordinating “at the international level the work of national financial authorities and international standard setting bodies and to develop and promote the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies in the
interest of financial stability. It brings together national authorities responsible for financial stability in 24 countries and jurisdictions, international financial institutions, sector-specific international groupings of regulators and supervisors, and committees of central bank
experts.”
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Roger Federer won his fifth Swiss Indoors title, and his first tournament since winning in Doha in January, 2011 when he brushed aside the challenge of Kei Nishikori, Sunday 6 November. The Swiss star won his home-town tournament with a convincing display, outplaying the young Japanese in all aspects of the game to win 6-1 6-3. It was still a fine tournament for Nishikori (ATP 32), who pulled off the shock of the week with a win over Novak Djokovic, who is the top of the ATP rankings.
The Czech Republic beat Russia 2-3 in the final of the Fderation Cup, the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup, in Moscow.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – A major upset at the Swiss Indoors Basel tennis tournament has the sport reeling Saturday night 5 November: number 32 in the world, Japanese wild card Kei Nishikori, defeated Novak Djokovic, who praised the winner’s game, saying his opponent was “getting impossible balls back”.
Djokovic, top player in the ATP rankings, won the first set 6-2 and was only two points from victory in the second when Nishikori won a long rally to reach a tie-break, which he won. The final set saw the Japanese rush through to win 2-6 7-6 6-0. Djokovic was playing in his first tournament since taking time off with back strain, and was twice treated for shoulder strain. Djokovic now has a 68-4 record this year, having lost to Roger Federer in the French Open and twice retiring with injury.
Roger Federer defeated his Olympic doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka in the other semi-final 7-6 6-2 and will meet Nishikori in the final, Sunday 6 November.
Links to other sites: TSR, Seattlepi
NYON, SWITZERLAND – Pharmaceutical company Novartis is closing its site in Nyon as part of a restructuration that will involve eliminating 1,100 jobs in Switzerland.
The company is cutting a total of 2,000 jobs, with most of the rest in the US. The Nyon site employs 320 persons and 770 jobs will also go in Basel, the company’s head office. The company included general information about the restructuring in its third quarter results, published Tuesday 25 October:
“Novartis is announcing today additional cost reduction activity, which will be executed over
three to five years. Elements of the activity to include: reallocation of production within the
Novartis network resulting in closure of two sites in Switzerland and one in Italy; restructuring
the development organization largely in Switzerland and the US and relocating some research
activities from Switzerland to the US.”
Novartis results show sales up 12 percent in constant currencies, from $12.6 to $14.8 million and operating income up 15 percent, from $2.6m to $3m. Net sales grew by 20 percent with the weakness of the US dollar “with a 5 percent benefit arising from the weak US dollar against most currencies,” the company noted, while “The weakness of the US dollar, combined with the strong Swiss franc, resulted in a negative currency impact of 8 percentage points” on operating income.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – A 32-year-old woman who shot her husband in March 2011 was found guilty of homicide by negligence and sent home without sentencing. The judge declared she had suffered enough in losing her husband.
She shot her husband in their apartment while he was showing her how to handle the gun, of which she was afraid. The previous day, while high on cannabis, he had put a bullet in the chamber, most likely unintentionally and while distracted, the court concluded. His wife was looking for documents and her husband called to her to hand him the gun that was kept in the same place. She jokingly pointed it at him and said “Hands up!” and he joined in the game, taking the pistol and holding it to his head, telling her there was nothing to be afraid of, while explaining how it worked.
He assured her the gun was empty but when, under his instructions, she pulled the trigger, it went off, killing him.
The woman told the judge she had had faith in her husband’s word, but the judge said where guns are concerned confidence in another person is not enough: pointing a gun at someone or at one’s head is an act that lacks common sense.
Zurich, one of three Swiss cities that will benefit from new jobs
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The QS World University Rankings 2011-2012, published independently since 2010 and considered one of the main global education ranking systems, show EPFL in Lausanne slipping from slot no. 32 to 35, but ETHZ in Zurich holding its no. 18 place, just behind McGill in Canada and ahead of Duke in the US.
EPFL has gone up slightly with Leiden and remained at the same level with the Shanghai rankings in recent years, while since ETHZ has held steady with QS and Shanghai but gone up with Leiden. EPFL offers 20 programmes and ETHZ 44.
Swiss state universities that are given a world ranking: The University of Geneva is ranked 71, Basel University 137, Bern 162, Zurich 101.
The QS system was originally published jointly by universities by Quacquarelli Symonds, a UK-based company, jointly with Times Higher Education (THE), but the two split in 2010 to use different methodologies for determining rankings. The new QS system should not be confused with the older THE-QS World University Rankings.
THE publishes its new rankings in October.
Other major rankings systems, most of which show some national bias: Shanghai Jiao Tong, The CHE Ranking, The Leiden Ranking, CHE EUSID, Newsweek, several Financial Times specialty rankings, and the Karriere Hochschulranking.
The Swiss education department publishes a useful web site in four languages (including English) with a searchable data base of all the rankings for comparative purposes.
Highlights of the new QS rankings include:
- Cambridge is number 1 but close behind are Harvard, MIT, Yale and Oxford for the top five
- The top 10 are all US or UK universities
- Chinese mainland universities are inching up, with two of them, Peking and Tsinghua, in the top 50
Swiss taxes varied considerably from one city to another in 2010
Swiss taxes take a bigger bite in Neuchatel than in Zug
Update 22 July (new files added at end) BERN, SWITZERLAND – That magic moment in the year is here, when Bern tells Swiss taxpayers where they were best off, living or dying, in 2010, so the rest of the holidays can be spent planning a move. There is Zug, for those who are rich and single, or if you are married and have two children and you’re living in Neuchatel, Zug but also Geneva will look very good.
Federal income tax is a small part of the three-tiered tax system, with cantonal taxes usually the largest and communal taxes varying the most widely. Zug retains its champion’s title of the cheapest place in Switzerland from a tax standpoint, while Neuchatel remains one of the most expensive, for individuals.
Sample comparisons culled from the 2010 figures, published 21 July by the Federal tax office:
Single, no children, cantonal, communal and parish (if Catholic) taxes, on income of CHF100,000
Add on CHF2,067 for federal income tax
Zurich: CHF11,637 / 9.64%
Zug: CHF6,148 / 5.08%
Bern: CHF14,982 / 14.98%
Basel: CHF16,472 / 16.47%
Lausanne: CHF16,162 /16.06%
Neuchatel: CHF18,639 / 18.64%
Geneva: CHF15’370 / 15.37%
If you make CHF200,000, tax rates range from Zug’s 9.72% to Neuchatel’s 23.71%.
Married, two children, cantonal, communal and parish (if Catholic) taxes, federal tax not included, on income of CHF100,00, one spouse working
Add on CHF907 for federal income tax
Zurich: CHF6,136 / 6.14%
Zug: CHF6,148 / 5.08%
Bern: CHF8,710 / 8.71%
Basel: CHF7,690 / 7.69%
Lausanne: CHF9,175 /9.18%
Neuchatel: CHF10,054 / 10.05%
Geneva: CHF3,202 / 3.20%
If you make CHF200,000, tax rates range from Zug’s 4.43% to Neuchatel’s 17.91%.
When both spouses work the tax rate tends to be 2-3 percentage points higher, except in Zug, where it is half the rate, and in Geneva, where it is double the rate.
Inheritance taxes: avoid Graubuenden
Swiss inheritance taxes are not collected by several cantons, but Graubuenden has the highest rate and Lausanne is the rare city to collect a communal tax in addition to the cantonal one. It’s better to be a son or daughter inheriting than to inherit from a brother or sister, and beware, nieces and nephews, you’ll have to pay more when your uncle’s lovely chalet passes into your hands.
Swiss tax burden, by canton (Ger/Fre), pdf
Swiss tax burden, comparison, communes, pdf
Geneva, Switzerland, where the price of chicken and wine haven't gone up, but the franc has, compared to the dollar and euro
GENEVA / ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – A double whammy of bad news for people hoping Switzerland might be getting cheaper: ECA, a multi-company owned employees service provide and Numbeo, a searchable database on global living costs, both put Geneva, Basel and Zurich high on their lists for the world’s most expensive cities, in June reports.
The only consolation is that the growing number of cost of living indexes vary considerably and therefore provide only a guideline to what it really costs to live in a place, with smart consumers finding ways to cut costs. All are based on samples, with some, such as ECA, carrying out surveys.
High Swiss franc penalizes cost of living indexes, mostly in dollars
The pricey cities come as no surprise to anyone who has watched currency fluctuations in the past year because the Swiss franc has appreciated hugely against both the euro and the dollar. Cost of living indexes, and these two are examples, tend to use the dollar as their base currency, against which prices are measured. “Of the European locations surveyed cost of living has increased the most in Swiss locations,” notes ECA, which ranked Zurich sixth, Geneva 8th, Bern and Basel 10th and . “In Switzerland, where inflation is low, it is the strong Swiss franc that has contributed to pushing Zurich up to 6th position globally from 10th.”
If you haven’t left Zurich in the past year, in other words, you won’t have seen much change in your grocery bill, despite the city climbing up in world price indexes.
ECA has added a lengthy article about the impact of currency fluctuations on expats around the world, noting that although the dollar recovered slightly in May it has depreciated more than 10 percent against the euro, without mentioning that the figure is even worse against the Swiss franc. The author notes that food prices tend to have less of an impact on expats than on locals because they spend a lower percent of expendable income on it.
The detail behind cost of living
Geneva stepped up sharply its investigations into black market labour in 2010
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Social security coffers are CHF10 million the richer for a tougher approach to black market labour by Swiss federal and cantonal authorities in the past three years, Bern confirmed Tuesday 21 June.
The campaign to register illegal workers and ensure they have social security coverage saw several changes in 2010, but the year was marked in particular by a much stronger participation by cantons Geneva and Basel State, as well as the rest of French-speaking Switzerland.
The number of inspectors was increased by 9.7 to 66.9 posts. Inspectors throughout Switzerland checked 12,223 companies and 37,001 individuals for working without being registered.
Sanctions against companies, such as not being allowed state contracts or financial assistance, were used more heavily in 2010, with nearly twice as many sanctions as in 2009.
Part of the increased workload was due to frequently changing regulations since the opening of borders and free movement of labour inside Europe, under the Schengen accord, says Bern. Schengen also requires governments to share more data about workers and their movements, which puts a greater burden on cantons to provide data and information.
The federal government set up an online site with explanations and a streamlined employee registration system to help employers avoid inadvertently being outside the law.
Employers are obliged, since 2008, to declare new employees to social security authorities within 30 days of the start of work and to register them for taxation at source within eight days.
The new site had 20,000 visitors in its first month, a clear sign of interest in the matter, says Bern. The carrot and stick methods appear to have worked, with the number of employees registered via the simplified system going from 17,193 to 24,112 in one year.
Simplified registration system and information on black market labour, Swiss obligations:
Kurimanzutto at Art 42 Basel
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Artists, galleries and the public went home happy from Art Basel when the doors closed Sunday evening. The bottom line was sales, which totaled $1.8 billion. Bloomberg says that sales returned to 2008 levels, and it reports that “Mark Rothko, Maurizio Cattelan, Anish Kapoor and Bridget Riley were among artists with pieces each selling for more than $2 million” while several artworks went for higher figures.
There were some disappointments, with Galerie Krugier et Cie. from Geneva reportedly failing to sell three Picasso oil painting it had ticketed for $52m.
Art 42 Basel, the name for the 42nd annual event, was a measurable success in several ways, with a record 65,000 visitors showing up, more than 300 galleries present and selling the works of 2,500 artists and over 50 museum groups visiting, representing almost all the world’s major museums according to the organizers.
Alex Logsdail of the Lisson Gallery in London was one of several sellers who were upbeat at the end of the show. “The fair this year has been a great success in terms of both volume of sales and the diversity of artists that we have sold. By the end of the first day there were only five works left unsold on the stand. People seem to have enormous confidence in the future of both established and emerging artists, which is highly encouraging. Over all, another great year in Basel.”
Art Statements is a part of the fair that presents young gallery owners and artists. Its two Baloise Art Prizes of CHF30,000 per artist were awarded to Alejandro Cesarco and Ben Rivers. The Baloise Group will also acquire works by both artists and once again donate them to the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the MUMOK Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation in Vienna (www.artbasel.com/statements).
Lausanne train station: more to look at, with new animated large ad screens coming Monday
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Travellers will find the relatively ads-free train stations in six main Swiss cities visually busier Monday 20 June when large-screen ad boards go up.
The 1.01 x 1.80 metre screens will show silent animated high-definition advertisements, similar to screens already operating in airports.
Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Basel, Lucerne and Zurich will have a total of 43 boards. The CFF says that 840,000 people pass through the six RailAway stations every day.
Ad sales will be handled by e-advertising, which belongs to SGA (APG in German), Switzerland’s largest “out of home” media advertising company.
The company has a new product that was developed with Coca-Cola and Volkswagen, an interactive billboard, on display at Zurich’s main station until the end of June: the display reacts to the movements of passersby.
SION, SWITZERLAND – Sion fans were celebrating Sunday night after their team defeated Neuchatel Xamax 2-0 in a one-sided match, with Neuchatel never rising to the occasion.
It was Sion’s 12th Swiss Cup victory in 12 finals.
The train trip to Basel, site of the final, left a less positive trail, with one person injured by the crowd as it passed through Lausanne, according to ATS news agency. The train cars were heavily damaged, with two fires set in one train and windows broken. A dozen people were reportedly arrested, mainly for having fireworks.
France sends 81,000 people to work in the Lake Geneva region
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Lake Geneva region remains by far the largest in Switzerland for workers from across the border, des frontaliers, with a significant jump in numbers in the first three months of 2011. The number of workers from France rose to 81,619 by the end of March, an all-time high and up from 77,235 at the end of December.
Switzerland by the end of March had over 243,000 people crossing into the country to work, compared to 143,000 in 2000, figures released 26 by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office show.
Geneva had an increase of about 3,000 and canton Vaud about 1,000, during the first three months of 2011.
The Basel area in northwest Switzerland has the second-largest number of border-crossers, 63,995 at the end of Q3 2011, an increase of about 2,000 since the end of 2010. Ticino has just over 50,000.
Geneva’s border-crossers account for more than one-third of workers who cross into Switzerland.
Some 4,000 more women from across the border were working by the end of March, compared to December 2010, and about 6,000 more men.
Measles, photo: US Center for Disease Control
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland has seen 497 cases of measles declared since the start of 2011, compared to 211 for the same period a year earlier, the weekly newsletter from Swiss public health authorities shows.
Geneva (110 cases) and Vaud (93) are feeling the impact of a major epidemic in France, while Basel, with 57 cases, is affected mainly by a group that is reluctant to vaccinate its children.
Doctors are legally obliged to report suspected measles cases rapidly to public health authorities and anyone with the contagious disease will be quarantined. The federal public health department reminds anyone who has not had a second vaccination to be sure to have one in order to be protected against the disease, which can cause severe health problems and occasionally death. A 12-year-old girl died in Geneva in a major epidemic in 2009.
Background, GenevaLunch articles on measles in Switzerland
