NEWS

The euro exchange rate was flat against the US dollar on Friday, as the American currency is on its way to record the worst week in almost two months. Unsteady relations between China and US, as well as signs of US economy’s slowdown were to blame.

Switzerland is suffering from the shortage of skilled workers, according to the newest report. Especially it is difficult to hire technical works or engineers. In order to fill in vacancies employers turn to cross-border workers and foreign residents from third countries – next year the country will issue 8,500 work visas for non-EU foreigners.

Swiss government plans to increase requirements in terms of financial transparency by implementing recommendations of Global Forum with regard to automatic exchange of financial data (AEOI) with other countries. AEOI network is set to get bigger next year.

Record number of cross-border workers has been observed in Switzerland this year with 325,000 commuting from abroad to work each day. Two cantons that are especially popular among foreign employees are Geneva and Ticino.

Negative interest rates continue to be the hot topic in Switzerland with many financial players taking a stand for or against record low rates. Latest opinion comes from companies in a new survey, and at the same time there was data published on number of start-ups, in which aftermath the subject of negative rates also came up.