Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

After decades of concern about rising childhood obesity, Switzerland may finally be bending the curve. A new nationwide body-mass-index survey suggests that the proportion of overweight children has declined modestly over the past 15 years, particularly among younger pupils. Yet the improvements are uneven and social inequalities remain stark. The study, published by Promotion Santé Suisse, analysed data from more than 30,000 pupils across 11 cantons and four cities. Overall, 17.2% of Swiss schoolchildren were classified as overweight or obese in 2025. Of these, 12.7% were overweight and 4.5% obese.  The encouraging news lies among the youngest children. In the first…

Swiss corporate bankruptcies surged in 2025, but the country’s economy is not necessarily collapsing. Much of the increase stems instead from a legal reform that has made it easier to force insolvent firms into formal bankruptcy proceedings. According to figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), 13,612 bankruptcy proceedings were opened last year under Switzerland’s debt-enforcement law. Of these, 12,485 concerned companies and 1,127 private individuals. The rise was dramatic. Overall bankruptcies increased by 48.5% compared with the previous year, while corporate bankruptcies jumped by more than 61%. Personal bankruptcies, by contrast, fell by roughly one-fifth. At first glance…

Voters in the canton of Geneva will head to the polls on June 14th to decide two distinctly Genevan questions: whether shops should open more often on Sundays and whether elected officials should be barred from wearing visible religious symbols in parliament. The first referendum concerns retail opening hours. At present, shops in Geneva may open on Sundays only under strict conditions, including the existence of a collective bargaining agreement covering employees. Although the law already allows several exceptional openings each year, the absence of a new agreement since 2017 has effectively frozen the system. The proposed reform would permit…

Swiss Rail is betting that Swiss travellers want more access to neighbouring Europe. Its proposed 2027 timetable, due to take effect on December 13th, places greater emphasis on international routes, with improved services to Paris and northern Italy, reported RTS. The most notable improvement concerns the route between Lausanne and Paris. From April 5th 2027 three daily TGV services in each direction will once again run via Geneva. The reduction in direct links during recent years had irritated both business travellers and tourists, particularly as rail travel between Switzerland and France has enjoyed steadily rising demand. A new service between…

Inside the private halls of The Dolder Grand, the recent Legacy Private Capital Roundtable brought together a carefully selected group of entrepreneurs, investors, operators, and capital allocators for an invite-only discussion centered around modern influence, access, and execution. While the event featured several high-level participants from across finance and business, much of the attention throughout the evening gravitated toward one speaker in particular: Aarush Garg. Hosted by Daniel Filatov, the Zurich gathering was intentionally designed as an alternative to traditional business conferences. Rather than emphasizing visibility, audience size, or public exposure, the event focused on high-trust conversations among a smaller…

Switzerland’s Ascension holiday weekend once again brought heavy traffic to the country’s roads, with long queues forming at the Gotthard tunnel despite expanded rail services to southern Switzerland. After tailbacks of nearly 10km on Wednesday, traffic heading south continued to build on Thursday, particularly along the A2 motorway leading to the Gotthard Road Tunnel, reported RTS. By midday, the Touring Club Switzerland reported a queue stretching 10km between Erstfeld and Göschenen on the northern approach to the tunnel. Drivers faced delays of around one hour and 40 minutes before entering the tunnel. Traffic gradually eased later in the afternoon. Alternative…

Switzerland’s existing nuclear power plants could remain in operation for up to 80 years, according to a new report by the federal government, which argues that long-term operation is both technically feasible and economically viable. A memorandum from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy had already concluded in 2024 that extending the lifespan of Swiss reactors beyond 60 years was technically and financially possible. The government now says that further operation over an 80-year period would require investments of between CHF 700m and CHF 1.2bn per plant for upgrades and maintenance. Those costs are expected to be commercially worthwhile. From…

A study has found that a “yes” vote on the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) initiative would impose considerable costs on Switzerland. The study was conducted by Demgrafik, a research and consulting firm based in Basel. Its authors argue that curbing population growth would bring some benefits, easing pressure on housing, infrastructure and the environment, as well as on means-tested welfare programmes such as social assistance. But these gains would be outweighed by the costs. The study says the finances Switzerland’s pay-as-you-go state pension system, would deteriorate by several billion Swiss francs a year for decades. Tax revenues would fall faster…

Groups backing and opposing the initiative have amassed CHF 15m for the campaign, an unprecedented sum, reports RTS. Campaign budgets ahead of the June 14th referendum have reached a record high, largely because of the “No Switzerland of 10m people” initiative. According to figures published on Friday by the Federal Audit Office, more than CHF 15m has already been declared. That far exceeds the previous record of roughly CHF 10m, set during the November 2024 vote on motorway expansion. Swiss law requires the disclosure of donations above CHF 50,000. Contributions to campaign committees must be itemised individually once they exceed…

The Office World Group is focusing its sales to smaller retail customers on the growing online offering of its officeworld.ch platform. It is therefore phasing out its high-street sales in stages by spring 2027. This will affect 45 full-time positions across ten branches. Office World is deliberately involving the affected staff in the process at an early stage to provide them with the best possible support. As early as March 2026, Office World personally informed staff at its ten branches about the future direction of the business. “It is a bitter truth: but in the long term, the costs and revenue…