Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

This week, the Federal Council said it opposes the popular initiative “For a sustainable and future-oriented financial centre in Switzerland” and has also rejected the idea of a counter-proposal. reported SRF. The initiative’s backers say it is intended to ensure that the Swiss financial centre no longer contributes to environmental damage and climate change through its activities worldwide. The campaign committee includes representatives of the Socialist Party, the Centre Party, the Free Democratic Party (PLR/FDP), the Greens, the Green Liberal Party and the Evangelical People’s Party, as well as figures from finance and civil society. If approved by voters and…

Many children return to school next week. Switzerland’s sweltering summer has renewed concern over the condition of its schools, many of which are poorly equipped to cope with extreme heat. Meeting in Bern on Thursday, teachers’ unions warned that high temperatures can impair children’s ability to learn, reported RTS. Investing in school buildings means investing in education, said the French-speaking teachers’ union, SER, and its German-speaking counterpart, LCH. After decades of use, they argue, Switzerland’s schools need to be assessed to determine whether they still meet modern needs. Schools are not merely infrastructure. They are educational tools, David Rey, the…

Black Banx reports a stronger second quarter and first half  Black Banx Group’s results for the three and six months ended 30 June 2026 provide a detailed picture of scale with improving economics. In the second quarter, revenue reached USD 5.8 billion and net income reached USD 2.3 billion. For the first half, the company generated USD 10.7 billion in revenue and USD 4.4 billion in net income.  The latest publication is positive not because of one isolated record, but because several indicators moved in a reinforcing direction. Quarterly revenue grew 41.5% from USD 4.1 billion in Q2 2025.…

Switzerland’s residential battery market is growing fast. Around half of new photovoltaic installations are now paired with storage, according to Swissolar. Falling battery prices, lower payments for surplus solar power and the prospect of more flexible electricity tariffs are all helping to drive demand. But popularity should not be confused with profitability. In Switzerland, solar power already supplies about 14% of electricity demand. That creates a new problem: what to do with the surplus, when on sunny days generation exceeds consumption. Batteries offer one answer. More owners of single-family homes are pairing photovoltaic panels with storage, allowing excess power generated…

Supporters of the “Safeguard Swiss Neutrality” initiative launched their campaign in Bern on Tuesday, arguing that a Yes vote on September 27th is needed to prevent the country’s neutrality from being steadily eroded, reported RTS. Walter Wobmann, a Solothurn MP from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), presented the campaign to the media. As president of the Egerkingen Committee, he has already been involved in two successful popular initiatives: the 2009 ban on minarets and the 2021 ban on covering one’s face in public. Mr Wobmann hopes to repeat those victories on September 27th, when Swiss voters and cantons will decide…

Around 1,000 tonnes of cigarette butts are discarded on the ground in Switzerland each year. The Green Liberal Party wants the federal government to do more to tackle the problem, including encouraging tobacco companies to redesign cigarette filters, reported RTS. Most filters are made from cellulose acetate, a polymer also used in the textile industry. In other words, they are a form of plastic. A cigarette butt can take up to 15 years to break down, releasing microplastics as it does so. These can enter water and soil and, eventually, the food chain. Céline Weber, a Green Liberal member of…

Swiss public-transport fares will rise by an average of 3.6% in December 2026, less than the 3.9% increase originally planned. The reduction follows negotiations between the industry and Switzerland’s price regulator. The price of a second-class GA travelcard, which provides unlimited travel on much of the Swiss public-transport network, will rise by CHF 100 to CHF 4,095. Alliance SwissPass, the industry body, had initially proposed an increase of CHF 200. A first-class GA will cost CHF 6,770, up from CHF 6,520. The original proposal was CHF 6,850. The increase has thus been cut from CHF 330 to CHF 250. Alliance…

The backers of Switzerland’s Safe Food initiative have lodged an appeal against the Federal Council and the Federal Chancellery, accusing them of misrepresenting the proposal in the official booklet for the vote on September 27th, RTS reported. The appeal was filed on Thursday with the government of the canton of Bern by Franziska Herren, an environmental campaigner and one of the initiative’s leading supporters. The campaigners say the authorities have wrongly presented the initiative’s central target as legally binding. The proposed constitutional amendment says that, within ten years, the federal government should seek to raise Switzerland’s net food self-sufficiency rate…

Ahead of Switzerland’s national day on August 1st, fireworks have generally been banned due to the risk of forest fires, although official displays are still permitted in some places, reports SRF. With Switzerland parched by drought, almost every canton has imposed restrictions on open fires and fireworks. Yet some authorities are allowing large official displays to go ahead. Critics say the exemptions undermine the bans. The rules vary by canton, but private fireworks are prohibited across most of the country. In French-speaking Switzerland, Geneva, Valais and Vaud have gone further by banning the sale of pyrotechnics, including small firecrackers and…

For 40 years, The Economist has indulged in what it refers to as “burgernomics”: a worldwide comparison of the price of a Big Mac. The McDonald’s Big Mac is remarkably consistent wherever you eat it, so you might expect its price to be consistent too. But it is not—and, according to the publisher, that reveals something about the true value of currencies. Perhaps. As usual, Switzerland’s Big Mac is the most expensive, costing US$ 9.04 (CHF 7.30), 45% more than the same burger in the US, which costs US$ 6.22. The most affordable double layered burgers are found in Indonesia…