🇨🇭 Moscow Liked This One

• 🇨🇭 Growth. The KOF has significantly raised its growth forecast for the Swiss economy to 2.1% this year, compared with 1.1% anticipated in June.
• 🇨🇭 Tourism. Switzerland ranks 9th out of 110 in the World Economic Forum's index assessing conditions for developing competitive and resilient tourism.
• 🇨🇭 Economy. The Swiss National Bank maintains its policy rate at 0%, whilst inflation remains contained at 0.8% in August.
• 🇨🇭 Switzerland. Vaud voters approve a 12% reduction in cantonal income and wealth taxes from 2027 with 53.1% support.
• 🇨🇭 Policy. Zurich voters approve by 68.11% mandatory access to assisted suicide in all medical and social care facilities, hospitals and rehabilitation clinics in the canton.

Economy & Finance

• 🇩🇪 Growth. Germany's five leading economic institutes have raised their GDP growth forecast for 2026 from 0.6% to 1.3%, driven by a rebound in exports and industry.
• 🇪🇺 Growth. Economic activity in the eurozone accelerates unexpectedly in September, according to business surveys, despite rising energy prices.
• 🇬🇧 Trade. The United Kingdom loses up to £6.5bn in annual exports to the European Union, due to the lack of an agreement on mutual recognition of product controls.
• 🇳🇴 Rates. Norges Bank raises its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%, its second increase this year, and says it is ready to tighten policy further to bring inflation back towards 2%.
• 🇨🇭 Tax. The Council of States approves a 0.2 percentage point increase in VAT to finance the military, after rejecting the initial proposal for an increase of 0.8 percentage points.
• 🇨🇭 Budget. The Confederation plans to increase its annual spending on integration to 66.9M CHF from 2028 onwards, representing an increase of 5.4M CHF compared with current levels.
• 🇩🇪 Deficit. The German state's financial assets increased by 5.9% in 2025, to €1,199.1bn, despite the rise in the public deficit.
• 🇩🇪 Deficit. German federal borrowing is expected to exceed the 525.5bn€ record planned for 2026, due to refinancing needs and special funds.
• 🌍 Deficit. Global debt exceeds $365tn, whilst deficits and rising interest rates trap governments in a vicious circle.
• 🇩🇪 Industry. German industry order book reaches record in July, with 9 months of activity secured, but this performance is largely driven by aerospace, rail and defence.
• 🇺🇸 Real Estate. The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans reaches 7.03%, the highest level since January 2025, exacerbating the difficulties of an already depressed housing market.
• 🇨🇭 Commodities. The Cressier refinery has restarted, allowing Switzerland to secure its petrol and diesel supplies without further recourse to mandatory stocks.
• 🇨🇭 Investment. EFG International has concluded a financial agreement with Kuwait's public social security fund, ending a civil procedure related to concealed commissions paid to a former executive.
• 🇨🇭 Investment. Swiss start-ups raised more than €1.1bn in the first half of 2026, with approximately two-thirds concentrated in the ten largest deals.
• 🇺🇸 Investment. The artificial intelligence boom could absorb 3.6% of US GDP annually until 2032, equivalent to over $10,000bn, with systemic risks linked to its financing.

Switzerland

• 🇨🇭 Policy. Geneva will be able to implement its 24-week parental leave, approved by 58% of voters in 2023, following the adaptation of federal law.
• 🇨🇭 Policy. Genevans rejected by 63.5% the proposal aimed at facilitating the purchase of their flat by tenants, offering a fresh victory to Asloca.
• 🇨🇭 Health. Genevans approve by 58.46% the free provision of all contraceptive methods, without age or income restrictions.
• 🇨🇭 Real Estate. For 15.84 million Swiss francs, the State of Geneva will become the sole owner of the Geneva Stadium's land, an operation intended to reduce its long-term costs.
• 🇨🇭 Real Estate. A reform of urban planning rules unlocks the construction of approximately 4,000 homes in Zurich, where the shortage is particularly acute.
• 🇨🇭 Mobility. Genevans approve a credit of 39.5m CHF to co-finance 12 cross-border mobility projects in neighbouring France, including park-and-ride facilities, a tram extension and priority bus lanes.
• 🇨🇭 Climate. Persistent drought is causing Lakes Untersee and Zurich to fall to their lowest recorded levels, whilst several bodies of water in Thurgovia are nearly dry.
• 🇨🇭 Climate. Rallies organised in Berne, Basel, Zurich, Lucerne and Bellinzona mobilised several thousand people in favour of strengthened action against heat waves.
• 🇨🇭 Science. The University of Bern receives over 29,000 rough diamonds, one of the world's largest scientific collections, to study the formation of the Earth and discover new minerals.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. Around 300 artistic events, including 118 new creations, will take place across 70 venues in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 2027 for its year as Swiss Cultural Capital.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. Vernier inaugurates Concorde, a new cultural hub equipped with music and dance studios, a 1,000-seat auditorium and a budget of CHF 15 million.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. Swiss Post will dedicate a new series of stamps to five endangered Swiss livestock breeds, available from 5 November 2026.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. American actress Julianne Moore received the "Golden Icon Award" at the Zurich Film Festival for her career spanning over 30 years and 60 films.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. The Archives of Saint Gall Abbey will digitise 2.2M pages of historical documents by the end of 2028, in order to preserve their collections and facilitate access for researchers.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. The 99th Neuchâtel Vintage Festival began under sunny skies, with hopes of surpassing the 300,000 visitors welcomed last year.

Elsewhere in the World

• 🇺🇸 Policy. Donald Trump's popularity falls to 32%, his lowest level since his return to the White House, weighed down by the rising cost of living and the war with Iran.
• 🇦🇷 Policy. Poverty now affects 32.3% of Argentines, up from 28.2% six months earlier, amid a resurgence in inflation.
• 🇷🇸 Elections. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is stepping down from his position to lead his party's campaign in the snap legislative elections in October, with the ambition of becoming prime minister.
• 🇷🇺 Elections. The United Russia party, backed by Vladimir Putin, is forecast to win the legislative election by a large margin with 57.5% of the vote after 71% of ballots have been counted, whilst Ukrainian drone strikes have targeted Moscow.
• 🇻🇪 Elections. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, interim president Delcy Rodríguez announces to the UN a process of democratic transition and promises the holding of free elections in Venezuela.
• 🇲🇦 Elections. Morocco's outgoing governing coalition retains control despite turnout falling to 38%, its lowest level in nearly twenty years.
• 🇮🇹 Rights. Italy will limit the proportion of foreign pupils to 30% in primary school classes from the 2027 school year onwards, to combat "ghetto classes".
• 🇬🇱 Defense. The United States will strengthen its military presence in Greenland by reopening a former base at Narsarsuaq and establishing itself at Mestersvig, with the agreement of Denmark and the autonomous territory.
• 🇵🇱 Security. Warsaw considers the fire at a Starlink station, which notably ensures communications for the Ukrainian army, to be an act of sabotage, amid suspicions of Russian interference.
• 🇬🇧 Security. Several men have been arrested near Fairford military base in western England on suspicion of offences related to explosives.
• 🇨🇴 Security. "Robinson Gutiérrez", leader of a dissident FARC faction accused of financing the assassination of senator Miguel Uribe, was killed by law enforcement in southern Colombia.
• 🇬🇷 Disasters. Six people, including four American tourists, died in the collapse of a building in the Plaka tourist district in Athens following a violent explosion.
• 🇺🇸 Disasters. A violent storm strikes the north-east of the United States, killing one person, causing flooding and leaving nearly 100,000 households without electricity.
• 🇹🇭 Disasters. Flooding caused by torrential rainfall has killed 8 people and affected more than 2.2M people in Thailand, including 52,000 households in Bangkok.
• 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Conflict. Donald Trump rejects Iran's latest proposal, but Washington and Tehran plan to resume their indirect talks this week in an attempt to prevent an escalation of the war.

• 🇨🇭 Pharma. Roche's enicepatide displays results deemed competitive against rival treatments, with weight loss of 15.5% and only 2% of discontinuations linked to adverse effects.
• 🇨🇭 Pharma. Galderma, headquartered in the canton of Zug, is strengthening its presence in Miami, which has become its strategic hub for the United States and Latin America. The group plans to invest $650M in its American production by 2030.
• 🇨🇭 Food & Beverage. Lindt is pausing its project to export its House of Chocolate concept to Dubai, citing instability in the Middle East, whilst stating it is ready to reassess the investment.
• 🇨🇭 Food & Beverage. Nestlé will gradually discontinue its Special.T tea capsule system in Switzerland and six European countries, with stock available until the end of February 2027.
• 🇨🇭 Watchmaking. Audemars Piguet claims to have recorded a record month in each period since the launch of its Royal Pop collaboration with Swatch, despite the slowdown in the luxury market and American tariffs.
• 🇨🇭 Retail. Migros increased its ice cream production to a multi-year high during the summer, with double-digit growth compared to 2023 driven by heat waves.
• 🇨🇭 M&A. Oui Care has taken control of AMAD Homecare, La Solution, AMAD Homecare La Côte and Proxy Service, which operate in the cantons of Vaud, Geneva, Neuchâtel and Fribourg. The transaction amount was not disclosed.

SMI Index

📅 Data as of 2026-09-28 11:14

Forex CHF

📅 Data as of 2026-09-28 11:13