⚽ The Helvetic Underground

• 🌍 Public finances. The IMF's Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, is calling on governments to reduce their deficits amid soaring bond yields and global debt set to exceed 100% of GDP.
• 🇿🇦 Diplomacy. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to South African jurist Navanethem Pillay for her commitment to international law and the prosecution of war crimes.
• 🇺🇸 Conflict. Donald Trump believes Ukraine should choose a new president to end the war, whilst also calling on Volodymyr Zelensky to stop strikes against Russian refineries.
• 🇸🇪 Diplomacy. Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf made a discreet visit to Zurich to tour the Dübendorf innovation park, the EPFZ and several companies.
• 🇨🇭 Currencies. Raiffeisen significantly raises its Swiss growth forecast for 2026, from 0.8% to 1.7%, and anticipates the imminent end of the Swiss National Bank's key interest rates at 0%.
• 🇵🇱 Security. Poland convenes an emergency meeting following reports of possible assassination attempts targeting Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the Defence Minister.

Economy & Finance

• 🇨🇭 Jobs. Nearly 5K posts linked to artificial intelligence were published in Switzerland over one year, representing a 32% increase, with SMEs accounting for 76% of the growth.
• 🇺🇸 Trade. The US trade deficit widened to $105.6bn in August, its highest level in over a year, compared to $92.8bn in July.
• 🌍 Trade. The WTO forecasts a 3.9% increase in global merchandise trade in 2026, nearly double its March projection, driven by artificial intelligence-related equipment.
• 🇮🇳 Rates. India's central bank raises its policy rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%, a first since 2023 amid inflationary pressures linked to rising energy costs.
• 🇨🇭 Tax. The Swiss government supports an increase in VAT from 8.1% to 8.5% to finance the 13th AVS pension, generating expected annual revenues of 1.5 billion Swiss francs.
• 🇨🇭 Budget. The SNB retains control of the distribution of its profits, with up to 6 billion CHF per year paid to the Confederation and cantons between 2026 and 2030.
• 🇮🇪 Budget. Ireland proposes reducing the EU's budget project for 2028-2034 by €140bn, whilst preserving agricultural and cohesion funds.
• 🇩🇪 Industry. The business climate in German automotive falls to -35 points in September, its lowest level of the year, amid declining exports, employment and orders.
• 🇨🇭 Consumption. Swiss household spending increased by 0.9% year-on-year in September, despite mounting inflationary pressure on budgets.
• 🇺🇸 Consumer confidence. American household confidence fell in October to 46.3 points, down from 48.1 in September, worse than expected.
• 🇩🇪 Defaults. Company insolvencies are multiplying in Germany, but associated receivables fell to €21.9bn over the first seven months, compared with €31.8bn a year earlier.

Switzerland

• 🇨🇭 Policy. After nearly 50 years of debate, Fribourg adopts its first language law, allowing certain municipalities to become officially bilingual under strict conditions.
• 🇨🇭 Security. Switzerland is hosting a European civil protection exercise for the first time, mobilising nearly 500 people around an earthquake scenario in the cantons of Vaud and Geneva.
• 🇨🇭 Education. The new collective agreement for Vaud masons doubles the holidays of first-year apprentices to 10 weeks, and strengthens their protection against cold and extreme heat.
• 🇨🇭 Real Estate. Residential property prices rose by 0.8% in the third quarter, representing an increase of 3.3% year-on-year, driven by a shortage of housing.
• 🇨🇭 Mobility. Zurich airport welcomed more than 123,000 passengers in a single day, a record attributed to the start of autumn holidays in several cantons.
• 🇨🇭 Climate. The historically low level of Lake Zurich has caused a small island off Stäfa to emerge, visible for the first time in 74 years.
• 🇨🇭 Tourism. Eight hotel projects totalling nearly 700m CHF in investments are underway in Crans-Montana, with nearly 300 additional rooms as a result.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. Dominik Hartmann, chef of the Magdalena restaurant in Rickenbach (SZ), becomes the first exclusively vegetarian specialist to win the title of "Chef of the Year" 2027 from Gault Millau Switzerland.
• 🇨🇭 Culture. According to a UBS study, collectors under 30 years old spent more than twice as much on art as older generations in 2025 and in the first half of 2026.
• 🇨🇭 Sport. The slopes of the Théodule glacier, above Zermatt, will reopen on 14 October following a closure due to the heatwave and rapid snow melt.

Elsewhere in the World

• 🇮🇹 Elections. The Italian Parliament adopts a controversial electoral reform granting an absolute majority to the coalition exceeding 42% of the vote, paving the way for early elections in spring.
• 🇪🇸 Elections. Weakened by the rejection of his housing measures, Pedro Sanchez dissolves Parliament and calls snap elections for 29 November.
• 🇬🇧 Elections. Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali retains Holborn and St Pancras with 45% of the vote, ahead of Green Party leader Zack Polanski, limited to 33% in this London constituency.
• 🇨🇦 Elections. The Québec Liberal Party wins the provincial elections with approximately 28% of the vote and promises a new referendum on independence, without an absolute majority in Parliament.
• 🇮🇳 Rights. India has removed over 130M names from its electoral rolls, a verification operation that strips millions of voters of their voting rights and fuels protests against Narendra Modi.
• 🇩🇪 Security. Former head of German foreign intelligence August Hanning has been arrested, suspected of having purchased nearly 2,000 confidential documents to prepare an analysis intended for a foreign service.
• 🇯🇵 Security. Japan declares a state of emergency in cyberspace following a series of attacks targeting banks, companies, hospitals and government agencies.
• 🇸🇦 Security. An attack attributed to the Houthis against Riyadh airport has killed at least 12 people and injured 309, according to diplomatic and medical sources, whilst Saudi authorities have not confirmed the strike.
• 🇱🇧 Diplomacy. The European Union supports the extension of UNIFIL's mandate in Lebanon, whose approximately 7,500 peacekeepers are set to begin withdrawing at the end of 2026.
• 🇪🇸 Protests. Spanish trade unions CCOO and UGT announce a one-day general strike against the housing crisis, ahead of legislative elections on 29 November.
• 🇳🇮 Disasters. A 19-year-old Swiss woman and two other women drowned in Nicaragua after their vehicle was swept away by a swollen river.
• 🇵🇦 Disasters. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Panama, damaging homes and buildings, with no reported casualties so far.
• 🇪🇺 Climate. September was the second hottest month ever recorded globally, with an average temperature 1.63°C above pre-industrial levels.
• 🇷🇺 Health. A laboratory technician has died in circumstances that could be linked to plague, with no clear explanation at this stage.

• 🇨🇭 Pharma. Roche publishes positive data on vamikibart, its experimental treatment for macular oedema linked to uveitis, with sustained vision improvement over 52 weeks.
• 🇨🇭 Food & Beverage. Nestlé signs a multi-year international marketing partnership with the NBA, covering 21 markets across four continents from 2027.
• 🇨🇭 Stock Market. Finma has opened an enforcement procedure against Haute Capital and its chief executive officer, suspected of market manipulation. The Bienne-based company's share price has lost nearly 75% since January.
• 🇨🇭 M&A. Chanel strengthens its watchmaking ecosystem by participating in the acquisition of 95% of Ebel from American company Movado, with Pierre Jacques set to lead the brand.
• 🇨🇭 Innovation. Bernese start-up Besso raises €4.29M from a European family office to develop its regulatory intelligence platform for international trade.
• 🇨🇭 Innovation. Zurich-based start-up Klarent raises €7.13m to develop its autonomous software testing platform and expand into the United States.

SMI Index

📅 Data as of 2026-10-13 10:07

Forex CHF

📅 Data as of 2026-10-13 10:07