Switzerland Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump is taking aim at solving the housing affordability crisis, a problem so entrenched in the economy that it has put home buying in a deep freeze for three years. Trump’s new housing proposals, unveiled this past week on his social-media account, are concentrated on helping home buyers and lowering mortgage rates.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s insurance sector has found renewed vigour, with two global players ready to expand their market presence and others exploring entry. On Monday, US-based Liberty Mutual Insurance announced a stake increase in its Indian venture Liberty General Insurance to 74% from a bit above 55%.A day earlier, UK-based Prudential said it will buy a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Company. Also, Germany’s Allianz has struck a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Jio Financial Services.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The US-Iran war has crimped energy supplies, raised fuel prices, threatens to spike India’s import bill and thus strain its foreign exchange reserves. It was in this context that Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens on Sunday to cut fuel use, avoid unnecessary overseas travel and explore domestic destinations instead.For some affluent Indian travellers, that shift is already underway—India's premium domestic destinations are seeing stronger demand, higher occupancies and rising room tariffs this summer.A Delhi-based family of nine abandoned their usual summer plan of a European holiday as business class tickets surged past ₹5 lakh a seat on some key routes, nearly double the typical fares.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The quest for the perfect watch never ends. You may be rolling your eyes when you read that line.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Luxury retailer Burgundy Brand Collective aims to cross ₹200 crore in revenuein FY27, as the Mumbai-based company bets on rising premium consumption beyond India’s top metros.The company, which has introduced brands such as Royce’ Chocolate, Onitsuka Tiger, Jacadi Paris and Ligne Roset to India, plans to invest about ₹100 crore to scale its multi-category portfolio, cofounder Samir Gadhok told Mint.Burgundy, which reported sales of ₹120 crore in FY24, also plans to nearly double its store count over the next three years to about 65 stores.The expansion comes as India’s luxury consumption story broadens to newer cities where affluent consumers are spending more across categories from fashion and food to home and lifestyle.Burgundy’s approach has been to build across categories rather than deepen a single vertical. "We want to be everything to one customer, rather than one thing to everyone,” said Gadhok.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Three weeks after its official inauguration, the Noida International Airport faces fresh uncertainty over the start of commercial flights, as a key security clearance for its chief executive is still pending. The nod from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)—essential before operations can begin—has yet to come through, raising the possibility of a delay to the airport’s planned mid-May launch.The Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, 100 km off Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28 March 2026.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.KKR & Co-backed Kota-based test preparation company Resonance Eduventures Ltd. is nearing an asset reconstruction company (ARC)-led debt resolution that may see lenders taking about 80% haircut on principal claims, according to two people aware of the matter.“Only one ARC has bid for the debt and the deal is nearing completion where it will acquire a majority of the debt. Though the final negotiations on the terms of the deal will decide closure timelines,” said the first person cited above.The proposed transaction comes amid stress in India’s once-booming offline coaching sector.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: India’s appetite for Swiss watches is expanding, but the bigger shift is in how consumers are buying them. As the market crossed ₹3,500 crore for the first time in 2025, demand is increasingly being shaped by more informed, deliberate choices—moving away from logo-driven purchases towards craftsmanship, heritage and understated design.“The Indian luxury customer has evolved from buying brands to buying watchmaking,” said Pranav Saboo, managing director and chief executive of Ethos Ltd, one of India’s biggest watch retailersThat shift is showing up across the market.

manufacturing sector continuing to be a male fortress. Of the top 100 manufacturing companies in India today, only a handful are headed by women who reached those heights without the leverage of a family name.Born to a Sindhi Amil family in Hyderabad (Sindh) in 1944, Lila Thadani’s steel was forged in the harsh kiln of partition.

Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer is riding India’s growing middle class to bet that localized retail sales can offset a falling global appetite for high-end Swiss timepieces. The LVMH-owned brand plans to open boutique shops rather than rely on third-party distributors to shore up sales in a volatile luxury market.As parent LVMH struggles with a profit slide, India’s demand for Swiss watches has defied the downturn, surging more than 26% early this year.

Essel Propack after its merger with Swiss firm Propack in 1997. Over the next two decades, Essel Propack built a strong international footprint across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.In 2019, Blackstone invested $460 million to acquire a 75% stake in the company, and renamed it EPL.

Five major central banks—the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the Bank of Japan—met this week to deliver their rate decisions. Four of the five opted to pause and continue with existing policy rates.

₹265.4 crore, Christian Dior's slipped slightly to ₹257 crore from ₹265.7 crore in FY24, and Louis Vuitton's eased to ₹802.47 crore from ₹816.24 crore in FY24.In contrast, the more upmarket Hermès India, which caters to ultra-rich buyers, continued to expand, with revenue rising to ₹427.9 crore from ₹322.2 crore and net profit increasing to ₹83.7 crore from ₹72.7 crore. Swiss watches also outperformed, with sales rising to about ₹3,500 crore from ₹3,244.6 crore in 2024, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH.The divergence could be a sign of a broader market dynamic at play, say experts.

Two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, a chemical manufacturer, and an auto giant have established internal artificial intelligence (AI) teams and opened centres to increase automation across their businesses, as the technology’s rapid pace continues to upend business operations worldwide.Over the last 18 months, Swiss life sciences major Novartis International AG and Texas-based chemical manufacturer Celanese Corporation started AI councils to identify segments that can be automated. Indiana-based Eli Lilly and Co.

A new wave of affluent buyers in their twenties and early thirties is driving growth in India’s luxury watch market, forcing global brands to reposition for a more aspirational consumer.The shift comes at a time when rising disposable incomes, a swelling base of high-net-worth individuals and easing import duties under India’s trade pact with the European Union are reshaping the premium timepiece landscape. Lower tariffs on Swiss watches are expected to narrow price gaps, intensify competition and accelerate premiumisation in a market that executives say is expanding rapidly.The luxury watch market is poised for strong expansion, with annual growth estimated at 11-12%, supported by the country's rising affluent base and growing wealth among high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), according to an October 2025 report by SOIC Research.The share of luxury and high-end watch sales has jumped from 48% in FY20 to 70% in FY25, indicating that Indian buyers are gravitating toward more exclusive, higher-value brands.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: A set of common initiatives and directives signed by India, the US, China and 83 other countries at the recently concluded India AI Impact Summit will shape global collaborations on artificial intelligence (AI) despite the agreement being non-binding in nature, said a top bureaucrat who spearheaded the declaration. On Saturday, the government released the New Delhi declaration that was signed by 88 entities, including the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

UPL Ltd plans to spin off and list its crop protection business as an independent entity, as part of a strategy to create the world's second-largest agrochemical firm. The Mumbai-headquartered company announced on Friday a three-step restructuring plan to consolidate its domestic and international pesticide units into a single global entity.This restructuring was undertaken in 2022 when the country’s largest agro-chemicals firm brought in private equity giants into three of its businesses.Under the three-step process, UPL Ltd will first merge its India crop protection subsidiary, UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions, with its parent.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Syria’s possible descent into another civil war, Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, the United Arab Emirates’ failed offensive in Yemen, final U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, and the slow transition from war to peace in Gaza may appear to be disconnected events in a fractious region.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Last Thursday, when Rahul Gandhi was railing against the government, I was reminded of Manmohan Singh. Though the Lok Sabha chair scuttled Rahul’s allegations, let me elaborate on this scenario by illustrating incidents related to Singh.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Alphabet just did something that, on the surface, sounds absolutely insane. The company behind Google sold bonds that won't mature until the year 2126.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Iran’s missile program was born of weakness in the early years of the Islamic Republic. Now the question is whether it is formidable enough to head off a military confrontation with President Trump.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Elon Musk took a gulp of water on stage at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last month and started talking up one of his latest passions: data centers orbiting Earth. “The lowest-cost place to put AI will be space," Musk said.