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Editor
Akriti Seth
Akriti Seth is a Zürich-based editor with more than a decade of experience, anchored by foundational training at Bloomberg. As a journalist, she covers global affairs, financial markets and technology. Her career has taken her from television studios to digital newsrooms. She has reported as an on-air correspondent for Channel NewsAsia and covered markets, corporate finance and business strategy for Informa UK. Her work has appeared in Entrepreneur Magazine, Hindustan Times, Yahoo Finance, TradingView, the Crypto Council for Innovation, DailyCoin, Tech Panda and more. She founded Helvetica Times to bring independent, English-language journalism to Switzerland — serving the expats, international professionals and global readers who want Swiss news reported with clarity and rigor.
- Articles
- 199
- On staff since
- 2026
- Based in
- Zürich
- Primary beat
- Local
Latest Work
All Articles
199-
Breaking News
UBS–Morgan Stanley Merger Talk Emerges After Swiss Capital-Rules Setback
Is UBS Senior Leadership Again Considering Options For Leaving Swiss Jurisdiction?
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Politics
Zurich Reports 41% Postal Voting Ahead Of Swiss Neutrality Referendum
The dispute is over how much freedom the government should retain to cooperate with security partners and respond to conflicts.
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Business
Zurich Tops Global Property-Bubble Risk Ranking As Housing Shortage Deepens
Zurich and Tokyo are the only markets in the highest risk category.
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Business
Cembra Set To Move Headquarters From Zurich To Baden: No Job Cuts
Cembra framed the move as part of longer-term workplace and space planning rather than a cost-cutting exercise.
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Business
UBS Faces Parliamentary Setback As Capital Rules Tighten
Ermotti’s campaign fails to shift vote as UBS suffers a clear setback.
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Business
Bitcoin Suisse’s Layoffs Turn Bitter: “Good Leavers” v/s “Bad Leavers”
Group CEO Andrej Majcen has publicly framed the restructuring as "an offensive play rather than a defensive one."
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Climate
ETH Zurich Study: Switzerland’s Worst-Case Climate Scenario Now The Most Likely One
Because Switzerland warms faster than the worldwide mean, a 3°C global scenario would translate to roughly 4.9°C of local warming.
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Expat
Should You Raid Your Retirement Savings For A Swiss Home Down Payment?
Should buyers treat retirement-fund withdrawals as a last resort to bridge a genuine funding gap rather than a default financing strategy?
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Breaking News
Swiss Market Index: Stocks Gain Monday, Pause Tuesday, Climb Again Wednesday
The Swiss Market Index opened 0.336% higher at 14,000.25 points on Wednesday.
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Business
Switzerland Raises 2026 Growth Forecast To 1.7%, Warns Of Iran-Linked Energy Risks
The Federal Council expects a further pickup in global demand in 2027, with the rest of Europe.
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Local
Large Fire Breaks Out In Buchs Zurich, Sends Smoke Plume Visible From Oerlikon
According to Alertswiss, the fire is producing a strong, unpleasant odour and is disrupting traffic in the surrounding area.
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Business
Swiss Re Shifts CorSo IT Jobs To India, Mexico And Slovakia As US And UK Cut Roles
Did Managing Director Florian Maurer accelerate the India/overseas outsourcing shortly before his own departure?
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Expat
Who Speaks For Zurich’s Foreign Residents? Meet The New 25-Member Council
Of the 124 people who applied, the City Council selected 25.
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Breaking News
Sunrise Confirms 450 Job Cuts, Far Exceeding Earlier Speculation
Sunrise cut 147 jobs already earlier this year.
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World
Is Switzerland Really The World’s Most Expensive Country?
A family of four can expect to spend upward of CHF 5,000 a month on basic expenses alone, excluding housing.
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Health
One Dead As Wetzikon Legionella Cases Reach 33, Source Still Unknown
Investigations so far point to a connection between the illnesses and the presence of Legionella bacteria found in shower-water samples in several…
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Local
Zurich Scraps General Begging Ban: Bars It Only Where Aggressive, Organised
A ruling by the European Court of Human Rights has made it necessary to adapt this blanket begging ban so that it…
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Breaking News
PwC Switzerland To Halve Bonuses As AI And Weak Economy Squeeze Consulting
PwC's Swiss bonus cuts follow similar cost-cutting moves across the Big Four and major consultancies over the past year.
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Expat
13th AHV Pension In 2026: Why The CHF 1,580 Average May Not Be Yours
Someone who arrived in Switzerland at age 30 and contributed faithfully until retirement, for example, would reach only about 80% of the…
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Crime
Swiss Authorities Warn Of Surge In Callback Scams Using Fake Migros And Bank Alerts
The scam typically begins with an email or text message claiming that a suspicious or unauthorized transaction has occurred on the recipient's…
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Local
One Dead, One Critically Injured After Construction Lift Falls Near Zurich Main Station
The exact cause of the accident is now under investigation by Zurich City Police.
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Business
All Regulators Clear Zurich-Beazley Deal; London Court Has Final Say
Zurich Insurance Clears Final Regulatory Hurdles, Set to Complete Beazley Takeover October 2026
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Breaking News
Fresh Off A Data Breach, Revolut Applies For Swiss Banking Licence
"Revolut is already Switzerland's leading fintech," said Julian Biegmann, bank's GM for Switzerland.
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Expat
Swiss Rent Reference Rate Stays At 1.25%: Tenants Who Haven’t Acted May Still Be Overpaying
If your lease still references 1.5% or more, you are probably entitled to a reduction and should request it in writing.
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Business
Partners Group Shares Plunge As Profit Falls And CEO Steps Aside
Partners Group now expects performance income to represent around 20%–25% of total revenue in 2026.
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Business
AI Could Cut Swiss Office Demand By 7.9%, Raiffeisen Says
The impact will depend on whether AI replaces employees or supports them.
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Breaking News
Temperatures Set To Meet Switzerland’s Heatwave Threshold This Week
Switzerland is set for another sunny, dry and unusually warm stretch.
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Business
Lindt & Sprüngli Protects Jobs By Cancelling Ski Weekend, Christmas Party
Crucially, Lindt explicitly stated that no operational layoffs are currently planned.
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Breaking News
Data Leak Exposes 1320 UBS Employees Facing Layoffs
For the UBS staff whose data was exposed, the incident compounds an already difficult situation.
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Business
Vontobel Leaves Zurich After A Century, Consolidating 1500 Jobs In Baar
Vontobel's relocation should force Zurich authorities to reconsider their tax and building regulations.
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Crime
What Is SwissNovaChat Debt Collection Scam? Cybersecurity Agency Issues Warning
BACS, the Federal Office for Cybersecurity, first flagged the two SwissNovaChat Debt Collection Scam websites publicly on 6 April 2026.
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Climate
Did MeteoSwiss Fail Again? No, SRF Meteo Did
The damage was severe: about 40 people injured and dozens of flight cancellations at Zurich Airport.
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Crime
Switzerland’s Worst Gun Attack Since 2001: One Dead In Aarau Rave Shooting
Swiss authorities are likely to face pressure to review security protocols for large public events, particularly those attracting thousands of attendees in…
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Local
More Refugees In Canton Zurich Gain Access To Job Market, New Report Shows
Among people from the asylum and refugee sector, the number receiving employment support rose by roughly a third, to 1,624 people.
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Business
Switzerland Job Cuts: Swiss Life Braces For Major Layoffs As McKinsey-Driven Overhaul Nears
The company is using natural attrition to keep job losses "as low as possible," filling internal-service vacancies "very selectively" since the start…
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Business
UBS Switches To Indian IT giant HCLTech, Putting Swiss Jobs At Risk
The bank recently announced plans to create around 3,000 new IT jobs in Hyderabad, India, as it expands its technology footprint there.
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Business
Repair Costs For Parking Damage In Switzerland Jump By 45%
Replacement parts are also more expensive.
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Business
Zurich Insurance Denies Comment On Report Of 500 Jobs At Risk
The potential job reductions could take place at Zurich’s headquarters on Mythenquai in Zurich.
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Breaking News
Switzerland Job Cuts: Raiffeisen To Cut Up To 180 Positions Despite Strong Growth
Despite Raiffeisen attracting CHF 3.3 billion in net new money into investment, the bank is making 180 positions redundant.
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Breaking News
Swiss Flight From Chicago To Zurich Forced To Divert Due To Chemical Odour Onboard, Passengers Examined
Swiss said it could not yet determine with certainty what caused the pungent odor in the economy cabin.
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Crime
Fraud Calls In Switzerland Drop 75% After Caller ID Rules Extend To Mobile Numbers
Jobseekers were singled out as a specific target, lured with fake "dream jobs" or fraudulent investment opportunities.
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Breaking News
IWC Confirms 18 Job Cuts In Schaffhausen, Union Says Wider Layoffs Feared
Allegedly CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr, who drives two expensive company vehicles, said that executive team members declined to accept pay reductions, and that…
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Breaking News
Zurich Confirms Foreign-Sounding Names Cost You The Interview: Then Rejects The Fix
Asian and African job seekers face up to 19% worse odds in Switzerland. Zurich just voted to do nothing about it.
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Business
UBS Ramps Up Bitcoin ETF Bet With 24-Fold Surge In Call Options
Notably, Bitcoin saw quite a rally in the last five days, from $65k all the way to $79k.
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Crime
Will The Basel Police Officer Accused Of Sexism, Racism And Nazi Salute Be Fired?
City Police takes the fight to Basel Police Ofiicer accused to Federal Court.
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Breaking News
Zurich To Test 35-Hour Working Week For City Employees
Meanwhile, the Green Party City Councillor warns of a "hyper-elaborate experiment that stresses everyone out."
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Politics
Switzerland’s Individual Taxation Reform: A Timeline Now Set For 2032
The Federal Council announced on 19 August 2026 that individual taxation will take effect on the latest date permitted by law: 1…
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Climate
Thawing Permafrost Puts Swiss Village Kandersteg On Alert Over Rock Collapse Risk
Kandersteg, home to around 1,300 people in the canton of Bern, sits in a classic Alpine setting of jagged peaks, glaciers and…
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Climate
Lake Zurich Boat Services Cancelled: Water Level Drops To Lowest In 74 Years
The Lake Zurich Navigation Company (ZSG) suspended its Limmatboat sightseeing tours in mid-August, and further services are now being cancelled.