What Is Switzerland Famous For

Franc-ly Speaking, Swiss Currency Is Too Strong

Switzerland is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. While much of Europe is swamped by debt, massive unemployment and political turbulence, Switzerland's economy has been humming along nicely.

That's starting to cause problems in the form of its superstrong currency. The Swiss franc has become like gold, with investors snapping up francs as a hedge against the debt crisis in the eurozone and the volatility of financial markets worldwide.

The result is that the Swiss franc has appreciated some 30 percent against both the dollar and the euro this year. Its value has spiked rapidly over the past month in particular.

"It's just like a herd behavior where a lot of people readjust their portfolios," says Iwan Barankay, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

On Thursday, Swiss National Bank officials floated the idea of pegging the franc's value to the euro, as a last-ditch effort to halt the currency's wild ride. That news drove the franc down by about 5 percent against the euro and the dollar.

But the franc's rapid appreciation is already hurting exports and tourism — important sectors in the Swiss economy.

"The recent evaluation is so outlandish that almost for sure it will cause a recession in Switzerland," says Rene Stulz, a professor of banking and monetary economics at Ohio State University.

Steady As She Goes

"In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance," Welles' character, Harry Lime, says. "In Switzerland, they had brotherly love. They had 500 years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

Outsiders might still associate the Swiss economy with cuckoo clocks, watches and chocolates, but the reality is that Switzerland has run up a trade surplus largely through its highly advanced chemical and engineering industries.

The result is an inflation rate below 1 percent and an unemployment rate of about 3 percent. Government debt, as a share of GDP, is well below that held by other European nations and not much more than half the share held by the U.S.

As investors flee the dollar, the euro and the British pound, they have been flocking to the Swiss franc, driving up its value by more than 10 percent over the past month alone.

"I'm not sure they're the victims of their own success so much as they are now being affected by the mistakes of others," Stulz says.

Offshore Banking in Switzerland | Financial Crossing

Bank secrecy contributed to the government of Nazi Germany's control of assets belonging to many German Jews.

Switzerland has four official languages ​​of the Romansh German, French, and Italian, with German being the most common among the more than 7 million people. While German is the most popular foreign language, English, FrenchItalian and also used in matters of finance.

With nearly $ 40,000, Switzerland has proved one of the highest GDP in the world that its citizens some of the highest paid and richest are. Of course, built in a country whose economy is based on a reputation as one of the capitals of the banking sector has long been known for its high standards, investment policies of liberal and conservative monetary policy, which Switzerland has contributed necessarily a good reputation that has resulted in investments from all over the world are known.

Laws in Switzerland have a basic civil right. The government is a federal republic with a presidential office. 7 department heads form the presidency, which is similar toUnited States Government. These department heads are elected every four years by the General Assembly. There is a Supreme Court and two houses in the Federal Assembly. The Federal Assembly consists of the National Council of 200 members elected every 4 years, and the Council of State, two members for each of them represented 26 Caton.

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