News & Events

The semi-annual KOF Investment Survey reveals major sectoral variations in the investment expectations of Swiss firms. Investment planned for the current year is increasing only in the service sector but is stagnating in industry and even decreasing in construction. This decline is being accompanied by lower-risk investment projects and a reduced focus on environmental protection measures.

KOF economists Alexander Rathke and Alexis Perakis analyse the interest-rate decisions taken in the eurozone, the United States and Switzerland. They also comment on the political risks posed by the snap elections called in France.

Despite having very high incomes, the rich and super-rich often pay much lower income tax in percentage terms than middle-income households. In Switzerland, too, the income-tax burden on billionaires is often significantly lower than that on the rest of taxpayers thanks to the privileges enjoyed by business owners. However, wealth tax makes a significant difference here by stepping into the breach when income tax is no longer effective.

Swiss households have been asked about their numerical inflation expectations as part of the SECO consumer sentiment surveys conducted since the beginning of 2023. Initial results show that households’ inflation expectations are higher than those of forecasting organisations and firms as well as the official inflation rates. Despite these distortions, the survey data provides valuable information on factors such as the anchoring of inflation expectations.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private sector fell in June after showing an improvement in the previous month (see chart G 6). Firms are slightly less confident about developments over the next six months. A radical economic turnaround has not yet been achieved.