Do fewer guns equal less risk?
Future of Swiss banks under scrutiny
U.S. bank clients casualties in an ‘economic war’?
When the CEO of Switzerland’s biggest bank calls tax disputes with the United States and other nations “an economic war” people take notice. UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said that last month, as Switzerland faces a still contentious relationship with its neighbors and the U.S. hunting for untaxed assets hidden in the alpine confederation. The U.S. is the world’s only super-power, and has not shied from using its economic and diplomatic might to seek and reclaim back taxes, and punish banks who helped hide the money. But in any war, even an economic one, there are casualties. And the changes Swiss banks have made in response to the U.S. have made things for some Americans in Switzerland much more difficult.
Katherine moved to Switzerland from Ohio in 2008 to be an Au Pair. The US was in the middle of its financial crisis and she figured “why not?” First order of business in Zurich was to get a bank account.
“I had gone to I think it was UBS the first time, and they had said that they didn’t offer any bank accounts to Americans who had less than $250,000,” she said. “My boyfriend, at the time, and I just laughed at that, like, ‘she has to have a bank account. She’s going to be living here.’”
Katherine was ultimately granted a young person’s account at UBS. Now, years later, the graphic designer and her husband are having account troubles again, trying to get a mortgage.
“We got so far along in the mortgage process that people were telling us it was a good time to buy, and then it was only literally right before we were going to sign the contract that we were finding out, ‘Wait a minute, she’s American, this is a red flag, this is a problem.’” …
What is Classical Music worth to us?
My colleagues at WDR3 asked me to compare the cities of Cologne and Phoenix in terms of classical appreciation. It is not an easy task, but this report attempts to make the comparison fair and accurately. In short, Europeans are much more willing to pay for cultural activities through taxes, whereas American organizations hope the locals will pick up the tab.
English translation below
Continue reading “What is Classical Music worth to us?”German Firms Poised to Profit in the U.S.
The United States Senate is now looking into a sweeping piece of energy legislation which narrowly passed through the House of Representatives last month. The bill proposes wide-scale changes to the U-S energy system, including among other things adding a cap and trade system on carbon emissions, and allotting funds for major investment in clean technologies. But as the U-S tries to position itself in the renewable energy market, it may find fierce competition from German companies already setting up shop state-side. This is especially true in one of the sunniest states, Arizona . Tony Ganzer reports.
Read a print version of this story here.
Continue reading “German Firms Poised to Profit in the U.S.”