VIENNA: The Swiss government could increase a 20 billion Swiss francs ($21 billion) loan program to help keep companies afloat and safe jobs amidst the coronavirus crisis, the finance minister told weekly Sonntagsblick.
Like other European countries, Switzerland is pumping money into its crisis-hit economy. The government has signed off on a 20-billion-Swiss-franc emergency scheme under which companies can get state-backed, no-interest loans of up to 500,000 Swiss francs via their banks.
“It is possible that we might have to step this up,” Ueli Maurer said in an interview published on Sunday. “The 20 billion are tight.”
More than 30,000 loan applications have been submitted already, and guarantees worth more than 4 billion francs have been given on Thursday and Friday alone, the finance minister said.
Asked how much money the state was ready to provide, he said: “As much as is needed. We are borrowing to safe jobs.”
“If we do not pump money into the economy quickly, we will have tens of thousands of unemployed within weeks.”
Maurer had pointed out on Saturday that the government was happy to help with loans, but that the money must be paid back and could not cover income losses.
More than 13,000 coronavirus cases and 235 related deaths have been confirmed in the Alpine country of 8.6 million people.
The government has urged people to stay at home, imposed strict border controls and banned gatherings of more than five people to curb the epidemic’s spread.
Maurer said it was important to prepare now for how best to begin to ease the restrictions in public life. “The current situation is not sustainable in the long term, neither mentally nor economically.”
Switzerland might increase 20bn franc emergency scheme: Finance minister
Switzerland might increase 20bn franc emergency scheme: Finance minister
- The government has signed off on a 20-billion-Swiss-franc emergency scheme
- The government has urged people to stay at home, imposed strict border controls and banned gatherings of more than five people
Kremlin welcomes US sanctions waiver says US and Russia share interest in stable energy markets
DUBAI: Russia sees a U.S. sanctions waiver on its oil as an attempt by Washington to stabilise global energy markets, and the two countries have a shared interest in this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"We see actions by the United States aimed at trying to stabilise energy markets. In this respect, our interests coincide," he said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a temporary authorisation allowing countries around the world to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea on Thursday extending a measure that had previously been granted only to Indian refiners.
Bessent stressed in a post on X that the authorisation would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.
“This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction,” Bessent said on a post on X.
However, the measure received mix reviews in European capitals, with many fearing it could help replenish Russia's assualt on Ukraine.
"I am concerned that we are further filling Putin's war chest," German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said in Berlin on Friday.
Reiche said that she saw both sides to the United States' decision to issue a 30-day waiver for the purchase of Russian oil products, understanding the increasing ecnomic and political turnout from the oil crisis, particurlarly in South Korea and Japan.
"It seems to me that domestic political pressure in the United States is very, very high," Reiche said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was more direct, saying on Friday that it was wrong to ease sanctions against Russia for whatever reason. The sentiment was echoed by Norway’s Prime Minister, who also said sanctions should not be eased.
Oil prices held gains above $100 Friday and most equity markets dropped after Iran's leader called for the blocking of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and the opening up of new fronts in the war against the United States and Israel.
With the conflict heading towards its third week and showing no signs of ending, investors are growing increasingly worried about an extended crisis that could fan inflation and hammer the global economy.
