Alpine Region in July 2026: the most important developments in economy
The Alpine region's economy in July 2026 was marked by Nestlé's restructuring. After reports on July 22 that it was close to selling its European mineral water unit, Nestlé announced on July 23 that it plans to raise 3 billion euros through a spin-off of its water business. The company also said it will close a factory in Hungary at the end of the year, while investing 520 million Swiss francs in an animal feed plant in Italy and about half a billion dollars in a Nescafé plant in Thailand. Nestlé said consumers are shunning mid-sized packs amid a price squeeze.
In banking, the Swiss National Bank said on July 2 that UBS can cope with losses in a crisis, and the bank began a trial of US banking services for wealthy American clients. The US Securities and Exchange Commission removed a legal obstacle to UBS's crisis-resolution plan. On July 29, UBS reported a 17% rise in second-quarter net profit to 2.8 billion dollars and announced a 3 billion dollar share buyback. Julius Bär posted a record half-year profit, and Bank Austria reported higher first-half profit after an acquisition that added 2,500 corporate clients. Unicredit said it expects to take over Commerzbank.
Dealmaking was active. Novartis agreed to buy the UK-based Myricx Bio for up to 1.5 billion dollars, and ABB said on July 16 it would acquire the British firm Rotork for between 5.5 and 5.6 billion dollars and pursue further acquisitions. Samsung Biologics agreed to buy a Swiss peptide maker for 1.8 billion dollars, and Ipsen agreed to buy the Swiss biotech Memo in a deal that could top 800 million dollars. Stadler was hit by a cyberattack with a demand of 10 million Swiss francs, and the European Union stepped up its antitrust case against Sika.
In Croatia, six battery-electric trains were ordered for 53.6 million euros, and cherry tomato prices rose to as much as 15 euros per kilo. Switzerland's nuclear plant on the Aare was allowed to restart at reduced capacity on July 27 after a heat-related shutdown.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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