Alpine Region in April 2026: the most important developments in economy
In April 2026, the economy of the Alpine region was shaped by the Iran war and its effect on energy and air travel. Markets rallied on April 8 when the US-Iran ceasefire was announced, and on April 9 Glencore and Taiwan's CPC booked tankers to load Middle East oil. Even so, the Airports Council warned of an imminent jet fuel crisis over tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and Swiss aviation fuel reserves fell below mandatory levels, while the EU said there was no shortage. Edelweiss cancelled flights to the US and Oman as oil prices rose. On April 26 a Swiss International Air Lines flight aborted takeoff in Delhi after an engine problem and a fire; five people were injured in the evacuation. Croatia cut petrol and diesel prices, and Croatia and Bosnia signed a pipeline deal to reduce their dependence on Russian energy.
The second theme was the dispute between Switzerland and UBS over capital rules. On April 22 the Tages-Anzeiger reported that Switzerland was set to soften some of them. The next day UBS rejected the government's capital proposal, and reports described a standoff. On April 29 the bank reported a profit jump and signalled a bigger buyback. A Swiss minister also discussed a tariff deal in Washington on April 18, and Trump stepped up pressure on Switzerland.
Among companies, Nestle reported lower sales amid a strategic overhaul and kept its full-year outlook, and announced up to 180 job cuts in France. Novartis reported falling sales as several blockbuster drugs lost patent protection and confirmed its outlook; its CEO Vas Narasimhan joined the board of Anthropic. ABB raised its annual revenue outlook after orders surged. In banking, Raiffeisen offered $524 million for Addiko and Slovenia's NLB made a higher bid, and Bawag bought PTSB for EUR 1.62 billion.
In Croatia, Europe's first commercial robotaxi service launched, and Rimac will produce the battery system for the new BMW i7 at its Zagreb factory.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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