ZÜRICH EDITION · SWADDLE.COM

The Swaddle Daily

A wider world. A closer read.
Friday, 18 September 2026Friday edition · discoveries & diaries · 15-min core + optional headlinesEst. 2026 · No. 002
Swiss banking • Competition and capability

Revolut seeks a bigger place in Swiss banking

A Swiss licence could move the app beyond everyday payments—and bring a new set of operating demands.

Revolut is seeking a Swiss banking licence after building a reported 1.3 million customers in the country. Approval could open the door to more locally tailored services; the application is not an authorisation.

For your financial-services background, the interesting question is how compliance, operations and staff capability would have to change as the product range grows.

1.3mReported Swiss customers
Licence application pending

Source: SRF via SWI swissinfo.ch · 18 September

Your places
Testing the Thames

The Great UK WaterBlitz reaches Richmond this weekend.

Art without borders
Barcelona’s fleeting encounters

Textiles, memory and gallery discoveries through Sunday.

Your next ten days
Catch it while it’s here

Short-run exhibitions, artist talks and a museum night in the art diary.

Local News

Zürich • The city around you

The container tower that outlasted its temporary life

18 September. SRF revisits the Freitag tower at Hardbrücke twenty years after its construction. Nineteen shipping containers made a 26-metre landmark in 2006; a deliberately temporary retail building became part of the city’s visual identity. Later work included renovation and, this year, rooftop solar.

For your interest in street art and design, this is an enjoyable local read about how reused industrial materials become architecture. It also gives a familiar Zürich-West walk a new story to look for. SRF · German.

Mario Fehr seeks another term

18 September. Zürich security director Mario Fehr will stand again in the cantonal election on 4 April 2027. The independent politician has served since 2011. With four of the seven current government members retiring, his decision helps define an unusually open contest. A useful early marker for the politics of your home canton, rather than an imminent voting deadline. SRF · German.

Also read: NZZ analysis · German · 18 September.

ETH’s quantum hub: a capability story worth catching up on

10 September · catch-up. IBM and Lockheed Martin announced a Swiss Quantum Innovation Hub at ETH Zürich. The planned IBM computer is to be installed at CSCS in Lugano, so the Zürich institutional connection should not be confused with its physical location. Research and training are part of the ambition.

For enterprise learning, the relevant question is how teams acquire enough specialist understanding to judge useful applications. The announcement establishes a programme and infrastructure plans; it does not demonstrate commercial quantum advantage. IBM · company announcement.

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National News

Switzerland & Britain • Money and public life

Swiss diesel sets a record; petrol also rises

18 September. The national average diesel price has reached CHF2.41 a litre, according to TCS figures reported by SRF. Unleaded 95 is CHF2.10, up five rappen in a week but below its 2022 peak. The report points to disrupted energy supplies and unusually expensive Rhine transport among the pressures.

If you drive, this affects the next fill-up directly. If you do not, watch for actual changes to transport or delivery charges before assuming a household cost increase. These are national averages, not quotes for a particular Zürich forecourt. SRF · TCS figures.

Nestlé retains ownership but loses control of Russian units

18 September. A Russian presidential decree has placed shares in Nestlé Russia and Nestlé Kuban under external administration by LEV Management. Nestlé remains the owner, but no longer controls the businesses’ decisions for now; the immediate financial consequences were initially unclear. Russia accounts for about 2% of group turnover, the report says.

This is a Swiss corporate exposure story with wider lessons for regulated multinational operations. It is not evidence that every Nestlé asset in Russia has changed ownership. SWI / Keystone-SDA.

Also read: Euronews / AFP · 18 September.

British retail volumes rebound in August

18 September. UK retail sales volumes, including fuel, rose 0.5% in August, the ONS reports. The figures put volumes just below June’s level, their highest since April 2022. Unlike a rise in cash receipts alone, this measure adjusts for price changes.

For your UK connections and business interests, it is a useful signal of consumer activity, though a single month cannot establish a lasting recovery or predict interest rates. Office for National Statistics.

Also read: The Retail Bulletin · 18 September.

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International News

The wider world • What is known, and what is claimed

A new tanker claim keeps Hormuz in focus

18 September. Iran says it struck the Togo-flagged tanker Trend in the Strait of Hormuz over an unauthorised passage. AP said it could not independently confirm the claim. South Korea is considering widening its Gulf of Aden naval mission to protect shipping.

For you, the practical connection is the route from shipping disruption to energy and business costs. Treat this particular incident as an attributed claim, not an established account of damage. Associated Press.

Also read: Vanguard / AFP · 18 September.

Guterres urges cooperation before the UN gathering

18 September. In an AP interview ahead of the General Assembly, UN secretary-general António Guterres argues for cooperation across conflict, inequality and AI while describing a paralysed Security Council. He is approaching the end of his term. The interview offers context for next week’s diplomatic coverage and for the international institutions connected to your Washington interests. Associated Press.

AI starts to do more of the work of building AI

18 September. Anthropic says Claude now leads 26% of its model research and development, with humans supervising, and participates more broadly in much of the rest. AP reports the company’s disclosure amid calls to slow frontier development. These are company-reported measurements, not proof of autonomous research or an independent productivity audit.

The capability question is immediately relevant to your work: which decisions remain with people as software takes on larger tasks? Associated Press.

Also read: Dawn / AFP · 18 September.

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Your Places

Richmond • Twickenham • Tyneside • Paris

Richmond’s stretch of the Thames joins the WaterBlitz

16 September report · activity starts 18 September. The nationwide Great UK WaterBlitz begins today, with Richmond’s MP scheduled to join testing between Ham and Kingston this morning. Earthwatch’s exercise gathers water-quality samples, including nutrient tests and selected PFAS sampling.

For a Richmond native, this is a concrete local contribution to a national environmental story: the useful follow-up will be the evidence collected, not just the attendance at the launch. Twickenham Nub News.

Tyneside’s design code puts neighbourhood character on paper

9 September update · catch-up. North Tyneside’s published update records adoption of its design code on 22 June, following consultation earlier this year. It covers different types of development and reflects concerns about local character, walkable streets, trees and green space.

With your Tynemouth family connection, it is useful background when a particular development proposal makes the news. The consultation has closed: this is a look at the resulting framework, not an invitation to submit a response. North Tyneside Council.

Paris opens doors for heritage weekend

19–20 September · upcoming. Paris’s European Heritage Days programme is a timely browse for your museum and city interests. The city lists special access to civic and cultural places across the weekend, including visits that require reservations.

If you happen to be in Paris, check the individual booking conditions before setting off. City of Paris.

Also read: Le Monde’s heritage-weekend selection · 18 September.

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Art

Exhibitions • Editions • Art in public space

More detail on Tate Modern’s first Monet exhibition

17 September report · exhibition first announced in March. Monet: Painting Time will run from 25 February to 27 June 2027, The Art Newspaper reports. The exhibition is to include twenty water-lily works, while conservation of The Seine at Port-Villez adds another thread to the story. Anthropic is among the sponsors.

This belongs on your London museum watchlist. It also places a technology company beside one of the most familiar names in painting—an interesting sponsorship connection, without implying that AI made or restored the work. The Art Newspaper.

Also read: Time Out · new details · 16 September.

A museum expansion designed to meet the street

18 September. Buenos Aires’s Malba has selected Frida Escobedo for an expansion intended to double its exhibition space, with new facilities beneath the neighbouring Plaza Perú. Opening is expected in late 2029 or early 2030; the scheme is still at an early design stage.

The relevance to your art interests is the relationship between museum and public space: entrances, gardens and places for cultural activity can shape who encounters art before they ever buy a ticket. The Art Newspaper.

Barcelona’s galleries turn memory into material

17 September · Spain. At Bombon Projects, Mounira Al Solh turns memories of sewing during Lebanon’s civil war into a collective textile installation. El País picks it out in a Gallery Weekend spanning 25 spaces in Barcelona and L’Hospitalet. The festival also includes fleeting FLASH exhibitions, artist encounters and performances through Sunday. A discovery route through contemporary art that extends well beyond familiar museum names. El País · Spanish.

Also read: Barcelona Gallery Weekend · programme.

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Events

Short-run art • Museum encounters • Live performance

Saturday improv: five performers, five solo worlds

Saturday 19 September · 20:00–22:00. Theater Ida lists Allein, a show of five improvised solo performances by da vorne links, at Aargauerstrasse 80. Its German description makes this a possible language-and-improv crossover, though no price was shown in the programme checked.

It offers a different format from team games: individual performers sustaining a scene and a relationship with an audience. Consult the event listing for tickets and practical details. Theater Ida.

Art diary · now through 27 September

Short exhibitions and one-off encounters. All times local.

DateEventLocation
17–27 SepZurich Design Weeks: design hub
Isao Hosoe, Design for Inclusion and emerging designers.
Museum für Gestaltung, Ausstellungsstrasse 60, Zürich
17–27 SepBarbara Diethelm — Lob der Katze
Thu–Fri 17–19; Sat–Sun 14–17. Artist talk Sun 20 Sep, 15:00.
Galerie Milchhütte, Dorfstrasse 31, Zumikon
Sat 19 Sep · 12:00–16:00Astrid Langer: draw, then meet the artist
Drawing 12–15, CHF15; vernissage 15–16, free.
Photobastei, Sihlquai 125, Zürich
Sun 20 Sep · 15:00–16:00Inside the mind of designer Isao HosoeMuseum für Gestaltung, Ausstellungsstrasse 60, Zürich
Thu 24 Sep · 10:30–12:00Design beyond aestheticsMuseum für Gestaltung, Ausstellungsstrasse 60, Zürich
25–27 SepWILD HeART: Adriana Widmer & Mariia Kotiuzhynska
Fri 16:30–20:30; Sat 13–19; Sun 14–17.
WOW Museum, Werdmühlestrasse 5, Zürich
Sat 26 Sep · 14:00–18:00Fragments of Conversation — finissage
One-off closing event: textiles, moving image and exchange.
Artstübli, Steinentorberg 28, Basel
Sat 26 Sep · 14:00–midnightNuit des musées: computers, design and imagined futures
Includes an iMac G4 encounter and Maison d’Ailleurs guests.
Musée Bolo, EPFL, Lausanne / Ecublens

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Wine & Food

People, places and bottles • The world’s wine cultures

Estelle Roy puts Chablis’s cooperative on the world stage

17 September · France. La Chablisienne’s chief winemaker has won the International Wine Challenge’s white-winemaker title for a second time, following 2024. Terre de Vins traces her path from joining the cooperative in 2019 to leading its winemaking in 2023.

Behind the individual award stands a network of around 250 growers, spanning Petit Chablis to grand cru. It is a useful counterpoint to the lone-genius story of wine: many vineyards and many hands, brought together by one cellar team. Terre de Vins · French.

Jessica Saurwein’s small winery, built around two grapes

14 September release review · South Africa. Christian Eedes revisits Saurwein’s new releases this week. Jessica Saurwein’s label, founded in 2015, centres on cool-climate Riesling and Pinot Noir, with a home at Waterval near Stanford.

Her earlier Time Out profile tells the story behind the bottles: a wine project fitted around a sales job, rented cellar space and gradual growth from three barrels. A welcome introduction to a producer outside the Cape’s biggest names. Winemag · review, subscription.

Also read: Time Out Cape Town · profile · August 2025 · Saurwein · grower and farm.

A harvest among Pompeii’s ancient houses

17 September · Italy. Grapes are being gathered from small vineyards within Pompeii’s archaeological park as its partnership with Tenute Capaldo enters production. WineNews describes research into local varieties and the different growing conditions around the ancient houses.

A winery is planned for 2028 and the first bottles for 2029. This is as much a story about living landscapes as wine: agriculture becomes another way to understand a city usually encountered through ruins. WineNews · Italian.

Wine diary · the next seven days

Tastings in Zürich, with two Swiss excursions.

DateEventLocation
18 Sep · 16–21; 19 Sep · 15–19Jeggli annual tasting, with Bodegas Briego
Free; walk-ins welcome. Guest winemaker Andrea Benito.
Zunfthaus zur Schneidern, Stüssihofstatt 3, Zürich
Fri 18 Sep · 16:00–18:00After Work wine tasting
CHF20.
Mövenpick Wein-Bar, Nüschelerstrasse 1, Zürich
18–19 Sep · 17:00 / 18:45Champagne from magnums
Four wines CHF59; five CHF79. Each session one hour.
LES BULLES, Hirschengraben 20, Zürich
18 Sep · 16–20; 19 Sep · 12–17Martel’s anniversary tasting
No registration required.
Martel im Neudorf, St Gallen
Sat 19 Sep · 18:00–22:00Weinbingo in the mountains
Supertoscano wines with a playful twist.
Tigia, Val Surses, Graubünden
Thu 24 Sep · 14:00–19:00Italian & Spanish wine tasting
Free; includes Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Sierra de Gredos.
Boucherville, Kinkelstrasse 40, Zürich

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Work & Business

Enterprise capability • Finance • Pharma • AI

Revolut’s licence bid is also an operating-model change

18 September. A Swiss banking licence could let Revolut expand local offerings such as pensions and Twint integration. It would also carry additional regulatory obligations and costs. SRF’s report describes a challenge to both established banks and Swiss digital competitors; FINMA approval has not been granted.

For you, the professional relevance is a possible shift from a payment app’s service model to a broader regulated business. Compliance knowledge, customer support and product understanding would need to move together. SRF via SWI swissinfo.ch.

Also read: Related: NZZ on Revolut’s separate data-theft case · 18 September · German.

Bristol Myers abandons its $100m Orum asset

18 September. Bristol Myers Squibb has stopped development of ORM-6151, also called BMS-986497, after reviewing phase-one data. Fierce Biotech reports the disclosure from Orum’s financial filing. BMS paid $100m for the asset in 2023; future milestone payments depended on continued progress.

This is a reminder for your pharma sector watch that a platform’s promise and an individual programme’s evidence are different things. The decision concerns this development programme and should not be read as proof that the entire drug-conjugate approach has failed. Fierce Biotech.

Recruitment bottlenecks put trial-site capability in focus

17 September. Reporting from DPHARM brings together perspectives from major sponsors on clinical-trial enrolment. Themes include site capacity, earlier patient involvement, community settings and better use of information already in health systems.

For your R&D quality and learning background, this is a useful business problem to connect to capability work: what prevents a site team from performing the next task well? Training may help with a defined knowledge or skill gap, but cannot by itself resolve unavailable staff, unsuitable systems or burdensome trial design. Fierce Biotech.

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Appointments

Original adverts • Fit first

Best verified lead: EY’s senior transformation role

Posted 12 September · live application link rechecked 18 September. Manager / Senior Manager, People Consulting—Change & Transformation, Zürich. This is yesterday’s strongest lead, carried forward after checking the original advert again. Learning, capability, digital adoption and AI-related change align with your enterprise experience. English is required; German or French is highly desirable.

The key question is commercial fit. Senior Manager requires substantial business development and sales origination alongside large-programme leadership. Build your evidence around business outcomes and senior stakeholders, with a separate example of winning or expanding work. Salary is described only as competitive; no closing date is stated. EY · original advert.

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Sports

Quins • Brentford • McLaren • Your rugby watch

Edinburgh brings Scotland experience to the Quins friendly

17 September team news · match tonight. Darcy Graham, Magnus Bradbury and Freddy Douglas start for Edinburgh, with Liam McConnell among the replacements, for tonight’s Harlequins friendly. Edinburgh’s preview says the match will be streamed through the official Quins app; check access requirements there.

Kick-off is 20:45 Zürich / 19:45 UK. The fixture was in yesterday’s paper; the opposition selection provides a fresh reason to return. As a pre-season match, combinations and player minutes may be more informative than treating the score as a reliable season forecast. Edinburgh Rugby.

How McLaren learns a circuit before racing it

9 September · catch-up feature. McLaren explains how engineers and drivers prepare for an unfamiliar circuit through data, simulation and repeated experimentation. Some conditions, particularly surface behaviour and weather, remain uncertain until the team arrives.

This is a natural crossover with your learning work: a simulation is valuable when it rehearses the decisions people must make and exposes what they still do not know. McLaren · team feature.

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People

People to discover • Art, performance and ideas

Rachel Griffiths brings a nearly forgotten painter to the stage

18 September · Australia. Rachel Griffiths will play Clarice Beckett in Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2027 season, her first Australian stage role in 25 years. The painter’s work was neglected after her death before a later rediscovery helped restore her place in Australian art.

Griffiths wants the production to illuminate the process of looking and making, as well as the finished paintings. ABC’s interview opens a door onto both an artist and the women who recovered her history. ABC Arts.

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The Back Page

Do • Try • Solve

The action box

Friday 18 September. Tonight: Jeggli’s tasting runs 16:00–21:00; Champagne sessions start at 17:00 and 18:45; German improv at 19:30; Quins at 20:45; Brentford at 21:00.

Tomorrow: Waratahs–Reds at 09:45 Zürich time; Astrid Langer’s drawing session at noon, then the vernissage at 15:00.

Book ahead: Boucherville’s free tasting on 24 September; WOW Museum’s three-day show from 25 September; Lausanne museum night on 26 September. Links are in the diaries.

A small research idea: practise the decision, then measure it

Original editorial idea. Use a fictional clinical-trial site scenario to build a ten-minute capability prototype. Give a learner a short case with one missing document and one ambiguous hand-off. Ask for the next action and the reason. Compare an unassisted response with a second attempt using a job aid or AI assistant.

Record decision quality, omissions and time—not just completion. Use only invented data. The DPHARM recruitment report motivates the problem; this small experiment would test whether your proposed support actually helps. It could become a concise portfolio example for a learning-transformation conversation.

Today’s brain stretch: picture first, words second

Visual / spatial · about five minutes. Rotate the coloured pieces in Flipart until they fit the frame without overlapping. Try solving with as few turns as possible rather than racing the clock. Play Flipart · Puzzmo via the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Optional word workout: today’s Guardian Quick crossword No 17,588 offers an interactive grid with checking and reveal controls. Credit: Guardian puzzles. Puzzmo accounts can save progress.

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