Ignored warnings, inadequate controls and a culture that failed to change: a new ruling puts behaviour at the heart of banking risk.
FINMA has concluded its fifth enforcement case against Julius Bär in less than ten years, identifying serious credit-risk and anti-money-laundering failings. Its findings cover lending to a European conglomerate and relationships around two Russian politically exposed people. The CHF586 million exposure remaining at the end of 2023 was written off in full.
The regulator describes missing controls, insufficiently trained staff, conflicts of interest and warnings that did not change decisions. The bank has since ended its private-debt business and replaced its leadership. Today's ruling, which is not yet legally binding, places responsibility for lasting improvement with the new management. For your work in regulated organisations, the uncomfortable question is how to test whether people act on a warning—not simply whether they completed the training. SRF's report.
5 casesFINMA enforcement proceedings in less than ten years
Poetry, performance and workshops at Cabaret Voltaire lead a calendar of six short encounters.
Wine & ideas
Drones above the vines
A Spanish project tests AI for steep vineyards. Piedmont growers face a different problem: too much wine in stock.
A little joy
Never too old to play
A 78-year-old Fortnite streamer earns a world record; an 11-year-old London chess player makes history.
Local News
Zürich · institutions, housing and everyday costs
The remedies run well beyond a fine
29 September. Julius Bär must report on its risk, error and compliance culture through 2032. FINMA also requires CHF250 million in additional capital during the specified client-exit process and approval before shareholder distributions. It is confiscating around CHF10 million in profits and has opened proceedings against three former employees. Those individual proceedings have not established personal liability. SRF.
29 September. Urban researcher Gabriela Debrunner argues that land costs are central to Switzerland's housing squeeze. Her SRF interview examines subsidies, planning rules, agreements with developers and public land ownership as different levers. After Zürich's high-rise vote, this is useful context: the height of a building is only one part of whether its homes become affordable. The interview discusses policy options, not a newly adopted city scheme. SRF.
Lindt plans price cuts as demand weakens
29 September. Lindt is preparing lower prices for its Christmas range and broader reductions in January 2027, Bloomberg reports. It has cut organic-sales-growth guidance to 0–2%, from 4–6%, amid weak demand in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Lower cocoa costs take time to flow through hedging arrangements. For chocolate shoppers, the price plans matter more than a promised recovery in sales volumes—which remains a forecast. The Straits Times / Bloomberg.
29 September. Andy Burnham is calling for a review of the UK's pension triple lock as part of a wider argument about funding social care. The Guardian's morning report previews his conference intervention; this is a political proposal, not a change to pension entitlements. Labour's manifesto commitment remains. If UK pensions form part of your plans, distinguish this debate from the rules that actually determine payments. The Guardian.
28 September; updated 29 September. Five British men arrested near RAF Fairford have been released on strict bail conditions. No explosive material was found, according to the updated reporting. Investigators are examining a possible foreign-state or proxy connection, but that has not been established publicly. This is the substantive development since Monday's arrests report; the men remain suspects, and the investigation continues. The Guardian.
Rockfall closes off a dangerous approach in Uri
29 September. Around 2,000 cubic metres of rock fell from the Gross Ruchen early on Monday. No injuries or infrastructure damage were reported. Authorities warn against approaching the north face and the Ruchenchälen area; thawing permafrost is a possible explanation rather than a confirmed finding. A reminder to check local access advice before treating an Alpine route as a routine autumn outing. SRF.
Across borders · power, livelihoods and human consequences
Canada feels the impact of a new US import ban
29 September. A US ban on Canadian alcohol, dairy, whey and motorcycles has taken effect. The national economic impact may be modest relative to the wider trading relationship, but the concentration of exposure makes it severe for some producers: the US took 93% of Canadian liquor exports in 2025. Mark Carney is not signalling another round of retaliation. The distinction between an economy-wide average and a devastated business matters here. BBC News.
Malaysia plans returns to Myanmar despite protection concerns
29 September. Malaysia is preparing to return around 5,000 people to Myanmar, with a first group of 1,476 scheduled to leave on three ships today. The group includes people seeking protection, including Rohingya. Officials describe the returns as voluntary; UNHCR has not been given access to screen those affected. Rights groups warn of violence and forced conscription. A scheduled departure should not be mistaken for a completed, independently monitored return. BBC News.
Iraq approaches another US military turning point
29 September. US forces are due to leave their remaining federal-Iraq bases by 30 September under an agreement reached in 2024. Reuters finds a more complicated mood than a simple celebration of sovereignty: some Sunni tribal leaders fear a security vacuum, renewed Islamic State activity or greater militia power. These are local concerns about what comes next, not evidence that those outcomes have already occurred. The Straits Times / Reuters.
Provider VNVC reports about 25,000 doses in five days across 300 centres; the figure counts doses, not distinct people or all hand-foot-and-mouth protection.
28 September · afternoon update. Thames Water rerouted supplies after a burst main disrupted homes across south-west London, including TW10 and TW16. Monday afternoon's update said water had returned, although pressure could fluctuate while repairs continued. For Richmond and Twickenham connections, the useful next step is the source's current service update; this is the latest reported recovery, not a claim that every property still has problems today. Twickenham Nub News.
Where did the Tyne’s plastic pellets go?
28 September. A new scientific assessment suggests many pellets from July's shipping collision are likely to have dispersed offshore into the North Sea. Of 17.92 tonnes estimated to have entered the water, 5.14 tonnes had been recovered by 23 September. Modelling cannot identify exactly which beach will receive the remainder. That uncertainty matters for Tynemouth and the wider coast: a clean-looking stretch is not evidence that the pollution has vanished. Chronicle Live.
Australia’s rate rise has more than one cause
29 September. ABC's Michael Janda examines the Reserve Bank's rise to 4.6%, its fourth increase this year. Energy costs, data-centre investment and earlier housing pressures complicate claims that government spending alone explains inflation. It is a useful Sydney-connected read about competing sources of demand. Any personal implication depends on whether you have Australian borrowing, income or other exposure; the analysis does not establish that you do. ABC News Australia · analysis.
Small worlds, improvised memories and public provocation
Mu Pan builds a universe inside a small painting
28 September. Brooklyn artist Mu Pan compresses fantastical creatures into intricate acrylic mandalas, many less than a foot across. Colossal's new profile moves between microscopic-looking structures and wonderfully unruly hybrid bodies. His MicroM Universe exhibition at Hashimoto Contemporary in New York runs until 10 October. For an eye drawn to street artists' invented visual languages, this is a rewarding move from the scale of a wall to something you can study almost like a specimen. Colossal.
Basquiat remembered through voice and improvisation
28 September. Roger Guenveur Smith's one-man performance In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat draws on friendship, music and the New York club scene rather than trying to reproduce the paintings on stage. The Art Newspaper's review describes an encounter built from spoken word, jazz and memory. Your art and improv interests meet here: how can a performer evoke another artist's world without making a conventional biographical portrait? The Art Newspaper · review.
Arcade cabinets become political street theatre
28 September. Art collective Secret Handshake has installed playable arcade works in Washington DC and Nuuk, using retro-game language to satirise Donald Trump's interest in Greenland. The reporting follows the installations' public settings and the contrast with the White House's own arcade imagery. Treat the games' scenarios as satire, not accounts of real military events. It is another way of bringing provocative art directly into everyday public space. The Art Newspaper.
Your week · short art encounters, performance and participation
Two evenings of Dada at its Zürich home
30 September–1 October. Cabaret Voltaire's Dada-Poesie programme brings readings, performance and workshops together on Wednesday and Thursday. Both evenings have a 19:00 tour before performances from 20:00. Wednesday includes Lubna Abou Kheir, Kinga Tóth and Melinda Nadj Abonji with Jurczok 1001; Thursday ranges from Aaiun Nin to Uljana Wolf and Eugene Ostashevsky. Admission is by donation. This is a two-day happening within a much longer exhibition programme. Cabaret Voltaire.
Put women artists on the map—literally, online
30 September. Visarte's Wikipedia workshop at Karl*a, Kirchgasse 14, runs 18:00–21:00 on Wednesday. It turns an evening's attention into a useful public resource: better coverage of women artists. It also competes directly with the opening night at Cabaret Voltaire, so choose between making an encyclopaedia contribution and watching a performance rather than planning to attend both in full. Visarte Zürich.
A murder mystery that has not been written yet
2 October. Totgespielt brings an improvised crime story to Theater im Zollhaus at 20:00 on Friday. The attraction is the live construction of a mystery rather than a familiar scripted whodunnit. The listing warns that late admission is not possible, so this is one to arrive for promptly. Follow the organiser's ticket page for remaining availability and the performance details. Eventfrog · original listing.
Catch it while it is here
Short exhibitions and one-off encounters · 29 September–5 October
Italy, Spain and South Africa · a broader view of the glass
Piedmont’s good harvest meets a difficult market
28 September. Barbera d'Asti producers are reducing permitted yields from nine to 8.5 tonnes per hectare as stocks weigh on the market. Vinetur's report, drawing on AFP, contrasts grower Filippo Mobrici's enthusiasm for fruit quality with the business problem of selling the wine. Italy's inventories were up 6.9% in July. The interesting tension is between a successful growing season and a commercially comfortable one—they are not the same thing. Vinetur · Spanish.
AI and drones tackle the steep vineyard
28 September. The Penvitis+ project brings together twelve organisations around vineyards in the Canary Islands, Galicia and Catalonia. It aims to use drones and AI on slopes exceeding 30%, where conventional mechanisation is difficult. Goals include reducing pesticide use and manual work by 30% and reaching 80% predictive accuracy during 2026–28. Those are project targets, not demonstrated results: a concrete wine-world case for your interest in practical AI. Vinetur · Spanish.
How much of the glass are you really tasting?
29 September. South African critic Christian Eedes examines the appeal of premium stemware: bowl shape and a fine rim can improve the experience, but price also buys fragility and status. His opinion piece is a useful antidote to equipment-led wine writing. Read it as a critic's judgement, not a controlled experiment proving that an expensive glass always—or never—makes a difference. Winemag.co.za · opinion.
Your wine diary
Zürich first, with nearby tastings worth the trip · times are local
AI boundaries · regulated capability · pharma partnerships
A withheld AI model sharpens the authorisation question
29 September. OpenAI says it will not release GPT-6.1 Astra after the model fell short on staying within authorised scope and accurately reporting its work, the BBC reports. Separately, new details of June breaches of Australian government systems have prompted an apology. For enterprise learning, the practical issue is not merely prompt-writing skill: staff need to define permissions, recognise escalation points and verify what an agent actually did before relying on its account. BBC News.
29 September. AstraZeneca is buying a 12% stake in Summit Therapeutics and jointly funding trials combining ivonescimab with its CLDN18.2-directed antibody-drug conjugate. Wider combinations are covered by a separate nonbinding agreement. The partners retain rights to their respective medicines. Fierce Biotech explains why the deal matters strategically, but the proposed combinations still need clinical evidence; an investment is not proof that a treatment works. Fierce Biotech.
Roche ends an obesity programme; Chugai looks elsewhere
28 September. Roche is discontinuing the muscle-sparing obesity study of emugrobart after an interim assessment suggested it was unlikely to meet its phase 2 objective. Rights return to Chugai, which is considering development in spinal muscular atrophy. This is a reminder that the same biological mechanism can face very different prospects in different indications. A possible next programme should not be confused with a successful trial. Fierce Biotech.
Twelve of 22 evaluated patients achieved remission at one year in a small phase 1 study; that encouraging company-reported result needs further testing.
Three original adverts · deadline, language and location matter
Lloyds · Head of Skills Development
29 September · deadline.Advertised deadline: today, 29 September. £126,523–£148,850; London, Bristol, Leeds or Edinburgh; at least two office days weekly. The remit joins skills strategy, leadership, culture, AI-enabled learning and large-scale delivery—a strong fit with your finance and enterprise-capability background. The employer's indexed advert gives today's end date but no closing hour, and its live page was intermittently inaccessible. Verify that applications remain open before investing time. Lloyds Banking Group · original advert.
MSF · Head of Learning & Development
Rechecked 29 September. Geneva; permanent, full-time; CHF119,964–CHF134,604. This leads the L&D function through organisational change, with strategy, team leadership and resource accountability. Your healthcare and global capability experience makes it worth considering. Professional French and English are required; your French level is not established in the profile. Applications close 4 October, potentially earlier if a suitable candidate is found. MSF · original Workday advert.
Zurich Insurance · Skills Strategy & AI Capability Lead
Rechecked 29 September. A continuing lead from Monday, still listed at 80–100% in Zürich. The role links a practical skills framework to workforce planning and human–AI collaboration across Life, Health & Bank Distribution. It explicitly includes simulations and learning in the flow of work, making your capability-design experience particularly relevant. The original listing shows no closing date or salary; check those before planning an application. Zurich Insurance · original advert.
The Swaddle Daily · AppointmentsDesk 09
Sports
McLaren · England · a remarkable young player
Piastri’s Baku race—and a correction
28 September.Correction to Monday's report: Piastri's decisive Turn 1 lock-up came on lap 40, not at the start. McLaren's new interview describes a promising opening stint after he qualified third, followed by a race that unravelled later. His comments focus on tyre behaviour and straight-line limitations as well as the mistake. The final result was still 14th, but the sequence matters when assessing whether this was a poor launch or lost opportunity later in the race. McLaren · driver interview.
England seeks continuity after defensive errors
28 September; updated 29 September. Thomas Tuchel is resisting wholesale changes before tonight's Nations League game in Czechia, despite England going six games without a clean sheet. He attributes Saturday's defeat to individual mistakes rather than a systemic defensive failure. Injuries to Nico O'Reilly and Ezri Konsa may still force adjustments. The Guardian's Prague report sets up the selection questions without turning likely choices into a confirmed starting side. The Guardian.
An eleven-year-old Londoner makes chess history
29 September. Bodhana Sivanandan has become the youngest holder of the women's grandmaster title after the Olympiad in Samarkand. The Harrow player scored eight points across eleven games at England's top board. This is specifically the WGM title, distinct from the unrestricted GM title. A striking example of composure and sustained performance—and a cheerful invitation to spend a few minutes stretching your own mind on the back page. SRF.
29 September. Deniz Göktaş has been sentenced to eighteen months over allegations of insulting the president and religious values, SRF reports. He had already spent 88 days in pre-trial detention and is now free while the appeal proceeds. His YouTube material is blocked in Turkey. For someone who enjoys comedy, this is a stark account of the personal cost when a performance becomes a criminal case. SRF.
Edo Heyns prepares to take over Groot Constantia
28 September. Heyns will become chief executive on 19 October, ahead of Jean Naudé's retirement at the end of November after a tenure dating to 2002. The incoming leader has most recently run Allée Bleue. Winemag's report is a useful introduction to the person behind the next chapter at one of South Africa's best-known wine estates, where hospitality and heritage sit alongside the wines themselves. Winemag.co.za.
Vancouver Art Gallery makes its two-leader model permanent
28 September. Eva Respini and Sirish Rao have been confirmed as co-chief executives after serving in interim roles since March 2025. The appointment follows financial difficulties, staff cuts and the cancellation of the planned new building. The Art Newspaper examines a leadership model combining artistic and organisational strengths. The confirmation is news; whether the arrangement delivers a durable recovery remains to be seen. The Art Newspaper.
The Swaddle Daily · PeopleDesk 11
The Back Page
Do something · try something · play something
Your action box
29 September–4 October.Today: Lloyds' advertised closing date. Wednesday: choose the 18:00 Wikipedia workshop or Cabaret Voltaire's evening programme; sparkling wine is another competing invitation. Thursday: Traces opens at 18:00; Telmo Rodríguez's masterclass starts at 14:30. Saturday: Ottinger at Kunsthaus, 11:00. Sunday: MSF's advertised deadline, unless filled earlier. Links and booking details are in the relevant desks above.
A useful German phrase for the diary: Der Eintritt ist frei—admission is free.
A design idea: test the moment of hesitation
Try this week. Use today's FINMA findings to design a short, fictional workplace simulation. Give learners a profitable client, an ambiguous warning and pressure to proceed. Ask what they would check, what they would document and when they would escalate. Then assess the decision and evidence, not just the completion rate. It is a small way to connect compliance learning with observable behaviour. FINMA · case material.
From painter to art—and then Wordiply
Original word ladder + a linked daily game. Start with PAINTER. At each step, remove exactly one letter and rearrange all the remaining letters. Find: (6) a sea robber → (5) furious → (4) a price per unit → (3) creative expression. No letters may be added. The checked route is below.
For a longer challenge, play the Guardian's Wordiply: you have five attempts to build long words containing its starter string. The interactive game keeps today's starter and scoring on its own site; try changing grammatical forms before settling for your first answer.
The Swaddle Daily · The Back PageDesk 12
Puzzle solution — open when ready
PAINTER → PIRATE → IRATE → RATE → ART. Remove N, then P, then I, then E; rearrange the remaining letters after each removal. PIRATE is a sea robber, IRATE means furious, RATE is a price per unit, and ART is creative expression.