The Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries (MEM industries) recorded a satisfactory business performance overall in the first half of 2014. Sales rose by 4.4% in the first six months of the year and new orders grew by 10.9%. However, the most recent developments indicate that the growth trend has not continued. In the second quarter of 2014, sales stagnated and exports even fell by 2.3 percent. Companies are also considerably less optimistic about their business expectations in the coming 12 months than they were at the beginning of the year. Developments in the second half of 2014 will probably depend in large part on whether solutions can be found to the conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East.
