“Switzerland is absolutely not immune to global developments, especially not as regards the financial crisis and the economy.”

Switzerland Watch on Bloomberg:

"Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- An isolated European country with an economy geared toward finance and winter sports is no longer a monetary bastion as credit evaporates around the globe. Banks teeter, the once-impregnable currency depreciates and a proudly independent people question whether a centuries-old go-it-alone strategy can survive.

Even Switzerland is wondering if it’s immune to the forces ravaging Iceland.

The drama playing out in the Nordic nation, whose economy the International Monetary Fund says may shrink about 10 percent next year, offers a cautionary tale for the no less fiercely independent Swiss. While they are in far better shape, their status as custodians of the world’s wealth is under threat by a global economic upheaval they can’t control and miscues by the banks that made them great.

“The Swiss model of isolationism is not an advantage” in the current environment, says Michael Baer, 46, the great- grandson of Julius Baer, founder of Switzerland’s largest independent wealth manager. “Switzerland is absolutely not immune to global developments, especially not as regards the financial crisis and the economy.”

Heads up for terrorism laws. No more going-it-alone, perhaps. I wonder if this will lead to a much more integrated financial system worldwide. Some countries have tried building up their financial independence recently, but has it worked?

"Baer -- scion of a legendary family in one of the world’s oldest financial centers -- has moved his own business to one of the youngest: In 2006, he set up Baer Capital Partners in Dubai to tap Middle Eastern wealth.

For the 7.6 million Swiss, signs of stress are evident amid a cataclysm in world markets that has besieged them with reasons to doubt a splendid isolation dating back to medieval times."

What other changes would this lead to?