Archive – Banking & Fintech

Swiss give cautious welcome to global trade deal

This content was published on Aug 1, 2004 Switzerland said it was satisfied with the accord, which foresees the gradual phasing out of protective tariffs and subsidies for its farmers. After five days of marathon negotiations, WTO members finally succeeded in cutting a deal, almost a year after the last round of talks in Mexico collapsed acrimoniously over rich-country subsidies and protective tariffs…

Hotel opens beneath mystical mountain

This content was published on Jul 31, 2004 A former top-secret military bunker has become “La Claustra” (the monastery), an underground retreat for people wishing to get away from it all. “When people first arrive, they don’t want to stay, but after three days, they don’t want to leave,” says artist and sociologist Jean Odermatt. Odermatt is the driving force behind this unusual…

Health insurer wants to reward non-smokers

This content was published on Jul 30, 2004 Helsana says the discounts – which would need government approval – could apply to non-smokers as well as people who eat healthily and take regular exercise. The proposals come amid an ongoing debate about how to stem the rising costs of healthcare in Switzerland. Swiss health insurance premiums are among the highest in the world,…

Government wants to take airports under its wing

This content was published on Jul 29, 2004 The transport ministry says it wants a bigger say in how Switzerland’s three main airports, Zurich, Geneva and Basel, are run and developed. Airport operators reacted with scepticism to the proposals, which appeared in a draft report released on Thursday. The report, the first major revision of air transport policy since the 1950s, covers a…

ABB says turnaround is complete

This content was published on Jul 29, 2004 The company announced on Thursday that it had swung to its biggest quarterly profit in more than two years, with improved demand in most markets. It reported “solid” increases in core division orders, revenues and earnings. “We have said before we will achieve a black number at net profit level in the full year… It…

Farmers forced to diversify or die

This content was published on Jul 29, 2004 More than a quarter of the country’s farms have shut down over the past ten years, and those that remain are being forced to find new ways of staying in business. The Swiss delegation at the Geneva-based WTO said everything possible had been done to defend the interests of the country’s farmers during last week’s…

Outsourcing company lures Swiss business to India

This content was published on Jul 28, 2004 But it is from here that Cognizant is seeking to persuade some of the country’s biggest corporate names of the benefits of outsourcing work to India. Krishna Nagashwaran has headed Cognizant’s Zurich office since it opened just over 18 months ago. His task is to encourage chief executives in Switzerland to shift their information technology…

Converium reports heavy loss

This content was published on Jul 27, 2004 The Zurich-based company also announced on Tuesday that it would probably end the year in the red. “It will be very hard to make a profit,” said chief executive Dirk Lohmann. Converium confirmed that it would be turning to investors to raise capital to help it cover a $385 million hole in its reserves, drained…

Regulator closes net on web scams

This content was published on Jul 26, 2004 But officials are warning that the cost of dealing with junk email could reach SFr4 billion ($3.17 billion) this year. A ban on companies automatically connecting web users to the internet at premium rates without their knowledge came into force in Switzerland on April 1. Ofcom said the total number of complaints from members of…

Zurich farms out IT along with 1,600 jobs

This content was published on Jul 26, 2004 As part of the $1.3 billion deal, Zurich’s 1,600 IT jobs will be transferred to the California-based contracting firm, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Switzerland’s biggest insurer said on Monday that no layoffs were expected. Spokesman Daniel Hofmann added that the agreement would in no way weaken Zurich’s control over its information technology systems. The company…

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