Archive – Banking & Fintech

Switzerland cited for small arms exports to Sudan

This content was published on Jul 3, 2004 The report, from Geneva’s Institute of International Studies, claims that Switzerland was the second-largest supplier of such weapons after Iran. The Small Arms Survey 2004 describes the deliveries from Switzerland as “military weapons”. Swiss legislation forbids the export of war materiel to countries at war or to conflict areas. But an official in Bern said…

Globalisation threatens alpine rite

This content was published on Jul 3, 2004 The “alpine procession” is an age-old rite little altered over the centuries, but it presents a false idyll of a type of farming that is undergoing radical change. Accompanied by tourists and journalists, herdsmen last Saturday led about 350 cows in single file up a path hewn out of the steep cliff leading to the…

London’s example drives debate over road charges

This content was published on Jul 3, 2004 Experts have proposed limited trials of a toll system as a way of reducing traffic congestion in Swiss cities. The introduction of a congestion charge in the English capital one year ago has reduced road traffic in London’s inner city by 30 per cent and brought in revenue of £68 million (SFr155 million). This success…

Low-cost plan takes off at Geneva airport

This content was published on Jul 2, 2004 The proposal had come under fire from traditional airlines who maintained that it gave low-cost carriers, such as easyJet, an unfair advantage. At the heart of the controversy were plans to reduce passenger taxes for low-cost carriers and to raise them for people flying with traditional carriers. The proposal also involved refitting the older of…

Pharma closes ranks over parallel imports

This content was published on Jul 2, 2004 But some politicians and consumer groups counter that removing restrictions would reduce high drug prices and health-care costs. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), drug prices in Switzerland are 40 per cent higher than in many other countries. But imports of cheaper patented drugs from other countries – parallel imports –…

Civil aviation office unveils sweeping reforms

This content was published on Jul 2, 2004 The move follows criticism that the Swiss authorities have failed to arrest a decline in air safety standards. Announcing the measures on Friday, the FOCA said that its priority was to put “safety first”. “The Swiss public expects us to enhance the standards of safety in civil aviation,” said the FOCA’s new head, Raymond Cron,…

Football team criticised for brewery deal

This content was published on Jul 2, 2004 It said the brewery’s sponsorship of the team would send out the wrong message to young people and undermine alcohol prevention efforts. The Lausanne-based institute condemned the football body’s decision at a time when beer consumption, as well as binge drinking, is on the rise among Swiss youth. It said Carlsberg’s omnipresent advertising at Euro…

Swiss railways faced an uphill struggle

This content was published on Jul 2, 2004 But they were slow to work up a head of steam, and when the first line came into service in 1847, it was already 20 years behind the times. The 23.3-kilometre track linking Zurich to Baden was small compared with those already stretching across the rest of the continent. But if Switzerland was slow off…

Zurich station has more than just trains

This content was published on Jul 2, 2004 Its collection of small and large commercial surfaces makes the station the country’s fourth-largest shopping centre. “Around 350,000 people pass through here each day,” said Hans Baumann, who manages Zurich station. Baumann, who knows all the ins and outs of this huge site, says his station was once the focal point of Switzerland’s railway system.…

Stations were gateways to the world

This content was published on Jul 2, 2004 Once modest affairs and little different from stagecoach stops, they soon gave way to soaring buildings and new horizons. The country’s first railway line, running between Zurich and Baden, opened in 1847. And while the Swiss at first found themselves chugging behind the rest of the continent, they more than made up for lost time…

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Switzerland cited for small arms exports to Sudan

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Globalisation threatens alpine rite

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London’s example drives debate over road charges

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Low-cost plan takes off at Geneva airport

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Pharma closes ranks over parallel imports

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Civil aviation office unveils sweeping reforms

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Football team criticised for brewery deal

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Swiss railways faced an uphill struggle

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Zurich station has more than just trains

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Stations were gateways to the world

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