Archive – Banking & Fintech

Economy loses competitive edge

This content was published on May 4, 2004 A study by the Lausanne-based business school, IMD, blamed the poor performance on the country’s failure to implement economic reforms fast enough. The United States has again been ranked number one – a position it has held since 1994 – in this year’s World Competitiveness Yearbook. The US was followed by Singapore and Canada. To…

Farmers win ruling in bid for BSE compensation

This content was published on May 4, 2004 More than 2,200 farmers are demanding SFr300 million ($234 million) in damages. The appeals commission found in favour of the farmers who – in a claim dating back to 1997 – accused the government of failing to implement a ban on meat and bone meal in cattle feed between 1988 and 1990. The commission said…

Record quarter for UBS as profit doubles

This content was published on May 4, 2004 UBS said the “extremely strong” result had been driven by excellent market conditions, but the bank warned they were unlikely to continue throughout 2004. Operating income was up by 33 per cent to SFr10.3 billion, with revenue growth in all businesses. Pre-tax profit in its investment banking division was up 115 per cent from a…

Switzerland faces ambiguous role in enlarged EU

This content was published on May 2, 2004 The official who led Swiss negotiations over the European Economic Area (EEA) talks to swissinfo about the likely impact on Switzerland of a larger EU. On May 1, as the EU grew to include ten new members (eight of them from the former Soviet Bloc), Switzerland was still locked in negotiations with Brussels over a…

One man’s poison is another man’s cure

This content was published on May 1, 2004 Pentapharm runs a serpentarium in Brazil and supplies customers all over the world with therapeutic products based on snake venom. Some 10,000 snakes, mostly South American lance adders (Bothrops moojeni and Bothrops atrox) are kept at the farm, which was set up in 1981 to ensure continuity and quality of supply. The company itself was…

Black economy booms in Switzerland

This content was published on May 1, 2004 A government plan to fight illegal employment has been delayed by political squabbling since it was proposed in January 2002. Illegal workers in Switzerland account for a smaller share of the economy than in many other industrialised countries, but the evidence suggests that the problem is increasing faster than in most other countries. “The number…

Business lines up to serve the EU’s new customers

This content was published on Apr 30, 2004 Publisher Ringier, bakers Hiestand, and the drugs giant Novartis are among hundreds of firms targeting the 74 million “customers” who will become EU citizens on May 1. Swiss interest in former Soviet-block states such as Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary has been boosted by local growth rates of as much as six per cent per…

Swisscom rings up big loss on debitel

This content was published on Apr 30, 2004 A group led by the British-based private equity firm, Permira, is to buy debitel in a deal worth €640 million (SFr994 million). Swisscom bought debitel in several stages during the telecoms bubble at the turn of the century for a total of SFr4.3 billion. The deal to sell debitel, which sells mobile phone calls without…

Swiss seek business opportunities in Libya

This content was published on Apr 30, 2004 The visit comes as Tripoli begins to open its market up to foreign businesses following the lifting of economic sanctions. The delegation, which will be in Libya until May 4, is led by the head of bilateral economic relations at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), Jörg Reding. Reding is accompanied by other members…

ABB swings back into the black

This content was published on Apr 29, 2004 The group said the upturn was the result of a widespread cost-cutting programme. It was the company’s first quarterly profit since the second quarter of 2002. Results for the same period the year before showed a $45 million loss. “There was a steady progress on all fronts,” said chief executive Jürgen Dormann and predicted further…

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