Archive – Banking & Fintech

River Rhine transports Swiss to New World

This content was published on Jul 28, 2003 Thousands of Swiss poured into the port of Dordrecht in the Netherlands at the start of the 19th century, on their way to the New World and a new life. Their arduous journey began at Basel, where they climbed on board barges and followed the Rhine – Europe’s busiest waterway – to the sea. “The…

Basel cleans up its act

This content was published on Jul 27, 2003 In 1986 Basel was rocked by an environmental disaster after toxic chemicals leaked from a factory into the Rhine, polluting the water and killing thousands of fish. Although the river has been cleaned up since then, the environmental organisation, Greenpeace, says there are still harmful pollutants in the water. On 1 November, 1986, a fire…

Swiss healthcare giants surge on drug sales

This content was published on Jul 25, 2003 The Basel-based rivals this week posted solid first half profits, as well as up-beat assessments of the next 12 to 18 months. The bullish outlook contrasts with the uncertainty that continues to plague the Swiss economy in general. As prominent pillars of Switzerland’s corporate world, the two firms are among the country’s most closely watched,…

Farm holidays on the rise

This content was published on Jul 25, 2003 Ambience and cost are two of the reasons most commonly cited for the boom in alternative holiday accommodation in Switzerland. In 2002, Reka – an organisation which organises a voucher scheme for discount holidays – sold 100,000 overnight stays at its participating farms. The family holiday scheme was only set up 11 years ago. “More…

Roche pays a high price for Igen

This content was published on Jul 25, 2003 Under the terms of the $1.4 billion (SFr1.89 billion) deal, Roche will gain access to Igen technology which has been at the centre of a legal battle since 1997. Although Roche has cleared an obstacle to its expanding diagnostics business, it has had to pay a high price. The deal represents a 26 per cent…

Hospitals on the verge of a breakdown

This content was published on Jul 24, 2003 The situation is exacerbated by an ageing population, severe budget cuts in health care and a shortage of doctors. Hospitals are reporting that they are full and that waiting times for operations have lengthened. Casualty departments say they are admitting more and more patients. The situation is even more evident in summer, when families go…

Serono puts in solid second-quarter performance

This content was published on Jul 24, 2003 The Geneva-based company said total revenues, including income from licensing, had soared by 33.8 per cent to $508.4 million. However, net income for the first six months totalled $167.9 million, just two per cent higher than for the comparable period last year. Sales were up by 31.7 per cent at $950.8 million. The second quarter…

Foreign trade continues slump

This content was published on Jul 23, 2003 Swiss exportation of goods and services has been in decline for the past two years, although importers to Switzerland have suffered less of a setback. The reason for this was that the prices of imported goods have not gone down as much as those of the products exported by Switzerland. Still, imports fell 3.6 per…

Roche profit takes a tumble

This content was published on Jul 23, 2003 The decline was blamed on a fall in financial income and the strength of the Swiss franc. In a statement, the company said it had nonetheless marked a return to a “solid earnings performance” compared with the second half of 2002. Roche reported a significant improvement in its group operating profitability, with operating profit from…

Duisburg is given a new lease of life

This content was published on Jul 22, 2003

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