Archive – Banking & Fintech

Banks’ green pledge earns mixed response

This content was published on Jun 10, 2003 However, they fear the so-called “Equator Principles”, which apply to the funding of future development projects, may never be put into practice. Caroline Morel, executive director of the Bern-based non-governmental organisation, Swissaid, conceded that the guidelines were a step in the right direction. But she cast doubt on whether they were as big a breakthrough…

Supply chain automation is a giant opportunity for Swiss RFID sector

This content was published on Jun 10, 2003 Companies as diverse as Infineon, Volkswagen and Manor AG are now using RFID for improving supply chain automation. Intellion AG is a spin off of the University of St Gallen and MLab, the Swiss research institute that sets standards for RFID along with MIT. It was founded to deal specifically with the demand for RFID’s…

Leica Geosystems sizes up Madame Liberty

This content was published on Jun 9, 2003 Leica Geosystems has provided laser scanners and sophisticated software to provide historic documentation of the Statue of Liberty. The finished result will be complete architectural drawings of the New York statue’s exterior, accurate to ¼ inch. The scaled drawings will be used to monitor and maintain the statue and could be used to reconstruct an…

Swiss banks reaffirm anti-money laundering pledge

This content was published on Jun 6, 2003 But Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, said the country could not shoulder all the responsibility for tracking illegal funds. “There turned out to be very little of [Joseph] Mobutu’s money in Switzerland after his death,” said Hanspeter Bauer, head of compliance at UBS. “But nobody investigated neighbouring countries, where he had residences and who were the…

Swiss deflation fears intensify

This content was published on Jun 6, 2003 Although opinions are divided about whether Switzerland will fall into a deflationary spiral, most agree that a sustained period of falling prices would be traumatic. “Whether from an external shock or from deterioration in the domestic economy, Switzerland is facing a fairly substantial risk of deflation,” analyst Jean-Claude Manini said in a recent report on…

Festival in Le Bouveret picks up steam

This content was published on Jun 6, 2003 The festival kicks off with a reception for steam engine fans at 9am. Among the special events is an international toy market with more than 100 exhibitors on the second day of the festival, an evening barbecue and the handing out of commemorative plaques on June 21. The park covers 17,000 square metres on the…

Swiss jobless rate dips

This content was published on Jun 6, 2003 The slight dip was because of new figures showing that the number of people working in Switzerland was higher than previously thought. The government said seasonal hiring also contributed the slight fall in the jobless rate to 3.6 per cent in May from 3.9 per cent in April. “We have seasonal effects especially in the…

Rate cut is mixed blessing for Swiss exporters

This content was published on Jun 5, 2003 On the one hand, the cut should boost the euro-zone economies, increasing demand for Swiss products, but it could make Swiss goods more expensive. The ECB’s rate cut failed to push down the euro – indeed, it rose against the franc and the dollar after the decision was announced. But at record highs against the…

Recession strikes Swiss economy

This content was published on Jun 5, 2003 Government officials blamed the strong Swiss franc coupled with weak exports and poor consumer demand. On Thursday, figures by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) showed two successive quarters of negative GDP growth – in line with economists’ definition of a recession. The first quarter GDP fell 0.6 per cent from the same quarter…

EU tax deal gives Swiss room to bargain

This content was published on Jun 4, 2003 His comments came after EU finance ministers agreed a common policy for the Union. Villiger said on Wednesday that he expects a quick conclusion to a second round of bilateral negotiations with the EU. Brussels is keen for Switzerland to sign up to its “savings tax directive” – agreed on Tuesday – which would allow…

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