Archive – Banking & Fintech

Listed firms to come clean about executive pay

This content was published on Mar 5, 2002 The move comes after the Swiss-Swedish engineering group, ABB, revealed it had paid out SFr230 million in retirement benefits to two former CEOs, sparking a public outcry about the level of executive pay, and calls for more transparency. Under the new corporate governance directive, which is expected to be approved on April 17, companies will…

Bank chiefs grilled over Swissair

This content was published on Mar 5, 2002 UBS’s Marcel Ospel and Credit Suisse’s Lukas Mühlemann were blamed last October for not doing enough to keep the national carrier airborne. They had agreed a bail-out package for the collapsed airline, but the money did not come through fast enough to prevent the grounding of Swissair planes for two days. The then Swiss president,…

IMF sees upswing for economy

This content was published on Mar 4, 2002 In its annual review of the Swiss economy, the International Monetary Fund said the worst of the slowdown may soon be over and that it expected growth of just under one per cent this year, a little below the government forecast of 1.3 per cent. The IMF’s comments were echoed by the Swiss National Bank,…

Ascom sells mailing unit

This content was published on Mar 4, 2002 The transaction with Neopost will happen in two stages. First, Ascom is selling its North American mailing systems activities for SFr195 million. At a later point, Ascom will also sell its mailing systems activities outside North America. Ascom and Neopost are currently engaged in talks with the British competition authorities and an agreement is expected…

Sarasin strikes deal with Dutch bank

This content was published on Mar 4, 2002 Rabobank also has a call option to acquire 100 per cent of Eichbaum Holding through which Sarasin’s partners control the stock. The option to buy at a pre-agreed price runs through seven years. Sarasin said the decision to link up with Rabobank was based on a need to gain critical size in a highly competitive…

Voters throw out proposal to shorten working week

This content was published on Mar 3, 2002 Voters overwhelmingly rejected the initiative, which would have seen the working week gradually reduced to 36 hours. Not one canton came out in favour, and the “nos” were in the majority by 65 per cent nationwide. In some German-speaking cantons the initiative was thrown out by more than 80 per cent of voters. The trade…

Railways promote tunnel tourism

This content was published on Mar 3, 2002 The 57-kilometre Gotthard base tunnel has already welcomed more than 100,000 people -nearly half of them from abroad. In 2013, trains using the new tunnel will be able to carry passengers and freight through the Alps in about 20 minutes. But building work on the tunnel is moving slowly, as is evident during a visit…

Shorter working week expected to get short shrift

This content was published on Mar 3, 2002 The initiative, drawn up by the trade unions, would see the work week gradually reduced to 36 hours, and a maximum limit set for overtime. Under the proposal, employees working part-time would enjoy the same rights as workers with a full-time job. A key provision is that employers would not be allowed to cut salaries…

Fewer billionaires in Switzerland

This content was published on Mar 2, 2002 From 2001 to 2002, the number of seriously wealthy Swiss individuals dropped from 16 to 13, as a turbulent stock market and a strong dollar took their toll. Topping the list of Swiss billionaires is Ernesto Bertarelli, the founder of the Geneva-based biotech company, Serono. Bertarelli and his family are sitting on a $8.4 billion…

Swiss economy seen improving by mid-year

This content was published on Mar 2, 2002 The latest economic indicator from the Zurich-based Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF) showed clear evidence that the economy may be bottoming out and that a recovery may be apparent in the next few months. The KOF indicator for January, which has a six to nine month lead time, stood at minus 1.09 compared…

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Archive – Banking & Fintech

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Listed firms to come clean about executive pay

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Bank chiefs grilled over Swissair

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IMF sees upswing for economy

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Ascom sells mailing unit

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Sarasin strikes deal with Dutch bank

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Voters throw out proposal to shorten working week

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Railways promote tunnel tourism

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Shorter working week expected to get short shrift

More

Fewer billionaires in Switzerland

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Swiss economy seen improving by mid-year

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