Archive – Banking & Fintech

Medicines are cheaper abroad

This content was published on Aug 7, 2008 The cost of patented drugs was up to one-quarter less expensive in other European countries over the first half of 2008, according to findings published by the Association of Health Insurers, santésuisse, on Thursday. Factory prices of patented drugs were between 17 and 25 per cent cheaper in Austria, France and Italy than in Switzerland…

End of the road for car graveyard

This content was published on Aug 6, 2008 “That is lichen growing on the roof of the Mercedes, just in front of us,” says Heinrich Gartentor. “Most varieties of lichen are endangered in Switzerland,” says the middle-aged man before reminding me that he is not a botanist. What Gartentor is, is an artist and curator of an exhibition set amid the junkyard. The…

Swiss Re buys Barclays life insurance unit

This content was published on Aug 5, 2008 Swiss Re, which is based in Zurich, also saw second-quarter net profit shrink to SFr0.6 billion from SFr1.19 billion largely as a result of the credit crunch in the United States. Commenting on the result, Swiss Re chief executive Jacques Aigrain said despite the continuing financial market turbulence “we are strongly capitalised and our investment…

Syngenta struggles to shrug off GM concerns

This content was published on Aug 4, 2008 The firm says its crop protection agents and genetically modified (GM) seeds are helping to increase global food supply, but watchdog groups claim some of its activities harm developing countries. Syngenta recently posted a half-year net income of $1.5 billion (SFr1.57 billion) as demand for its products increased worldwide. Chief executive Mike Mack said the…

Police investigate Michelin man’s last supper

This content was published on Aug 3, 2008 Spanish police have mounted a search for Pascal Henry, 46, but a spokesman declined to comment on whether the fine-food fan might have simply skipped off without paying. “The restaurant informed us of what happened and we later heard through Interpol that he was a missing person,” the spokesman said on Sunday. “He got up…

Farmers bite back after fire blight crisis

This content was published on Aug 2, 2008 Thousands of fruit trees were infected in Switzerland in 2007 – the worst ever year for fire blight – causing millions of francs worth of lost crops. This year an antibiotic has been used for the first time to combat the disease – with positive results. Huber’s seven-hectare farm is in Neukirch-Egnach, an idyllic village…

Tour guide warned of cows, carts and crowds

This content was published on Aug 1, 2008 The venerable volume, according to French tyre giant and publisher Michelin, has been “for 100 years the faithful companion of travellers to Switzerland”. The truth, however, is a little more complicated. Michelin did indeed release its first guide about Switzerland in 1908. It was a very respectable size – several hundred pages – and in…

UBS settles US securities fraud lawsuit

This content was published on Jul 31, 2008 Massachusetts attorney-general Martha Coakley alleged that a local broker working for UBS misled cities and government agencies into thinking that auction-rate securities were as liquid as cash, a legal requirement for government investments in Massachusetts. But early this year the market for the financial instruments dried up, and the cities were stuck holding long-term debt.…

Inflation highs sound no alarm bells

This content was published on Jul 31, 2008 Increasing energy costs have been blamed for the latest hike but a recent drop in oil prices, the stability of non-seasonal core inflation rates and restrained wage increases have dampened fears of a spiralling problem. The Federal Statistics Office reported on Thursday that July inflation rates were the highest in Switzerland since a peak of…

Economic barometer falls to five-year low

This content was published on Jul 30, 2008 The KOF Swiss Economic Institute indicator, which points to the economy’s likely performance in six months’ time, fell to 0.9 from a revised 0.99 in June. But the head of KOF, Jan-Egbert Sturm, said on Wednesday that it was “clearly exaggerated to speak of a recession”. He said that although consumption growth was no surprise,…

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Archive – Banking & Fintech

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Archive – Banking & Fintech

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Medicines are cheaper abroad

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End of the road for car graveyard

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Swiss Re buys Barclays life insurance unit

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Syngenta struggles to shrug off GM concerns

More

Police investigate Michelin man’s last supper

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Farmers bite back after fire blight crisis

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Tour guide warned of cows, carts and crowds

More

UBS settles US securities fraud lawsuit

More

Inflation highs sound no alarm bells

More

Economic barometer falls to five-year low

Popular Stories

Most Discussed