Banking & Fintech

Mobutu’s Swiss villa attracts no buyers

This content was published on Sep 13, 2001 Bidding was meant to start at SFr2.5 million ($1.5 million) for the 30-room Villa Les Miguettes, which was valued at SFr4.25 million. But local bankruptcy authorities called off the auction after 15 minutes because nobody made the first bid. The villa will now either be auctioned at a later date, but with no minimum price,…

Couchepin refuses to cede to winegrowers’ demands

This content was published on Sep 13, 2001 During a meeting with the group on Thursday, Couchepin said he understood the concerns of Swiss winegrowers but would not meet their demands. The winegrowers, who have been protesting in the capital, Bern since Monday, come mainly from the western part of Switzerland. They say they have been hampered by the high cost of Swiss…

Insurers could face $15 billion bill after US attacks

This content was published on Sep 13, 2001 Insurers could pay out between $10 billion to $15 billion (SFr16.6-24.9 billion), credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Services said. That amount would be second only to the $20 billion bill from Hurricane Andrew in 1992. But leading insurers and analysts said it was still too soon to tally the losses. “It is far too early…

Economic uncertainty dominates after attacks on US

This content was published on Sep 13, 2001 Analysts said the US’s first damage limitation exercise might be to cut interest rates. “The US government has to restore consumer confidence and business confidence and in the very short term they might cut interest rights to do so,” said Cantrade Private Bank’s chief economist, Marcus Allenspach. He stressed that a further rate cut would…

Swiss journalist survives attack on World Trade Center

This content was published on Sep 12, 2001 Laura Lapreta Wicki, 33, was working in the offices of the economic press agency, AFX, when the attack occurred. Still in shock, she told the news agency, Associated Press, how she narrowly escaped death by fleeing down an emergency staircase. “I had been in our office on the 52nd floor of the South tower when…

Swiss stocks regain some lost ground after heavy selling

This content was published on Sep 12, 2001 The SMI initially opened another three per cent down but was soon heading up again. Markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris also advanced to recover some of their losses from the previous trading day. Eleonore Charraz, a trader at Bank Leu, told swissinfo that Tuesday’s decline was driven by panic selling, which continued in the…

Attacks leave telecom networks struggling to cope

This content was published on Sep 12, 2001 The record volume of calls to the New York and Washington areas on Tuesday brought telephone networks to a standstill, preventing millions of people from getting through. AT&T, the largest US long-distance carrier, said its long-distance network carried an average of four million calls every five minutes after the attacks – double the normal volume.…

Swiss Re estimates SFr1.2 billion loss after terrorist attacks

This content was published on Sep 12, 2001 Reinsurance companies insure insurance companies against major losses. Swiss Re said in a statement from its Zurich headquarters that based on a first and very rough estimation, the loss to the company was expected to be in the range of the 1999 European winter storms Lothar and Martin. “But further information will affect this indication,”…

Swiss firms to clean up New Jersey site

This content was published on Sep 11, 2001 The US Congress established the Superfund programme in 1980 to locate, investigate, and clean up the worst environmentally damaged sites. The companies agreed to the cleanup under a consent decree lodged on Monday in a US District Court. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made the agreement with the companies, which have already spent an…

Swissair sells stake in airport restaurant

This content was published on Sep 11, 2001 The move comes as part of Swissair’s drive to shed assets and shore up it wafer-thin liquidity base. “The holding has been sold as part of a broader refocus of the Swissair Group’s overall strategic thrust onto its core airline operations and closely associated activities,” the company said in a statement. Autogrill said it had…

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Banking & Fintech

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Mobutu’s Swiss villa attracts no buyers

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Couchepin refuses to cede to winegrowers’ demands

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Insurers could face $15 billion bill after US attacks

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Economic uncertainty dominates after attacks on US

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Swiss journalist survives attack on World Trade Center

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Swiss stocks regain some lost ground after heavy selling

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Attacks leave telecom networks struggling to cope

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Swiss Re estimates SFr1.2 billion loss after terrorist attacks

More

Swiss firms to clean up New Jersey site

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Swissair sells stake in airport restaurant

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