Banking & Fintech

Sabena faces cash crisis

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 Sabena is jointly owned by the Belgian government, which has a 51 per cent stake, and the Swiss airline holding company, SAirGroup. In a letter addressed to colleagues, Mueller said the company’s proposed Blue Sky restructuring programme was the “strict minimum” needed for survival and to secure the airline’s long-term future. His conclusion was based…

Swiss watch exports break all records

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Thursday that the “fantastic” result showed a 14.4 per cent improvement in exports over 1999, and reflected 17 months of uninterrupted growth within the sector. The improvement in the industry’s performance was mainly due to the sustained demand in major markets, the strength of the US…

Robots to track rumours on the web

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The so-called “Rumorbot” trawls through search engines and databases and could be used to identify a speculator starting a rumour to move share prices or a paedophile supplying child pornography. “The idea is to track and analyse, in real time, online newsgroups, chatrooms and lists,” said Stephane Perino, founder and managing director of the Geneva-based…

Syngenta sells herbicide business to Bayer

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 Bayer is to pay $106 million (SFR171 million) for the unit, which produces the sulcotrione herbicide, a key pest poison in maize production. The sale is not likely to cause any problems with the European anti-trust authorities following the merger, which created Syngenta from Novartis’ agribusiness and Zeneca Agrichemicals. Mikado had global 1999 sales of…

Swiss trade balance falls into the red

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 For the year 2000, Switzerland ran a trade deficit of SFr2.07 billion ($1.26 billion), its first annual deficit in eight years. It had posted a trade surplus of SFr1.03 billion in 1999. Andreus Huffert, an economist at UBS Warburg Dillon Reed, told swissinfo that the growth in imports, which led to the deficit, was welcome…

EMS succeeds in Axantis takeover

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 EMS declared the public offer successful and said it would publish interim results on the offer on February 6. Its purchase of 814,802 shares gives the Swiss firm control of Axantis. EMS also extended the offer of SFr330 per share ($202) until February 19 from an original closing date of January 31. EMS has so…

Switzerland eases tariffs on Balkan exports

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The measures, announced by the government on Thursday, will give the three countries the same trade privileges as the poorest developing countries for the next three years. The effect will be to remove almost all tariffs on industrial products from the three nations. Agricultural products from Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina will also be almost tariff-free. Yugoslavia…

Adecco figures suggest acquisition was a job well done

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 The company, based at Chéserex near Lausanne, said the profit figure excluded charges tied to goodwill and restructuring. The 2000 results include the acquisition last year of the United States employment group, Olsten. Goodwill charges include those from the 1996 merger which formed Adecco from the fusion of Adia and France’s Ecco. Adecco is now…

Swatch clocks up record sales

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 Record profits are also expected, with growth rates “substantially higher” than those of sales. Swatch chairman Nicolas Hayek told swissinfo: “We have exceeded every record in the watch industry, we are number one worldwide as no one has ever achieved these kind of results in our industry up till now.” Hayek also explained that the…

Stronger demand boosts Valora sales

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 Sales in Valora’s core businesses rose by 8.7 per cent to SFr2.48 billion. That excludes Slumberland, the bedding group which it plans to sell as part of a restructuring. Slumberland sales fell 7.2 per cent to SFr504 million. The group said in a statement that its largest revenue earner, K Group, which includes store sales…

Banking & Fintech

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Banking & Fintech

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Sabena faces cash crisis

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Swiss watch exports break all records

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Robots to track rumours on the web

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Syngenta sells herbicide business to Bayer

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Swiss trade balance falls into the red

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EMS succeeds in Axantis takeover

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Switzerland eases tariffs on Balkan exports

More

Adecco figures suggest acquisition was a job well done

More

Swatch clocks up record sales

More

Stronger demand boosts Valora sales

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