Banking & Fintech

Lothar impact not as bad as expected

This content was published on Dec 21, 2000 At a press conference in Bern on Thursday, the federal environment agency said that the clearing of the forests was already very far advanced. Lothar ravaged Switzerland on December 26, 1999, felling more than 10 million trees over a surface area of 46,000 hectares. The destruction is the worst ever recorded in Swiss forests, and…

Watch industry heading for record results

This content was published on Dec 21, 2000 The President of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, François Habersaat, says there are no signs that the current boom will slow down. “The watch industry will continue its successful trend. It sells not only high quality products, but also dreams and emotions,” Habersaat told the Swiss news agency in an interview published on…

More Swiss men buying ladies’ underwear

This content was published on Dec 21, 2000 Liselotte Stebler, manager of Zurich’s Perosa lingerie store told swissinfo that more men are buying lingerie than ever before. “I guess a half or a third of our customers at this time of year are men who come and get their Christmas presents. During the year we only really see men shopping here for special…

Switzerland’s Christmas tree tradition comes of age

This content was published on Dec 21, 2000 It was only during the 19th century that Christmas trees – known in Germany since the 1500s – slowly began to appear in Swiss households. Today there is scarcely a Swiss family with children which doesn’t have a tree – by mid-December local tree-sellers have set up their stands in every town and do a…

Swissair unveils measures to combat air rage

This content was published on Dec 20, 2000 Swissair’s head of security, Werner Schaub, told swissinfo that, from January 1, all planes would carry plastic handcuffs to restrain passengers who pose a safety threat. He said Swissair flight personnel would also receive the full backing of the airline if they struck a passenger in self-defence. “If a flight attendant is attacked physically or…

Meat-based animal feed to be banned from January

This content was published on Dec 20, 2000 Announcing the move on Wednesday, the government said it would implement the ban three months earlier than planned. It said strict new measures would also be put in place to ensure compliance. The ban prohibits the feeding of meat-based animal feed to livestock, and stipulates that all meat and bone meal and animal fats must…

Switzerland to help Yugoslavia join IMF

This content was published on Dec 20, 2000 The cabinet approved the loan at its weekly meeting on Wednesday to help Yugoslavia cover its debts to the IMF. Belgrade will not be allowed to rejoin the organisation until it has paid its debt of SFr220 million. Yugoslavia is also required to pay its share of the increase in the IMF’s capital that occurred…

Sulzer sheds turbo machines in first of strategic sell-offs

This content was published on Dec 20, 2000 Sulzer announced on Wednesday that the German company, MAN GHH BORSIG, had acquired its turbo machinery division for an undisclosed sum. The business had sales of some SFr300 million ($178.57 million) in 1999, and employs approximately 1,000 employees. In a statement from its headquarters in Winterthur, Sulzer said the new company would belong to the…

Project makes web accessible to mentally disabled

This content was published on Dec 19, 2000 The project called “TransArte” has just been awarded a SFr50,000 ($29,700) prize by Pro Infirmis Zurich, which works with disabled people. The system pioneered by “TransArte” enables users who cannot read and write to interact with their computers using a machine similar to a barcode reader at a supermarket. Users swipe tokens with different symbols…

Clariant names new boss

This content was published on Dec 19, 2000 Announcing Handte’s appointment on Tuesday, Clariant said in a statement that Schweizer’s current role as chairman and CEO would be divided in two, and that a chairman would be appointed later. Handte, 54, is currently Clariant’s chief operating officer, and will take over as CEO after the next AGM on May 16, 2001. The 70-year-old…

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