Banking & Fintech

Ascom turns down single share

This content was published on May 17, 2000 After lengthy and at times what was described as “spiteful” debate on Wednesdsay, a majority of 68.5 per cent followed the advice of the board to reject the single share formula. The proposal had been put forward by the financier, Ernst Müller-Möhl, who died in a plane crash two weeks ago. Müller-Möhl controlled almost 20…

Ascom turns down uniform share

This content was published on May 17, 2000 More than two-thirds of shareholders on Wednesday turned down the proposal to replace the current two-tier share structure with a uniform share. The vote followed a lengthy discussion at the meeting on Wednesday, and marks the culmination of a long-running debate. The change had been proposed by the financier, Ernst Müller-Möhl, whose A&A Actienbank is…

Novartis under fire over genetic transplant plans

This content was published on May 17, 2000 Greenpeace claimed the patent proved that life science companies were intent on turning plants, animals and people into market commodities, for the purpose of profit making. Switzerland’s Green Party argued that the patent was nonsensical since any trade in organs is banned by the constitution. Nevertheless both environmental groups are calling on the Swiss government…

Hotels mushrooming in Zurich

This content was published on May 17, 2000 “Zurich’s hotel sector has not experienced such a period of strong growth since the 1970s,” said Gugliamo Brentel, director of the Zurich Hotel Association. Occupancy rates run at close to 77 per cent, making Zurich second only to Amsterdam in terms of occupancy in Europe. “The city is benefiting from many factors, including an unprecedented…

Industry revels in boom

This content was published on May 17, 2000 The umbrella organisation for the three sectors said businesses had registered growth rates of 5.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, putting an end to two years of negative growth earlier than expected. It said exports had grown particularly fast (6.9 per cent) compared to domestic demand (2.9 per cent). The…

Families hopeful as government puts forward tax cut plans

This content was published on May 17, 2000 After its meeting on Wednesday, the cabinet put forward five different models, and is asking all interested parties – the cantons, political parties and associations – for feedback by the end of July. The government said the changes were necessary to reflect the evolution of family structures over the last 30 years. It said the…

Nestlé accused of milking developing countries

This content was published on May 17, 2000 The accusations come from Syed Aamar Raza, a former Nestlé employee in Pakistan. He says he walked out three years ago in disgust at the company’s tactics. “I left after a doctor held me and my employers responsible for the death of a four-month-old bottle-fed baby,” Raza recalls. He says his main purpose was to…

Bringing the world into the classroom

This content was published on May 16, 2000 These are citizenship in the virtual world, diverse cultural identities in Switzerland and Europe, fighting what they term virtual illiteracy and developing net-based teaching tools. The organisers, the Swiss Centre for Informational Technologies in Teaching, said the theme this year is “bringing the world into the classroom”. They are asking schools, teachers and pupils to…

Shipwrecks reveal rich heritage of Lake Geneva

This content was published on May 16, 2000 The exhibition at the Musée du Léman, or Museum of Lake Geneva, in Nyon, concentrates on 15 of the 30 wrecks that have been located at the bottom of the lake. They range from a 15th Century wooden flat-bottomed boat, found by accident during dredging work, to the steamer, Le Rhône, which sank in 1883,…

Licence auction brings windfall for public coffers

This content was published on May 16, 2000 The WLL is considered the ‘last mile’ in linking households and providers without requiring a fixed cable network. The Federal Office for Communications held the auction over the Internet – the first time in Europe a government body has done so. The office said it brought in SFr583 million francs for three national and 31…

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