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This content was published on Mar 31, 2000 There was more bad news for Swisscom staff in a week that also saw the end of an era for the country’s beer producing industry. At the same time, another clutch of results pointed to the durability of the world economic recovery. Swisscom, the country’s biggest telecommunications operator, confirmed it was slashing another 3,000 jobs…

Business backs EU treaty

This content was published on Mar 31, 2000 Captains of Swiss industry have called on the Swiss to vote in favour of the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union when they go to the ballot box on May 21. The accords were worked out during long negotiations after the electorate turned down membership of the European Economic Area in 1992. The…

Swiss drinkers turn to the hard stuff

This content was published on Mar 31, 2000 Sales of hard alcohol have risen by a quarter in Switzerland following last year’s tax reduction on foreign spirits. At the same time, drinking levels as a whole have dropped by around two per cent, with consumption of beer and wine down almost five per cent. The latest figures were released as part of an…

Swisscom cuts thousands of jobs

This content was published on Mar 31, 2000 Swisscom has confirmed plans to slash more jobs. The country’s biggest telecommunications company is to shed a further 3,000 jobs by the end of 2002, while another 3,000 posts will be outsourced. Swisscom said further news on its outsourcing plans would be unveiled next month. The cuts bring the total number of job losses at…

ABB to sell its share in ABB Alstom Power

This content was published on Mar 31, 2000 The Swiss-based technology group, ABB, is selling its 50 per cent share in ABB Alstom Power to the French energy company, Alstom. The companies said ABB would receive a cash payment of SFr2 billion for the share. The president and chief executive officer of ABB, Göran Lindahl, said the decision to pull out of the…

Kloten airport passes into private hands

This content was published on Mar 30, 2000 Switzerland’s biggest airport, Zurich Kloten, is passing into private hands. The formal handover on Thursday follows a vote in favour of privatisation by the canton’s voters last year. It was a decision that many saw as vital for the airport to remain competitive. The man running the new company is a former executive of the…

Roche posts record profits

This content was published on Mar 30, 2000 The pharmaceuticals company, Roche, has posted record results, with net profit for 1999 up 31 per cent to SFr 5.764 billion. Excluding exceptional factors net profit was up 15 per cent to just over SFr 5 billion. This was broadly in line with analysts’ expectations. Exceptional factors included the sale of part of Roche’s stock…

Demand for cement boosts Holderbank profits

This content was published on Mar 30, 2000 The cement maker, Holderbank, has posted solid annual results which show net profit for 1999 up 16.5 per cent to SFr795 million. Sales rose to SFr12.2 billion from SFr11.3 billion in 1998. Deliveries of cement and clinker, a stony residue from a furnace, rose to 74.6 million tonnes from 64.8 million in 1998. Sales of…

“Beresina” most successful Swiss film

This content was published on Mar 30, 2000 The most popular Swiss film in 1999 was “Beresina or the last days of Switzerland”, according to figures just released by a government-sponsored body for promoting the national film industry. With box office sales totalling nearly 118,000, the political satire directed by Daniel Schmid helped the industry improve its share of the home market from…

Banking authorities to publish names of Holocaust-era accounts

This content was published on Mar 30, 2000 The Swiss banking authorities have decided to release the names of the owners of 26,000 dormant accounts dating back to the Holocaust era. The decision should now pave the way for compensation payments to Holocaust victims from a settlement reached between Swiss banks and international Jewish organisations in 1998. The Federal Banking Commission was asked…

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Banking & Fintech

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Business Spotlight

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Business backs EU treaty

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Swiss drinkers turn to the hard stuff

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Swisscom cuts thousands of jobs

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ABB to sell its share in ABB Alstom Power

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Kloten airport passes into private hands

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Roche posts record profits

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Demand for cement boosts Holderbank profits

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“Beresina” most successful Swiss film

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Banking authorities to publish names of Holocaust-era accounts

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