Cluster: Archive

Online grocer whets Swiss appetite

This content was published on Nov 19, 2003 swissinfo visited LeShop’s logistics centre in Bremgarten in canton Aargau to see how it’s all done. It’s five o’clock in the morning, but the race against the clock has already started. Since the early hours, workers have been dispatching fresh produce all over Switzerland. Every second counts because, as an online superstore, there are strict…

Schools negotiate the internet maze

This content was published on Nov 19, 2003 More than 2,000 schools are currently logged on to the internet, and the authorities plan to more than double this number by 2005. One institution already benefiting from internet access is Wettingen high school, which is based in an ancient monastery. The 800-year old monastery, which is surrounded by grazing sheep, lush meadows and vineyards,…

Small Swiss school goes big on the internet

This content was published on Nov 19, 2003 One of the institutions benefiting from the “Public Private Partnership (PPP)” project is a small school in the town of Sulzbach in the eastern canton of Appenzell. The PPP initiative was launched in December 2000 and is a joint project of the public and the private sector. The private sector provides the infrastructure and the…

Profit surges at Zurich

This content was published on Nov 19, 2003 The company posted a $701 million (SFr908.1 million) net profit for the third quarter, pushing net income for the first nine months to just over $1.4 billion. Analysts had been predicting third-quarter net profit of around $450 million. However, operating profit at $206 million was about half the forecast level. ZFS made a loss of…

E-government: major work in progress

This content was published on Nov 19, 2003 For the time being, however, the country’s federal system and the rapid spread of new information technologies mean that an enormous amount of work is still to be done. “We are very well placed strategically, but when it comes to implementation we are behind other European countries,” admits Jürg Römer, who is responsible for the…

Survey reveals truth behind food labels

This content was published on Nov 18, 2003 It found that some products claiming to be of superior quality were often no better than unlabelled alternatives. The WWF, Swiss Animal Protection and the Swiss Consumers Association said the Swiss were increasingly drawn to organic and fair-trade products. But many well-known quality marks were promising more than they could offer. The survey evaluated products…

Chernobyl fallout still contaminating food chain

This content was published on Nov 18, 2003 Scientists have discovered a high concentration of radioactive caesium in wild boar, which are increasingly ending up on Swiss tables. The Federal Health Office has announced that tests carried out across the country last year discovered traces of radioactive Caesium 137 released during the 1986 Chernobyl reactor disaster. The highest levels were found in the…

Drugs and cash drive Genetics Company growth

This content was published on Nov 18, 2003 At the same time it will be signing partnerships with big pharma to help create new “small” molecule-based drugs that could be used to treat certain cancers. The firm just completed its second round of venture capital to expedite its growth. At SFr14 million ($10.6 million), the firm raised a significantly greater amount than last…

Swiss loss accentuated by budget fares

This content was published on Nov 17, 2003 Swiss recently lowered its fares on dozens of European routes in an effort to revitalise the carrier’s survival chances. Although the new fares have boosted passenger numbers since being introduced in autumn, the airline’s revenue per seat fell more than 10.7 per cent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. The…

Higher costs drive farmers out of business

This content was published on Nov 17, 2003 Small farms were worst affected by the sector’s lacklustre performance, with 2.2 per cent closing between 2000 and 2002. Officials said on Monday that average yearly income rose 4.7 per cent on 2001, but was still one per cent down on the average for the past three years. “Agricultural costs rose steadily, which contributed substantially…

Cluster: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed