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Swiss lose appetite for online food shopping

This content was published on Dec 10, 2002 In five years the company has grown to become a leader in the Swiss online shopping sector, but has never managed to break even. In a statement on Tuesday, the Bon appétit Group, which holds a majority share in LeShop, said the closure of its subsidiary would take effect on December 31 and entail costs…

Swiss scientist honoured with Nobel prize

This content was published on Dec 10, 2002 The Nobel committee said there would be “no modern pharmaceuticals” without the work of Wüthrich and two other joint recipients of the award. Wüthrich takes one half of the prestigious $1 million award, with the other half being divided equally between the United States scientist, John Fenn, and Japan’s Koichi Tanaka. The three scientists share…

Nobel prize highlights cash shortage in research

This content was published on Dec 10, 2002 The country’s cash-strapped research institutes are warning that without a substantial cash commitment they risk losing the edge. Switzerland’s two Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne have not had a funding increase in years and both say they battling to make ends meet. Last month the Zurich Institute – where Wüthrich is based…

Champion of poor comes of age at WTO

This content was published on Dec 9, 2002 On Monday, the agency, which has been sponsored by the Swiss government for the past four years, was transformed into an intergovernmental organisation. Seven donor countries including Switzerland have pledged funding of SFr18 million over the next five years to support the Geneva-based agency for international trade information and cooperation (Aitic). “The Swiss government [saw]…

Swiss lead efforts to get industry to clean up its act

This content was published on Dec 9, 2002 Philippe Roch on Monday announced a deal with the mobile phone industry under which it will share responsibility for recycling old phones. Roch, who is head of the Swiss Environment Agency, has spent the past three years working to prevent rich countries dumping their waste on their poorer neighbours. More recently, he has been arm-twisting…

Bleak prospects for Swiss economy

This content was published on Dec 9, 2002 BAK Basel Economics says gross domestic product (GDP) will only rise by 1.2 per cent next year. In October BAK predicted a 1.6 per cent growth rate. BAK Basel Economics said the weak global economy and poor prospects for the Eurozone countries were dampening Swiss hopes of a recovery. Explaining the revision on Monday, BAK…

Digging behind the scenes of the Gotthard tunnel

This content was published on Dec 7, 2002 The massive scheme is costing SFr10 billion ($6.85 billion) to build, and it will be the longest rail tunnel in the world on completion. Written by Nicolas Steinmann, one of the engineers working on the tunnel, “Gotthard via subalpina” mixes key statistics with a closer look at the people behind scenes. The idea for the…

Swiss mine raises protests in Vermont

This content was published on Dec 6, 2002 Environmentalists say the mine will scar a scenic valley, destroy valuable wetlands and lead to heavy traffic on narrow, mountain roads. Omya says it is aware of its ecological obligations and that the marble, mined at Danby, will be used in a papermaking process, which respects the environment. The privately owned company is no stranger…

Tough times for private banks

This content was published on Dec 6, 2002 The country’s biggest private bank, Julius Bär, is the latest to confirm job cuts after forecasting an 11 per cent fall in net profits. The bank’s difficulties are seen as symptomatic of a general crisis for small banks. High costs have already prompted moves towards consolidation, with the most high-profile merger involving Geneva’s oldest private…

Swiss to vote on cutting health care costs

This content was published on Dec 5, 2002 Parliament on Thursday gave the go-ahead for the vote to take place next year. The super rich – such as the Swiss People’s Party’s Christoph Blocher – could see their monthly premiums rise to a whopping SFr85,000, according to the Zurich-based daily “Tages-Anzeiger”. On Thursday, the House of Representatives rejected a Senate call to delay…

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