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Privacy – a thing of the past?

This content was published on Oct 31, 2002 And, according to speakers at a specialist forum in Zurich, legal safeguards could soon lag far behind technological capabilities. “Computers are becoming so small and cheap that they can already be embedded in all sorts of objects,” Professor Friedemann Mattern of Zurich’s Federal Insitute of Technology told swissinfo at a Symposium on Privacy and Security.…

Zurich Cantonal Bank cuts former BZ fund stakes

This content was published on Oct 31, 2002 Zurich Cantonal Bank said the funds had dumped all their holdings in Swiss-Swedish engineering group, ABB, and had reduced their stakes in Credit Suisse. The bank, which did not disclose the number of shares sold, obtained the stocks when it bought the Vision Funds from indebted BZ Group last summer. The news comes just days…

New energy charges Swiss financiers

This content was published on Oct 31, 2002 Corporate and financial investors are putting more money into energy. A sign that the time is ripe for investment in alternative energy is the fact that 12-year-old SAM was able to raise two brand new venture capital funds (combined investment total of €90 million) at a time in history when private equity allocations are all…

Swiss applies the brakes

This content was published on Oct 30, 2002 The management of the airline has rejected the first budget proposal for 2003, in an attempt to stick to its aim of breaking even by the end of next year. A company statement said that the breakeven objective was “ambitious” in the current economic climate, which was affecting the airline business in particular. Swiss repeated…

Swiss open new biotech hub

This content was published on Oct 30, 2002 The Biotech Centre, located in Schlieren, has led to the creation of more than 250 highly skilled jobs. The four companies, which jointly opened the centre, are spin-offs from either Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology or Zurich University. “The inauguration of this biotech centre provides a welcome relief from the prevailing economic gloom,” said the…

Post Office gears up for competition

This content was published on Oct 29, 2002 Two years later, competition will be extended to letters weighing over 100 grams, following a government decision to gradually open up the market to competition. On Tuesday, the Swiss communications minister, Moritz Leuenberger, said liberalisation measures would take into account the specific needs of regions and the Post Office’s social responsibility as an employer. Speaking…

Smaller banks are most profitable

This content was published on Oct 29, 2002 The cantonal bank of tiny Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland is the best performer, while the banks of Vaud and Geneva remain firmly at the bottom of the list. The rankings are based on 12 indicators, such as profit margins and turnover per employee. The cantonal bank of Schwyz has an impressive profit margin of 60.62…

Vaud pumps fresh cash into cantonal bank

This content was published on Oct 29, 2002 Bailing out the troubled bank – Switzerland’s fourth largest – has become almost routine for the canton’s long-suffering taxpayers. BCV is to issue participation bonds for the money. SFr850 million will be covered by provisions and the balance will be new cash stumped up by the canton. It is the second re-capitalisation the bank has…

Post Office confronts an electronic future

This content was published on Oct 29, 2002 The three-day meeting in Geneva comes a week after the Swiss Post Office announced plans for a radical overhaul which will lead to 2,500 job cuts. The 700 delegates are discussing how organisations devoted to moving paper from place to place should deal with a future increasingly enveloped by email messages. The UPU predicts that…

Novartis clinches Lek deal

This content was published on Oct 29, 2002 Novartis confirmed that more than half of Lek’s shares had been tendered in the Swiss company’s takeover offer. The Swiss firm wants Lek because of its strong position in generic drugs – cheap versions of drugs which have lost patent protection. The market for cut-price medicines is expanding fast as countries try to cut healthcare…

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Privacy – a thing of the past?

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Zurich Cantonal Bank cuts former BZ fund stakes

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New energy charges Swiss financiers

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Swiss applies the brakes

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Swiss open new biotech hub

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Post Office gears up for competition

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Smaller banks are most profitable

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Vaud pumps fresh cash into cantonal bank

More

Post Office confronts an electronic future

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Novartis clinches Lek deal

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