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WTO criticises Swiss farm subsidies

This content was published on Dec 6, 2000 In the report released on Wednesday, the WTO said Switzerland’s efforts to liberalise the agricultural sector had been “unsatisfactory”. It said farmers were still excessively protected. The report notes that reforms initiated in 1993 had led to less state intervention in agriculture, but had not resulted in any significant cut in subsidies. It said state…

Roche and Aventis unveil anti-cancer offensive

This content was published on Dec 6, 2000 The deal, announced on Wednesday, aims to accelerate the study of two powerful anti-cancer drugs to improve early cancer treatment. In a statement from its headquarters in Basel, Roche said the accord would promote studies combining its Herceptin drug with the Taxotere drug, which was discovered, developed and marketed globally by Aventis. Roche’s Herceptin was…

Swiss banks lead Europe’s online banking

This content was published on Dec 6, 2000 In a study published on Wednesday, Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, ranked the French Banque Directe and BNP Paribas in third and fourth positions. “The Swiss banks shine through with comprehensive, integrated offerings,” said Brian Gross, an analyst at Forrester’s European headquarters in Amsterdam. “Consistently integrating a gamut of products and services with useful…

UMTS auction unlikely to boost federal coffers

This content was published on Dec 6, 2000 The first round of bidding for Switzerland’s Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) kicked off on Wednesday morning, with Switzerland’s largest operator, Swisscom, bidding for a licence, along with Orange, Telefonica of Spain and Sunrise/diAx. The federal communications office has planned eight rounds of bidding on Wednesday, and a further eight on Thursday. However, the office’s…

Swiss and American experts discuss white-collar crime

This content was published on Dec 5, 2000 Government officials and financial experts from the private sector took part in the talks, which focused on bankers’ “know your customer” guidelines and measures to combat money laundering. The participants discussed cooperation between the two countries’ judicial authorities and the security forces. They looked at ways in which new technologies in the financial sectors are…

Ogi launches Year of Volunteers

This content was published on Dec 5, 2000 Addressing an audience of 700 people at the launch of the campaign on Tuesday in Bern, Ogi said Swiss people had a long tradition of carrying out voluntary activities. He added that it was the responsibility of all citizens to become involved: “If everyone were to offer some of their services voluntarily, society would be…

Development aid brings big rewards to Swiss economy

This content was published on Dec 5, 2000 The study, commissioned by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, found that for every franc spent abroad, Switzerland receives back between SFr1.40 and SFr1.60. Thus in 1998 Switzerland recouped an income of around SFr2 billion ($1.2 billion) from a development aid budget of SFr1.3 billion. The Geneva and Neuchatel university study found that Switzerland’s…

Christmas shopping in full swing

This content was published on Dec 5, 2000 As in previous years, electronic goods are leading Christmas sales. But this year, quality is playing a bigger role in the choices made by shoppers, the main stores agree. Ernst Pfenniger, a spokesman for the Globus group, said sales over the first weekend of Advent were cause for celebration. Although they still hadn’t reached their…

First “sexed” cattle born in Switzerland

This content was published on Dec 5, 2000 The first “sexed” calves born in Switzerland were “introduced” to the public on Tuesday, in what scientists are describing as a revolution in the breeding of farm animals. The technique was developed in the United States by the firm XY Inc., and has been licensed to the Swiss biotechnology company, BIG X. Using XY Inc’s…

Swiss residents counted in most expensive census ever

This content was published on Dec 5, 2000 Everyone living in Switzerland on Tuesday, December 5, is required to complete the census. For the first time, Swiss citizens have the option of filing their details on the Internet. The federal office for statistics said that by Monday 160,000 people – corresponding to 65,000 households – had availed themselves of the new service. More…

Cluster: Archive

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