Cluster: Archive

Women’s bank seeks more cash for female entrepreneurs

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 Founded after the first United Nations World Conference on Women in Mexico in 1975, Women’s World Banking is now one of the leading institutions in financing small businesses run by women in developing countries. More than 40 women-led affiliates all over the world form the core of the organisation. They provide lending, savings and business…

National Bank hikes rates as inflation fears mount

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 At a news conference in Geneva, the president of the Bank, Hans Meyer, announced that the SNB had raised the target range for the three-month Libor rate by 50 basis points from 2.5-3.5 per cent to 3.0-4.0 per cent. “If the three-month Libor rate were left at the current level, an inflation rate of more…

Alpine nations applaud Swiss success at reintroducing lynx

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 The delegates of Scalp (Status and Conservation of the Alpine Lynx Population) applauded Switzerland’s success in reintroducing the once-extinct predator. Representatives from seven alpine nations agreed that the growing lynx population in the Bernese Alps meant the predator was likely to spread to neighbouring countries. The decline of the lynx in western Europe occurred in…

SNB raises interest rates

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 The expected increase should help the Swiss economy stem a risk of inflation as the domestic economy continues to boom. First quarter economic growth in Switzerland came in at a high of four per cent year-on-year, with the unemployment rate falling to 1.9 per cent – an eight year low. This latest move by the…

Competition commission closes retail inquiry

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 The commission announced that it has found no evidence of cartel activity between the four businesses. The investigation had been looking at whether distribution of branded food products was affected by cartel-style practises. The first indications were that there was an agreement in the area of expenses that producers paid to retailers to secure space…

Moo York, Moo York!

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 Not real cows, but life-size fibreglass bovines whose hides have been painted and decorated by local artists. As in Zurich – where the idea originated in 1998 – each cow is sponsored and eventually auctioned for a variety of good causes. In New York the beneficiaries will be selected charities for children, the arts and…

Swisscom launches e-commerce market

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 Conextrade is based on a product by the United States-based Commerce One company, with whom Swisscom concluded an agreement in January. This new trading platform will link buyers and sellers throughout Switzerland and central Europe, accelerating trade and reducing costs for trading partners. Swisscom’s own purchasing department will be the first customer on the Electronic…

No truce in sight in Biotech battle

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 As probably the world’s most-outspoken opponent of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Rifkin was invited to Berne by the Swiss environment agency to participate in a discussion about the risks of gene technology. Clearly not everyone was happy at his presence. A Nobel-prize winning scientist in the audience got so carried away by Rifkin’s arguments, he…

Holderbank cements its strategy in the Balkans

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 Under the contract, the first such involving a foreign firm since the end of the inter-ethnic strife in Kosovo a year ago, Holderbank will invest SFr27 million in capital equipment to upgrade the plant, plus undisclosed extra amounts for training and social and environmental projects. The agreement was signed with the United Nations Mission in…

Women less keen on founding a company than men?

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 The study, by the University of Applied Sciences in Solothurn, shows that only 16 per cent of new firms are founded by women. However, it finds that many more women (33 per cent) are self-employed. The study draws the conclusion from this that women often found companies with an annual turnover of less than SFr100,000…

Cluster: Archive

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