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GDP growth slows in fourth quarter

This content was published on Feb 27, 2014 The GDP expansion decelerated from 0.5% in the third quarter as the export of goods decreased by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The growth was slower than expected by economists at the BAKBasel research consultancy. At the same time, imports of goods rose by 1.4%, lifted…

Novartis shareholders approve new salary caps

This content was published on Feb 25, 2014 Last year, just before the Swiss adopted the so-called “Minder initiative” limiting executive pay, former Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella came under fire for a payout worth CHF72 million as he left the company. Although the Minder initiative does not enter into force until next year, Novartis announced earlier this month it was proposing salary cuts…

Machine firms see a turnaround

This content was published on Feb 25, 2014 In the past four years, the Swiss metals, electronics and machine (MEM) industry has lost 4,300 jobs and struggled with exports because of the high value of the Swiss franc. However, according to Peter Dietrich, the director of the industry’s umbrella group Swissmem, the fallout was expected to be worse, with 10,000 predicted job losses…

Financial packet deemed a success for innovation

This content was published on Feb 25, 2014 Innovation projects, which faced being shelved, could be implemented and speeded up, said the study, carried out by Zurich’s KOF economic research institute. Export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were the greatest beneficiaries. In October 2011, the government agreed a wide-ranging packet of measures to strengthen the Swiss economy, which had been suffering under the…

‘Switzerland is definitely not a colony of the EU’

This content was published on Feb 25, 2014 On February 9, voters approved a move by the Swiss People’s Party to reintroduce quotas and have a national preference when filling job vacancies. It also stipulates that Switzerland will have to renegotiate its bilateral accord with the EU on the free movement of people within three years or revoke it. swissinfo.ch: Reaction from Brussels…

Swiss-Indian trade deal: bitter pill to swallow

This content was published on Feb 24, 2014 Talks between India and EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) began in 2007. As recently as last month, Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann expressed hopes the two sides were getting close to an agreement after so many years of negotiations. However, on Sunday, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said Switzerland had been informed by…

Losing patents can be financially devastating

This content was published on Feb 24, 2014

Romansh digitisation project breaks new ground

This content was published on Feb 23, 2014 They are all to be found in the Rätoromanische Chrestomathie, regarded as a mine of information for historians and linguists. A collection of texts written between about 1560 and 1910 in all the varieties of Romansh, Switzerland’s fourth national language, it was published around the turn of the 20th century. A facsimile version in 15…

The infancy of the Swiss National Park

This content was published on Feb 21, 2014 The first national park anywhere in the Alps was founded in 1914 by conservationists concerned about increasing industrialisation in mountain regions. They set up a Swiss branch of the Society for the Protection of Nature and won approval from parliament to set aside an area in southeastern Switzerland. Similar reserves had already been established in…

Government supports organ transplant measures

This content was published on Feb 20, 2014 The number of people needing organs has been growing steadily over the past decade. Whereas there were 641 people on the waiting list at the end of 2003, the number had reached 1,274 by the end of 2013. The number of deceased organ donors in 2013 was 110, an almost 15% increase over 2012, a…

Internal: Archive

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Internal: Archive

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GDP growth slows in fourth quarter

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Novartis shareholders approve new salary caps

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Machine firms see a turnaround

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Financial packet deemed a success for innovation

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‘Switzerland is definitely not a colony of the EU’

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Swiss-Indian trade deal: bitter pill to swallow

More

Losing patents can be financially devastating

More

Romansh digitisation project breaks new ground

More

The infancy of the Swiss National Park

More

Government supports organ transplant measures

Popular Stories

Most Discussed