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Heat from the ground, it’s there for the taking

This content was published on Dec 26, 2011 In April, Lyesse Laloui, head of the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) will host a meeting of world specialists in “energy geostructures” for a workshop that has the support of the American National Science Foundation. EPFL were the first to test in real conditions the behaviour of heat…

Christmas cards are as popular as ever

This content was published on Dec 26, 2011 Between December 1 and 25, the Swiss postal service handled 15 million packages, with volume peaking on some days at one million parcels and 20 million letters. The numbers are on a par with recent years. In the week leading up to Christmas the three sorting centres in cantons Vaud, Solothurn and Thurgau were handling…

Economy braces for further turbulence

This content was published on Dec 26, 2011 The only real question appears to be how long the troubled period will last, how deeply it will cut into the Swiss economy and how much of the pain will have to be shouldered by workers. Despite the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the government taking measures in the second half of the year to…

Orange Switzerland bought by British

This content was published on Dec 24, 2011 The sale, agreed on Friday night, is worth SFr2 billion ($2.14 billion). It still needs approval by the Swiss authorities. Orange Switzerland had a turnover of SFr1.3 billion in 2010. France Télécom said the sale was an important step in its optimisation strategy. It had already announced in July that it planned to sell its…

National Bank head cleared of wrong doing

This content was published on Dec 24, 2011 In a statement on Friday, the SNB said there had been no misuse of privileged information. The bank commission based its judgment on a thorough investigation carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The investigators had checked all bank transactions of Hildebrand and his family in 2011, the SNB said. The investigation was triggered by persistent rumours that…

Swatch court decision looms over watch industry

This content was published on Dec 24, 2011 Swatch and independent watch brands are locked in a fight over Swatch’s supply of components to third parties. One analyst believes the decision could be damaging for some small firms. On Monday the Federal Administrative Court rejected an appeal by nine watchmakers, including Louis Erard, Frédérique Constant and Sellita, against the Federal Competition Commission (Comco)…

Cern discovers a boson, but not the Higgs

This content was published on Dec 23, 2011 The sub-atomic particle known as Chi-b (3P) was uncovered in the debris from colliding protons. The finding should help scientists better understand the forces that hold matter together. The Chi-b(3P) comprises two relatively heavy particles, the beauty quark and its antiquark, which are bonded by the so-called “strong” force, which also causes the atomic nucleus…

Swiss to lift sanctions against two Libyan banks

This content was published on Dec 22, 2011 A spokeswoman for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs told the Swiss News Agency sanctions against the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Foreign Bank would be lifted on December 23. With this decision, “the international assets which are owned or controlled by these banks and were blocked in conformance with the resolutions of…

Parliament approves balanced budget for 2012

This content was published on Dec 22, 2011 Revenues are expected to increase by 2.4 per cent, having benefited from a SFr634 million windfall from auctioning off mobile telephone licenses. The budget will be more or less balanced with the deficit expected to come in at just SFr14 million. As part of the budget planning, parliament rejected an increase in direct agriculture subsidies…

Post plans joint venture with French

This content was published on Dec 22, 2011 The new joint venture, which has been approved by both boards of directors, should begin operations in 2012. The new company will be owned equally by Swiss Post and La Poste. It will be headquartered in Paris and Bern. In a statement on Thursday, Swiss Post said the merger would allow both companies “to further…

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More

Heat from the ground, it’s there for the taking

More

Christmas cards are as popular as ever

More

Economy braces for further turbulence

More

Orange Switzerland bought by British

More

National Bank head cleared of wrong doing

More

Swatch court decision looms over watch industry

More

Cern discovers a boson, but not the Higgs

More

Swiss to lift sanctions against two Libyan banks

More

Parliament approves balanced budget for 2012

More

Post plans joint venture with French

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