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Stock market ends year on up note

This content was published on Dec 30, 2010 Joint turnover came to SFr1,190.5 billion ($1,267.84 billion), according to provisional figures published on Thursday. The number of trades was up year-on-year by 0.5 per cent to 34,962,957. The uptrend experienced by most indices remained intact in the year – although year-on-year performance was more modest than it was 12 months ago. The SMI index…

Switzerland has unusually cold December

This content was published on Dec 29, 2010 Bern had more snow in a single month than in the whole of last winter, according to the national weather service MeteoSwiss on Wednesday. Geneva had never had such deep snow – 31 centimetres – in December. The snow set in on December 1, and after a brief thaw, it returned again on December 12.…

Franc hits record against US dollar

This content was published on Dec 28, 2010 The Swissquote online broker showed that around noon an investor needed just 0.9434 francs to purchase one US dollar, a few points less than the 0.9460 level reached in October. The dollar bounced back to 0.9515 francs by the end of the day in Switzerland as markets in New York moved through morning trading. Fewer…

Franc replaces banks as main economic concern

This content was published on Dec 27, 2010 While regulators and the government were busy restoring stability to the financial sector, the economic woes of European neighbours sent the franc spiralling through the roof to the detriment of Swiss exporters. There was a distinct lack of champagne bottles being uncorked during the festive season last year, but the financial sector was still left…

Globalisation sows biological invasion seeds

This content was published on Dec 26, 2010 It comes in the form of invasive species – non-native plants, insects and animals – that wreak havoc on the local flora and fauna while forcing the host country to fork out eradication funds. Results of a European study show that socio-economic factors have a direct influence on the number of biological invaders in a…

Snail mail Christmas cards remain popular

This content was published on Dec 26, 2010 Despite the growing popularity of online services, including text messaging and social media websites like Facebook, the Swiss Post said it expects only a two per cent decrease in the number of letters handled in 2010. There had been a 4.9 per cent drop in 2009 compared to the previous year, and some officials have…

Zug locals squeezed out by rising house prices

This content was published on Dec 25, 2010 The city of Zug has now become the first in Switzerland to introduce special zones for “reasonably priced housing”. Rich people from all over the world are thronging to Zug, where every nook and cranny has a price. Once affordable housing estates are bought by investors, renovated and “upgraded” to luxury business apartments. The success…

Pressure on franc expected to remain next year

This content was published on Dec 24, 2010 But with Switzerland poised to hike its contribution to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bail-out kitty, economists do not believe conditions will get worse than the recent record high of SFr1.2457 recorded against the euro. The Swiss franc has acted as a safe haven currency throughout the financial crisis, global recession and European sovereign debt…

Businesses hurting under rising franc

This content was published on Dec 24, 2010 In the fourth quarter of 2010, 45 per cent of 244 businesses surveyed said they had been impacted negatively by the strength of the currency, compared with 28 per cent in the previous quarter. Another 42 per cent said there was no change to their business and 13 per cent said it had a positive…

The “puck” that gets hammered into a bottle

This content was published on Dec 22, 2010 The SIGG bottle, made in the Swiss town of Frauenfeld, has been used by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood in her efforts to slow down climate change, because it is reusable. It’s also being carried around in the Australian town of Bundanoon, which declared itself opposed to the sale of bottled drinking water on environmental grounds.…

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Stock market ends year on up note

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Switzerland has unusually cold December

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Franc hits record against US dollar

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Franc replaces banks as main economic concern

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Globalisation sows biological invasion seeds

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Snail mail Christmas cards remain popular

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Zug locals squeezed out by rising house prices

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Pressure on franc expected to remain next year

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Businesses hurting under rising franc

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The “puck” that gets hammered into a bottle

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