Internal: Archive

Novartis takeover of Alcon complete

This content was published on Dec 15, 2010 Novartis has been trying to clinch 100 per cent ownership in Alcon since the start of the year. However, the Swiss company’s original all-paper offer of 2.8 Novartis shares for each Alcon share met stiff resistance from Alcon’s Independent Director Committee (IDC), which repeatedly dismissed it as “grossly inadequate”. The merger will now include up…

“Child labour exists on cocoa farms”

This content was published on Dec 14, 2010 Jürgen Steinemann, CEO of Zurich-based Barry Callebaut, also stresses the importance of direct involvement in projects such as its Quality Partner Program, which aims to improve the quality of not only cocoa beans but also the lives of cocoa farmers. He explains how such schemes are win-win situations and are the best way to ensure…

Swiss economy faces slowdown

This content was published on Dec 14, 2010 However, the government’s expert group said that given the relative resilience of the domestic market so far, the expected slowdown should remain limited. In a statement on Tuesday, Seco forecast a slowdown of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth from 2.7 per cent in 2010 to 1.5 per cent in 2011. It said this was likely…

Fate of foreign pensioners raises concern

This content was published on Dec 14, 2010 Today there are more than 130,000 immigrants aged 65 and over living in Switzerland, as well as many others who were granted Swiss citizenship; this figure should rise to 280,000 by 2050. “We only planned to come to Switzerland for a short while. We wanted to return home before our children started school. The fall…

Swiss economy finds competitive advantage

This content was published on Dec 12, 2010 But the growing strength of Asian economies coupled with structural weaknesses in Europe have helped Switzerland gain a position of relative competitive strength over neighbours. Swiss exporters still face problems associated with the strengthening franc and a weakening of their most important market – the European Union. But a steady diversification of exports away from…

Court blocks Transocean payout

This content was published on Dec 10, 2010 Transocean, which is based in Zug, is considering filing an appeal to the Federal Court by January 24. The firm wanted to register the first of four partial par value reductions in the amount of SFr0.86 per issued share – as agreed to by shareholders in May after a proposal made by the board in…

UBS tax case brings more leads

This content was published on Dec 9, 2010 United States tax chief Douglas Shulman made the announcement on Thursday as part of his remarks to a tax conference in Washington, DC. “This information has already proved invaluable in supplementing and corroborating prior leads, as well as developing new leads involving numerous banks,” Shulman said . He also said the agency was considering another…

Nestlé invests in Dubai and Indonesia factories

This content was published on Dec 9, 2010 The factory, which opened its doors on Thursday, will produce a variety of products such as powdered milk, chocolate bars and bottled water. It is located in the same place as the company’s microbiology lab, which specialises in salmonella research. Nestlé has been active in the Middle East for the past 75 years and has…

Madoff legal charges weigh on Swiss financiers

This content was published on Dec 8, 2010 Liquidators of the fraudulent scheme have demanded $2.5 billion (SFr2.47 billion) from UBS bank while Union Bancaire Privée has agreed to pay back up to $500 million in lost funds. Other institutions may also soon face civil or criminal suits. Disgraced trader Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year jail term for setting up the most…

Online donations not possible on WikiLeaks site

This content was published on Dec 8, 2010 As the Swiss-Icelandic company Datacell announced on Wednesday, the service has been unavailable since Tuesday evening. Prior to that, both Visa and MasterCard had announced their intention to block payments to WikiLeaks. Datacell’s lawyers in Iceland are looking into how the company might respond to the credit card companies. Now that Visa and MasterCard have…

Internal: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Sign in and personalize Swissinfo

Internal: Archive

More

Novartis takeover of Alcon complete

More

“Child labour exists on cocoa farms”

More

Swiss economy faces slowdown

More

Fate of foreign pensioners raises concern

More

Swiss economy finds competitive advantage

More

Court blocks Transocean payout

More

UBS tax case brings more leads

More

Nestlé invests in Dubai and Indonesia factories

More

Madoff legal charges weigh on Swiss financiers

More

Online donations not possible on WikiLeaks site

Popular Stories

Most Discussed