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Head of WEF security in apparent suicide

This content was published on Jan 26, 2010 The 61-year-old, responsible for security at the annual talking shop for business leaders, international political leaders, intellectuals and journalists, was found lifeless in his Davos hotel room on Tuesday morning. The police chief took over the Graubünden force in 1984, having previously worked as a cantonal investigating judge. Further details of the death were unavailable.…

WEF changes its face but not its soul

This content was published on Jan 26, 2010 The scale of the WEF Davos 2010 meeting is now much larger than the inaugural European Management Symposium in 1971, but the concept is still to discuss economic and social challenges facing the world. Four decades ago WEF founder Klaus Schwab saw the need to bring together European business leaders and United States counterparts and…

Right wing launches three people’s initiatives

This content was published on Jan 26, 2010 The backers have until July 2011 to collect the necessary 100,000 signatures per initiative to force a national vote on the issues involved. The rightwing Swiss People’s Party has put forward two of the initiatives – on equal taxation for stay-at-home parents and the election of members of cabinet by popular vote. The party’s members…

Novartis changes CEO amid record results

This content was published on Jan 26, 2010 The announcement on Tuesday came as the Basel-based group reported record results in 2009. It posted a profit of $8.4 billion (SFr8.7 billion), up four per cent compared with last year. Novartis also reported that the board of directors had appointed the head of its global pharmaceuticals division, Joe Jimenez, to succeed Vasella, who will…

More Swiss aid prepares for Haiti missions

This content was published on Jan 25, 2010 The aircraft is carrying 105 tonnes of aid goods to Haiti. Toni Frisch, deputy director-general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has just returned from Haiti and said that despite the difficult conditions, he could report a positive result about Swiss emergency aid. But he warned: “Such a catastrophe is by its…

Public Eye keeps close watch on Davos

This content was published on Jan 25, 2010 On Wednesday, Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland will present the Public Eye Awards on the WEF sidelines. The event organisers will hand out awards in “Global”, “Swiss” and People’s categories, and for the first time a “Greenwash” prize will be given to a firm that uses a “social-environmental fig leaf” to make it look greener…

Clariant announces another 500 job cuts

This content was published on Jan 25, 2010 The Basel-based firm cut more than 3,000 of its workforce last year, and at the end of 2009 employed less than 18,000 people worldwide. A Clariant spokesman confirmed the report in the Sonntag newspaper, saying that employees at Swiss plants could also be affected by the measure. The Swiss company, along with many in the…

Arab green energy drive offers opportunity

This content was published on Jan 24, 2010 The time is ripe for advanced Swiss technology to reap windfall rewards from a drive to construct more energy efficient buildings, according to experts based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The oil and gas rich states have already been identified as lucrative business partners by a host of well known Swiss firms in the…

Parliament urged to resolve UBS data question

This content was published on Jan 24, 2010 In an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper published on Sunday, Christoph Bandli said it was up to parliamentarians to decide on whether tax evasion was a criminal offence. If Swiss legislators were to equate tax evasion with tax fraud, authorities could legally hand over the files of 4,450 of the bank’s clients suspected of tax…

SNB welcomes US plans to limit bank risk

This content was published on Jan 23, 2010 “The proposal yesterday is certainly something we are extremely interested in,” said Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday. “And, broadly speaking, we are very supportive of making sure certain activities, like prop trading activities, must not be allowed to grow again the way they…

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