Internal: Archive

National bank lowers rate, expects recession

This content was published on Dec 11, 2008 The SNB said Gross Domestic Product growth would be negative next year, falling to between –0.5 and –1 per cent. In a statement, the SNB said it was prepared to “take all necessary steps” to support the Swiss economy in the face of the deteriorating global economic environment. The SNB “will continue to provide the…

Microsoft growth boosts Zurich’s “tech appeal”

This content was published on Dec 10, 2008 The Microsoft Development Center opened new premises on Tuesday with staff numbers expected to quadruple by 2011. Google also expanded in the city this year and IBM is co-funding a nanotech laboratory. Along with centres in Beijing, Hyderabad and the group headquarters in Redmond, Washington state, engineers in Zurich will develop Unified Communications (UC) software…

Swiss rate well on bribe index

This content was published on Dec 9, 2008 Switzerland was ranked joint third along with the Netherlands in the Bribe Payers Index (BPI), which lists 22 of the world’s largest countries in terms of honesty. The survey of 2,742 senior business executives from around the world found that only Belgium and Canada were considered less likely to make payoffs. Firms in Russia were…

Bailout plan agreed despite leftwing protest

This content was published on Dec 9, 2008 The centre-left failed to convince the House of Representatives and the Senate to apply additional conditions to the $60 billion (SFr73 billion) funding, including caps on manager salaries. The financial rescue plan, including a $54 billion government loan and a SFr6 billion cash injection for UBS, was only contested by the Greens. The four main…

Jobless figures climb steeply

This content was published on Dec 9, 2008 The number of registered unemployed rose by 7,181 to 107,652 – the first annual rise in four years – indicating that the financial crisis is starting to bite. In a statement, Seco said the number of vacancies dropped by more than 13 per cent compared with November 2007 to 11,927. “The financial crisis reached the…

Brain laboratory adds to neuroscience hub

This content was published on Dec 9, 2008 From March 2009 about 200 scientists are expected to start work at the laboratory, which is likely to form part of a future regional neuroscience centre bringing together research teams from the Lake Geneva area. On Monday the university unveiled a 13-tonne, state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner at its Brain and Behaviour Laboratory (BBL),…

Liechtenstein deal further raises tax pressure

This content was published on Dec 8, 2008 Observers believe Swiss banks will now come under mounting pressure to give other countries more information on tax dodgers. But banking insiders insist Liechtenstein’s move will not affect Switzerland. The principality of Liechtenstein, which borders Switzerland, ended two years of negotiations on Monday by signing a deal to grant US authorities access to confidential client…

Patients take control with chargeable implants

This content was published on Dec 8, 2008 The Activa RC implant, made in Switzerland by the United States firm Medtronic, gives patients more control over abnormal movement symptoms that result from degenerative disorders of the central nervous system. Neurosurgeons carried out procedures on the first two Swiss patients, aged 42 and 37, in November and December, the Bern University Hospital said on…

Wage increases in 2009 “acceptable”

This content was published on Dec 8, 2008 However, the organisation said in a statement on Monday that the financial crisis had made this year’s talks more difficult than usual. Travail Suisse said if an inflation rate of 1.4 per cent were taken into account, the rise in real terms would be 0.6 to 2.4 per cent. The organisation said this would support…

Nuclear firm funding for cancer study questioned

This content was published on Dec 8, 2008 The decision to allow the firms, Axpo and BKW Energy, to fund around a quarter of the SFr820,000 ($672,000) study raises questions about whether they will try to influence the results, due to be published in 2011. Axpo and BKW Energy support nuclear energy along with a mix of other non-renewable and renewable sources. Last…

Internal: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Internal: Archive

More

National bank lowers rate, expects recession

More

Microsoft growth boosts Zurich’s “tech appeal”

More

Swiss rate well on bribe index

More

Bailout plan agreed despite leftwing protest

More

Jobless figures climb steeply

More

Brain laboratory adds to neuroscience hub

More

Liechtenstein deal further raises tax pressure

More

Patients take control with chargeable implants

More

Wage increases in 2009 “acceptable”

More

Nuclear firm funding for cancer study questioned

Popular Stories

Most Discussed