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Nuclear plant deactivated during tests

This content was published on Nov 15, 2008 BKW energy company authorities carrying out checks at the Mühleberg plant near Bern decided to switch off the plant on Saturday as a precaution in between two operational tests. The plant was reactivated after several hours. Authorities said the plant was safe, with no increases in radioactivity measured after the deactivation. Switzerland has five nuclear…

Geneva luxury industry to escape slowdown

This content was published on Nov 14, 2008 It said strong sales of top-of-the-range Swiss watches in Asia were expected to prop up weaker growth elsewhere. But other sectors of Geneva’s luxury market – art, jewellery and five-star hotels – will feel the pinch of the global economic crisis. In canton Geneva the luxury goods industry represents approximately 60 per cent of all…

Scientists score in fight against fatal disease

This content was published on Nov 14, 2008 One out of 6,000 newborns is affected by the disease, which attacks nerve cells in the spinal cord responsible for voluntary movement. Children suffering from the disease have two missing or malfunctioning genes that are needed for the production of a critical protein for healthy muscles. Cellular biologist Daniel Schümperli and his team have found…

Birds, like us, know the song before they sing

This content was published on Nov 13, 2008 The findings, published on Thursday in the journal Nature, suggest that songbird brains can somehow anticipate the notes they should be singing before they are actually sung. That has implications for how humans acquire language, says Richard Hahnloser, a professor of neuroinformatics and lead author of the study. “We could make a reasonably good analogy…

Swisscom faces complaint over internet pricing

This content was published on Nov 13, 2008 The company said on Thursday it had been notified that the Competition Commission had received an application to fine it SFr237 million ($198 million) for allegedly overpricing ADSL set-up services. The Commission has asked Swisscom to respond. In its application to issue sanctions, the Secretariat of the Competition Commission wrote there was too narrow a…

Hurricanes damage Zurich profit

This content was published on Nov 13, 2008 It blamed hurricanes Gustav and Ike in the United States, which cost the firm $595 million, but said it had performed well under the circumstances. Net income attributable to shareholders fell to $154 million in the three months ending September 30, from nearly $1.55 billion in the same period last year, the company said in…

Cabinet makes move to keep the economy alive

This content was published on Nov 12, 2008 Economics Minister Doris Leuthard announced the move on Wednesday at a news conference in Bern. Leuthard argued that all the economic forecasts for the Swiss economy had been revised downwards and that it was unclear how long the global crisis would last. She said the government wanted to improve on the SFr200 million it freed…

Finance minister to protect banking secrecy

This content was published on Nov 12, 2008 “Swiss banking secrecy is always under pressure but banking secrecy is secured internationally,” Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz said on Wednesday, adding that the government was “well prepared” to protect the law. The principle of banking secrecy has not been undermined by United States justice department investigations into whether Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, helped US citizens…

Swiss Life issues profit warning

This content was published on Nov 12, 2008 Switzerland’s largest life insurer had earlier estimated it would achieve a net profit of between SFr1.8 billion ($1.5 billion) and SFr1.9 billion. The news sent the share price tumbling, closing 20 per cent down at SFr87.15. Swiss Life blamed the worsening of the global financial crisis since September, which has hit investments it made in…

UBS gave US onshore bank client data

This content was published on Nov 11, 2008 UBS and the Swiss finance ministry deny however any data has been transferred from offshore or undeclared bank accounts located in Switzerland that are key to the country’s long-standing tradition of bank confidentiality. The probe focuses on whether UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, illegally helped wealthy Americans to dodge taxes through its offering of offshore services…

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Nuclear plant deactivated during tests

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Geneva luxury industry to escape slowdown

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Scientists score in fight against fatal disease

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Birds, like us, know the song before they sing

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Swisscom faces complaint over internet pricing

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Hurricanes damage Zurich profit

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Cabinet makes move to keep the economy alive

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Finance minister to protect banking secrecy

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Swiss Life issues profit warning

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UBS gave US onshore bank client data

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