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Credit Suisse sued over auction-rate securities

This content was published on Aug 8, 2008 STMicro said Switzerland’s second-biggest bank placed cash from the computer-chip maker into the securities without its authorization. In a complaint filed in a federal court in New York two days ago STMicro said it assumed the money would be invested in highly liquid and secure investments, in this case US government-backed student loans. The European…

Peak oil adds fuel to Swiss energy debate

This content was published on Aug 7, 2008 The Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) said on Thursday that oil covered 57 per cent of the country’s total energy needs. The independent umbrella organisation, which brings together experts, institutions and private companies, said Switzerland had to be ready for supply shortages. One must assume that the maximum global extraction of petroleum – “peak…

Countdown begins to “Big Bang” machine launch

This content was published on Aug 7, 2008 The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be used by physicists to explore the make-up of “dark matter” – the invisible mass of energy that is believed to form 96 per cent of the universe. The first attempt to circulate a beam in the SFr6 billion ($5.95 billion) instrument will be made on September 10, Cern…

Medicines are cheaper abroad

This content was published on Aug 7, 2008 The cost of patented drugs was up to one-quarter less expensive in other European countries over the first half of 2008, according to findings published by the Association of Health Insurers, santésuisse, on Thursday. Factory prices of patented drugs were between 17 and 25 per cent cheaper in Austria, France and Italy than in Switzerland…

Couchepin cancels visit to Shanghai

This content was published on Aug 7, 2008 He is to travel directly from Vietnam – where he held three-days of talks – to Beijing for the opening of the Olympic Summer Games. The interior ministry said the Swiss state secretary for education and research, Mauro Dell’Ambrogio, represented Couchepin at the ceremony of SwissNex on Wednesday. The centre in Shanghai is aimed at…

Cheaper cocaine entices younger generation

This content was published on Aug 6, 2008 The reasons are a fall in the street price and cocaine’s enduring if questionable reputation as a performance enhancing and energising drug. There are no exact figures on the extent of cocaine use but clear indications of an increase in consumption come from the experience of drug experts and the amount of cocaine seized by…

End of the road for car graveyard

This content was published on Aug 6, 2008 “That is lichen growing on the roof of the Mercedes, just in front of us,” says Heinrich Gartentor. “Most varieties of lichen are endangered in Switzerland,” says the middle-aged man before reminding me that he is not a botanist. What Gartentor is, is an artist and curator of an exhibition set amid the junkyard. The…

Old people “are not just a burden”

This content was published on Aug 5, 2008 A study by the Swiss National Science Foundation also says the argument that people should have more children to balance out the generation gap is a “fallacy”, since children would not come free. The report, part of the national research programme on “Childhood, Youth and Intergenerational Relationships in a Changing Society”, acknowledged that as Swiss…

Swiss Re buys Barclays life insurance unit

This content was published on Aug 5, 2008 Swiss Re, which is based in Zurich, also saw second-quarter net profit shrink to SFr0.6 billion from SFr1.19 billion largely as a result of the credit crunch in the United States. Commenting on the result, Swiss Re chief executive Jacques Aigrain said despite the continuing financial market turbulence “we are strongly capitalised and our investment…

Syngenta struggles to shrug off GM concerns

This content was published on Aug 4, 2008 The firm says its crop protection agents and genetically modified (GM) seeds are helping to increase global food supply, but watchdog groups claim some of its activities harm developing countries. Syngenta recently posted a half-year net income of $1.5 billion (SFr1.57 billion) as demand for its products increased worldwide. Chief executive Mike Mack said the…

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Credit Suisse sued over auction-rate securities

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Peak oil adds fuel to Swiss energy debate

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Countdown begins to “Big Bang” machine launch

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Medicines are cheaper abroad

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Couchepin cancels visit to Shanghai

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Cheaper cocaine entices younger generation

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End of the road for car graveyard

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Old people “are not just a burden”

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Swiss Re buys Barclays life insurance unit

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Syngenta struggles to shrug off GM concerns

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