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Power prices for homes surged in 2009

This content was published on Mar 29, 2010 Prices increased 2.8 to 12.5 per cent between 2008 and 2009, depending on the category. Hardest hit were homes with electric furnaces. Monthly bills had dropped in the year pre-liberalisation years of 2004-2008. That trend has now stopped. A five-room flat with an electric stove and dryer saw rates increase 1.6 per cent annually between…

Bottle-fed babies exposed to disruptive chemical

This content was published on Mar 29, 2010 BPA can mimic the body’s own hormones, and some scientists believe it can adversely affect a person’s health. But how much is required to achieve this effect is still being debated. The researchers from Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology say the estimated levels are well below the tolerable daily intake currently set by European authorities.…

Are too big to fail banks too hard to control?

This content was published on Mar 28, 2010 But regulating such large and complex institutions runs the risk of the rules themselves creating instability. Two national taskforces are currently weighing up how to solve the conundrum. The catastrophic effects on the Swiss economy of UBS or Credit Suisse going bankrupt are obvious. The two largest banks inject a large share of the 15…

Swiss image remains good in US eyes

This content was published on Mar 27, 2010 What’s more, Switzerland’s image doesn’t appear to have been hurt by recent transatlantic disputes involving UBS and banking secrecy, according to a study by research centre IDHEAP on behalf of Presence Switzerland, the government’s PR agency. “America loves Switzerland! We’re extremely similar: we’re dynamic, innovative, competitive worldwide, and that’s recognised in America,” Martin Naville, CEO…

Scottish island group sold to Swiss businessman

This content was published on Mar 27, 2010 The deal, which was worth about £2.5 million (SFr4 million), includes the island of Sanda, which has its own pub but only one resident, as well as neighbouring Sheep Island and Glunimore Island. The sale was confirmed by the previous owner of the islands, according to local media and the British Broadcasting Corporation. The buyer…

Sun, mountains and Bircher muesli

This content was published on Mar 27, 2010 Its mountain sanatoriums were legendary. But pioneers also offered special Swiss therapies including a strict regime with raw fruit and vegetables or sitting in the sun clad only in a white hat and underpants. The story of Switzerland’s golden age as a health paradise during the early years of the last century is documented in…

CS takes legal action over data theft

This content was published on Mar 27, 2010 “We still don’t know whether there is a CD containing data of CS clients. But we handed in the complaint against parties unknown,” CS chairman Hans-Ulrich Doerig told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper. He added that the bank had no official knowledge of data theft, but it assumed from reports that its clients were among…

Why Switzerland will be plunged into darkness

This content was published on Mar 27, 2010 People, cities and companies across Switzerland are turning the electricity off at 8.30pm to mark WWF’s Earth Hour, a huge global action to raise climate awareness. They will join the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Pyramids in Giza and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in the energy-saving event, which is scheduled to take…

Swiss economy expected to keep up recovery

This content was published on Mar 26, 2010 The KOF Swiss Economic Institute has predicted sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth, falling unemployment and a pick-up in exports as a result of a weakening of the franc. However, there are still potential hurdles to a recovery. Switzerland held out relatively well against the global recession, but still suffered a 2.5 per cent GDP…

Bern and Berlin hammer out new tax accord

This content was published on Mar 26, 2010 Swiss finance minister Hans-Rudolf Merz and his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schäuble, on Friday initialled an accord that is set to help Germany in its campaign against tax cheaters. “We are determined to solve the problem,” Schäuble told a news briefing after talks on bilateral tax issues with Merz. A bilateral working group is now set…

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Power prices for homes surged in 2009

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Bottle-fed babies exposed to disruptive chemical

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Are too big to fail banks too hard to control?

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Swiss image remains good in US eyes

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Scottish island group sold to Swiss businessman

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Sun, mountains and Bircher muesli

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CS takes legal action over data theft

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Why Switzerland will be plunged into darkness

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Swiss economy expected to keep up recovery

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Bern and Berlin hammer out new tax accord

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