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Climate report urges sweeping CO2 cuts

This content was published on May 4, 2007 The Swiss government has already called for joint and swift action by the international community. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, approved in Bangkok on Friday, said keeping the rise in temperatures to within two degrees celsius would cost only 0.12 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product. “It’s a low premium to…

Tiny submarine

This content was published on May 4, 2007 15-year old Aaron Kreier has built a small submarine that uses pedal power and can travel 30 metres beneath the surface. For his invention, Kreier was awarded a prize in a national youth research competition. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

Being perfect isn’t so good for you

This content was published on May 4, 2007 They have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and are also more likely to feel fatigued, irritable and demoralised, according to a Swiss study. Fifty middle-aged men were tested for the study by Petra Wirtz of Zurich University and her colleagues, a number sufficient to make the results statistically relevant. The group was chosen…

WTO move reaches crunch time

This content was published on May 3, 2007 According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper, the WTO could quit Switzerland unless the government pays up to SFr400 million ($330 million) to provide it with suitable premises in the city. Both the Swiss government and the WTO have refused to comment on Wednesday’s newspaper report but it is no secret that the world trade…

EU tax pressure will backfire, says Merz

This content was published on May 3, 2007 Speaking at the Swiss Economic Forum (SEF), Merz warned that the EU attack on the country’s fiscal system would fail to encourage businesses that have set up shop in Switzerland to move back home. The union is demanding that cantons scrap the practice of exempting tax on company profits generated outside of Switzerland. It claims…

Credit Suisse shamed over rainforest deal

This content was published on May 3, 2007 The bank is organising moves by a leading Malaysian timber company, Samling, to float its shares on the stock market. Two Swiss non-governmental groups, the Society for Threatened Peoples and the Bruno Manser Fund – named after the missing Swiss rainforest activist – presented their demand for $10 million (SFr12.1 million) compensation in Zurich on…

Business federation backs Merz tax reform

This content was published on May 2, 2007 The federation also echoed comments made by Merz at the weekend that the planned reforms should be purely in the interests of Switzerland and not a response to European Commission pressure. The EC has been complaining for nearly two years that the cantonal company tax policy is unfair and detrimental to competition, a charge that…

Government closes chapter on book agreement

This content was published on May 2, 2007 According to the book industry, the move will destabilise the market in German-speaking parts of the country and cause many small bookshops to close. The government announced its final decision on Wednesday stating that it did not wish to oppose the Swiss Competition Commission (Comco), which had banned the agreement in March 2005, and added…

Winter tourism figures better than feared

This content was published on May 2, 2007 Hoteliers have been reporting good results, while turnover of Swiss ski-lift operators dropped by just five per cent. Ski resorts above 1,800 metres, which nearly always had a good snow cover, fared reasonably well but low-lying resorts suffered as there was no snow. “The lack of snow has had far less drastic effects than one…

Sulzer share coup results in fallout

This content was published on May 1, 2007 The Swiss Federal Banking Commission is investigating the coup that also resulted in the resignation of a top Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) executive and a bank internal policy review. The sudden announcement more than a week ago that nearly a third of Sulzer’s shares were now in the hands of the consortium took the Winterthur-based…

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Climate report urges sweeping CO2 cuts

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Tiny submarine

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Being perfect isn’t so good for you

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WTO move reaches crunch time

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EU tax pressure will backfire, says Merz

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Credit Suisse shamed over rainforest deal

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Business federation backs Merz tax reform

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Government closes chapter on book agreement

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Winter tourism figures better than feared

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Sulzer share coup results in fallout

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