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Swisscom buys back mobile stake from Vodafone

This content was published on Dec 19, 2006 The long-awaited deal, which is worth SFr4.25 billion ($3.5 billion), is expected to boost Swisscom’s home market position. “It was the right thing to complete the transaction before the end of the year,” said Swisscom chief executive Carsten Schloter on Tuesday. The acquisition means that Swisscom will not have to pay SFr300 million in dividends…

Watchmakers sound alarm over internet fakes

This content was published on Dec 19, 2006 The run-up to Christmas has seen a flood of spam offering discounts on “replica” watches – even the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry has been on the receiving end. “Christmas is a period that is set up for this kind of offer and people are profiting from this,” Jean-Daniel Pasche, president of the federation,…

ABB lands huge contract from Qatar

This content was published on Dec 18, 2006 ABB said the deal was the latest in a series of orders from the Gulf region, and the biggest transmission and distribution substations order it had ever received. In a statement from its headquarters in Zurich, the group said it had been awarded the contract from the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation – Kahramaa.…

Joblessness still tops Swiss list of worries

This content was published on Dec 18, 2006 The report published by the bank, Credit Suisse, on Monday showed the top worries haven’t changed over the past four years. Two thirds of those interviewed said their main concern was keeping their jobs, while health and pension issues came second with 55 per cent and 51 per cent respectively. The study found that an…

Accords end threat of public sector protests

This content was published on Dec 18, 2006 The Communication union said at the weekend it had agreed to a compromise which would pave the way for the restructuring of the nationwide postal network. Senior union officials said protests over the past few weeks against job cuts and sweeping changes to the service announced earlier this year had been suspended ahead of negotiations…

Farmers seek friends in parliament

This content was published on Dec 18, 2006 Farmers’ organisations, which would like to slow down the pace of reform, have friends among the politicians but aren’t so sure which parties are going to defend their interests. For years, Swiss farmers were heavily subsidised and protected from market forces. But more recently, they’ve had to deal with more and more competition from abroad,…

Equality still has a long road ahead

This content was published on Dec 17, 2006 The parliamentarian says although some progress has been made, there is still not equal pay and women often find themselves hampered by old-fashioned attitudes. Simoneschi-Cortesi is the president of the Federal Commission for Women’s Issues, an extra-parliamentary commission of women’s organisations, academics and professionals, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Women only received…

Who’s afraid of the alpine wolf?

This content was published on Dec 16, 2006 While Graubünden in eastern Switzerland has fewer wolves and larger, better-protected herds, Valais in the west is home to more wolves, which are preying on the smaller herds. Wolves were driven to extinction in Switzerland a century ago, but their recent return frequently makes it into the headlines – invariably for negative reasons when another…

Natural resources still being wasted

This content was published on Dec 16, 2006 While the idea of safeguarding the world for a better future seems to be making inroads, the Swiss are still behaving as if there were three planets available. Published this week by the Federal Statistics Office, the report shows that Switzerland’s so-called ecological footprint – the surface necessary to sustain levels of resource consumption and…

Cabinet gives go-ahead for surplus arms sales

This content was published on Dec 15, 2006 The approval follows controversy surrounding planned sales of surplus Swiss army equipment in the recent past, in particular to the United Arab Emirates. At its meeting on Friday, the cabinet gave the green light to the deals, to be worked out by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco). The sales include 20 air defence…

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Swisscom buys back mobile stake from Vodafone

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Watchmakers sound alarm over internet fakes

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ABB lands huge contract from Qatar

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Joblessness still tops Swiss list of worries

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Accords end threat of public sector protests

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Farmers seek friends in parliament

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Equality still has a long road ahead

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Who’s afraid of the alpine wolf?

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Natural resources still being wasted

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Cabinet gives go-ahead for surplus arms sales

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