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Mountain farms face renewed threat

This content was published on Mar 20, 2006 The number of agricultural employees will also dramatically drop as the farming sector undergoes far-reaching reforms. The study, carried out by the Agroscope agricultural research centre in Tänikon and the Zurich-based consulting group INFRAS, looked at several future scenarios for alpine farming, including the impact of national and international farming policy. Swiss farming has been…

Reform of invalidity benefits under scrutiny

This content was published on Mar 20, 2006 The political right is calling for a stop to what it describes as system abuses, while the centre-left wants to put the onus on re-integrating benefit claimants into the job market. The difficulties began back in the early 1990s, when the invalidity benefit scheme plunged into the red and hasn’t managed to emerge since. Latest…

Hobby hotelier re-opens royal establishment

This content was published on Mar 20, 2006 He has just re-opened Basel’s Les Trois Rois (Three Kings), one of Switzerland’s first grand hotels. He bought it two years ago and has spent tens of millions of francs on its renovation. There is a lot you can do to preserve cultural heritage when money is no object. In the case of Les Trois…

Bond bikini babe turns 70

This content was published on Mar 20, 2006 But the celebrations will have to wait until May: that’s when the Swiss government is throwing “Ursi National” a party on a swanky yacht moored near the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Dieter Borer from co-organiser Presence Switzerland, the public agency charged with promoting Switzerland’s image abroad, called the actress a national institution. “We are celebrating the…

Zurich Financial agrees US insurance deal

This content was published on Mar 20, 2006 The deal with Zurich American Insurance Company (ZAIC) and its subsidiaries is to settle allegations of commercial insurance price-fixing and bid-rigging. Zurich Financial Services, Switzerland’s largest insurer, said on Monday that the deal was made between nine state attorneys general and one insurance commissioner. It said the settlement requires the implementation of new compliant regimes,…

Unions and employers up war of words

This content was published on Mar 19, 2006 Employers have said they will tear up collective work contracts if the unions go ahead with the strikes – which are a relatively rare occurrence in the country. The latest war of words was ignited by a decision by the construction firm, Marti, to raise the working hours from 45 to 48 hours a week…

Liquidator aims for SAirGroup directors

This content was published on Mar 18, 2006 He accuses them of having injected cash into the Belgian airline Sabena in February 2001, causing damage to the SAirGroup of €150 million (SFr235.9 million). The action over liability has been handed in to the Zurich district court, Wüthrich indicated in a circular to creditors, adding that the move was being taken after the failure…

Syngenta denies illegal GMO tests in Brazil

This content was published on Mar 17, 2006 The test site in the south of the country has been invaded by hundreds of peasant activists who claim the company has illegally planted transgenic seeds close to a nature reserve. The Basel-based company told swissinfo on Friday that around 300 peasant activists were still occupying the farm in Parana state but had been given…

People’s shares ruled out in Swisscom sale

This content was published on Mar 17, 2006 It has ditched an earlier plan to offer a people’s share scheme, the finance ministry announced in a statement on Friday. The cabinet had decided… to keep to the principle of the state no longer participating in Swisscom, the statement said. The government is currently the major shareholder in the cash-rich company, holding a 62.45…

UBS ups economic growth expectations

This content was published on Mar 17, 2006 The bank’s economists said on Friday that the Swiss economy was growing at a fast pace thanks to a recovery seen since the middle of 2005. The revised UBS forecast comes a day after the bank’s main rival, Credit Suisse, upgraded its own outlook, marking it upwards from 1.7 per cent to 2.1 per cent.…

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Internal: Archive

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Mountain farms face renewed threat

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Reform of invalidity benefits under scrutiny

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Hobby hotelier re-opens royal establishment

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Bond bikini babe turns 70

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Zurich Financial agrees US insurance deal

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Unions and employers up war of words

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Liquidator aims for SAirGroup directors

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Syngenta denies illegal GMO tests in Brazil

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People’s shares ruled out in Swisscom sale

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UBS ups economic growth expectations

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