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Novartis gives Berna Biotech a boost

This content was published on Dec 19, 2005 It had appeared that the sale of Berna Biotech to Novartis’s smaller Dutch rival Crucell was already a done deal. Berna Biotech’s stock was up 12.5 per cent at SFr15.30 ($11.80) at close of trade on Monday after Novartis said it was looking at Berna’s books with a view to bidding for the firm and…

Deiss says Switzerland can live with WTO accord

This content was published on Dec 19, 2005 The WTO conference ended on Sunday with member countries agreeing to eliminate all forms of agricultural export subsidies by 2013. A declaration guarantees the continuation of the so-called Doha Round of liberalisation negotiations, which the WTO wants to complete by the end of 2006. The round takes its name from the capital of Qatar where…

Samih Sawiris’s alpine resort

This content was published on Dec 19, 2005 Sawiris is head of the Hotels and Development division of his family’s Orascom Group. Sawiris has yet to draw up a plan for his first alpine resort, but says it will include an 18-hole golf course and swimming pool complex with a sandy beach. Its hotels and holiday apartments will have at least 800 rooms.…

High salaries not matched by purchasing power

This content was published on Dec 19, 2005 However, when purchasing power was taken into account, the Germans emerged as the real winners among the six countries surveyed. The poll, published on Monday by internet job portals, jobpilot.ch and monster.ch, found that Swiss employees earned around 20 per cent more than their German neighbours. But it noted that the cost of living is…

Press hails WTO compromise but not outcome

This content was published on Dec 19, 2005 Under the agreement, accepted by the World Trade Organization’s 149 members, agricultural subsidies will disappear by 2013. But there was no progress on cutting tariffs for services and industry. After six days of negotiations, the eleventh-hour deal hammered together by the WTO ministerial conference is assessed on the front pages. The trade accord, which brings…

Compromise reached in Hong Kong

This content was published on Dec 18, 2005 But although the Swiss economics minister talked of success, others were less enthusiastic about the modest levels of progress achieved. “We are satisfied that a text exists and that we have achieved a result,” declared Deiss on Sunday. “We’re leaving with more than we brought – which makes Hong Kong a success.” The trade agreement,…

Spanish sun lures Swiss pensioners

This content was published on Dec 18, 2005 The coastal area has a similar appeal to Switzerland’s southern Ticino region. But it also has some drawbacks: an unrelenting construction boom, rubbish mountains and water shortages. As part of a research project, Huber spent 15 months interviewing Swiss expatriates on the Costa Blanca, the 200km of coastline on the eastern Spanish coast which includes…

Art market buoyed by new trading rules

This content was published on Dec 17, 2005 The Federal Culture Office says dealers have acted positively to the changes, which were designed to put an end to anonymous trading. “Cultural goods are definitely no longer easier to import than tomatoes,” Andrea Raschèr, head of international and legal matters at the Federal Culture Office, told swissinfo. “There is more transparency when importing, exporting…

Differences mount in Hong Kong

This content was published on Dec 17, 2005 Egger says non-governmental organisations (NGOs) consider the development package being discussed at the WTO’s sixth ministerial conference a “smokescreen”. Slight progress has been made on points which are often considered secondary as a result of a draft agreement put forward by the WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy. But on Saturday Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss said…

Swiss authorities content with tsunami response

This content was published on Dec 16, 2005 Official says 107 Swiss were killed in the tidal wave and a further five are still missing. In all, 226,000 people were killed in the disaster. Foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said Switzerland had overcome “one of the greatest catastrophes in human history” very well. Speaking at a press conference in Bern, Calmy-Rey said the management…

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Novartis gives Berna Biotech a boost

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Deiss says Switzerland can live with WTO accord

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Samih Sawiris’s alpine resort

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High salaries not matched by purchasing power

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Press hails WTO compromise but not outcome

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Compromise reached in Hong Kong

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Spanish sun lures Swiss pensioners

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Art market buoyed by new trading rules

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Differences mount in Hong Kong

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Swiss authorities content with tsunami response

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