Internal: Archive

EU tax deal leaves Swiss banking secrecy intact

This content was published on Jun 4, 2003 The Swiss have already made clear they are prepared to transfer a levy on EU citizens’ investment income to Brussels, provided banking secrecy is upheld. The Swiss proposal would leave the country’s cherished banking secrecy intact because no information about account holders would be handed over without their consent. A deal between Bern and Brussels…

IMF advises Switzerland on ways to boost economy

This content was published on Jun 3, 2003 In one of its regular assessments of the state of the economy, the IMF said Swiss authorities should keep interest rates low and pursue a flexible monetary policy. The Washington-based Fund said Switzerland should continue to liberalise its product markets, which was being hampered by a lack of competition. Assuming a pick-up in external demand,…

Banks give indebted Cablecom one-month reprieve

This content was published on Jun 3, 2003 Cablecom remains on the verge of bankruptcy with debts of at least SFr3.7 billion ($2.8 billion). The Zurich-based company – which serves more than 50 per cent of Swiss cable viewers – was supposed to have had its debt problems resolved by the end of May. On Monday, the firm’s lenders agreed to extend the…

Swiss bridge gap between engineering and art

This content was published on Jun 3, 2003 The exhibition at Princeton University aims to show how the group played a key role in transforming engineering into an art form. David Billington, the show’s curator and a professor of engineering at Princeton, says some of the most acclaimed structures in the US are the work of Swiss design, including New York’s George Washington…

Space-X takes pictures on Mars

This content was published on Jun 2, 2003 The cameras, put together by the Space-X company after more than ten years of research, will be seeking traces of life and water on the planet. After travelling for about six months, the Beagle 2 lander, which houses the cameras, will leave the Mars Express orbiter for the final five-day descent. If all goes according…

Switzerland joins Europe’s first mission to Mars

This content was published on Jun 2, 2003 Switzerland is part of the Mars Express team and has contributed funding and key equipment to the mission. The unmanned spacecraft blasted off on schedule from the space launch centre in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on Monday. Once on Mars, the craft will begin orbiting the planet. It is carrying a lander, which is due to touch…

Parliament approves Kyoto protocol

This content was published on Jun 2, 2003 On Monday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly endorsed the United Nations treaty on climate change. Although parliamentary approval was never in doubt, Philippe Roch, the director of the Swiss Environment Agency, maintains a major sea change in people’s thinking and behaviour will be needed if the Kyoto goals are to be met. “We are working…

Old mills keep turning for the tourists

This content was published on May 31, 2003 Many of the mills, like the sawmill Schwarzwaldalp between Grindelwald and Meiringen, have been resurrected as tourist attractions. The Schwarzwaldalp sawmill was erected in 1896 in order to provide the planks, boards and beams for the construction of a grand hotel. It was the Belle Époque and tourists were flocking to the region to get…

Thumbs up for EU bilateral ties

This content was published on May 30, 2003 The first set of bilateral accords – seen as an alternative to EU membership – came into force on June 1, 2002. The economics minister, Joseph Deiss, says bilateral deals are currently the only politically acceptable way in Switzerland of forging closer ties with the EU. The Swiss made clear in a vote in 2001…

Swiss lift trade embargo on Iraq

This content was published on May 30, 2003 But the finance ministry said it would tighten restrictions on financial dealings with allies of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. The government is to end the embargo on trade and money transfers as well as flight restrictions. “It’s due to the fact that the UN under resolution 1483 lifted the trade embargo on Iraq,”…

Internal: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Internal: Archive

More

EU tax deal leaves Swiss banking secrecy intact

More

IMF advises Switzerland on ways to boost economy

More

Banks give indebted Cablecom one-month reprieve

More

Swiss bridge gap between engineering and art

More

Space-X takes pictures on Mars

More

Switzerland joins Europe’s first mission to Mars

More

Parliament approves Kyoto protocol

More

Old mills keep turning for the tourists

More

Thumbs up for EU bilateral ties

More

Swiss lift trade embargo on Iraq

Popular Stories

Most Discussed