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ETH spin-off gains foothold in GPS chip market

This content was published on Mar 7, 2003 Its competitors include GPS pioneer Sirf Technologies, the wireless giant Motorola and a host innovative start-ups. Two years ago u-blox took the big leap to change its product focus from developing global positioning system modules that relied on integrated circuits from another to developing its own chips. According to the firm, these new chips, called…

Former CSFB star charged by US regulators

This content was published on Mar 7, 2003 He resigned from Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) earlier this week amid mounting legal pressure surrounding him and the firm. On Thursday, the NASD charged Quattrone with tipping off clients about forthcoming initial public offerings in order to win business. The former head of CSFB’s technology unit was also accused of overseeing a flawed organisation…

A profligate kingdom

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 However, with the advent of privatisation, current practices look set to change. “Use water wisely, please. It’s a precious commodity in the Emirates,” reads one advertisement in the arrivals hall at Dubai airport. But flying over the country, one could be mistaken for thinking that the message is simply aimed at tourists. Everywhere along the…

Life springs from Trümmelbach Falls

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 The melt water does not cascade over the cliffs as the other waterfalls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, but are funnelled into the mountainside. Between April and June, about 20 cubic metres of water roars through the gorge every second. And it is estimated that the Trümmelbach carries about 20,000 tons of debris – mostly sand…

Fresh water from the sea

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 The Swiss-Swedish engineering firm, ABB, has been heavily involved in powering the UAE’s water desalination programme. Seated in his office looking over Abu Dhabi, Christian Schenk, ABB’s head of sales and marketing, has every reason to smile. The company employs around 100 staff and business is looking healthy; the region’s constant demand for fresh water…

Swiss keep their hands firmly on the taps

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 But privatisation is fiercely opposed by both the public and the water industry, which say the consequences would be higher prices and poorer service. “There is pressure from a few big water multinationals – mainly the two French companies Vivendi and Suez Lyonnaise,” says Madeleine Bolliger of the Swiss Coalition of Development Organisations, a lobby…

Swiss rivers allowed to flow freely

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 One example of “re-naturalisation” – where a body of water is restored to its natural state – is the river Emme near Burgdorf in canton Bern. “For a while I thought I was a tourist guide,” Ruedi Mosimann, a water construction engineer with the Bern water authorities, told swissinfo, recalling times when delegations from all…

Swiss resist attempts to tap into water market

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 The EU and Switzerland have launched preliminary consultations on a raft of requests they have made to the World Trade Organization. Brussels made the request for Switzerland to liberalise its water distribution network following pressure from multinationals like the French companies Vivendi-Générale des Eaux and Suez-Lyonnaise des Eaux, which would like to get a foothold…

Is bottled water safer than tap water?

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 The 2001 study, commissioned by the Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said that in many cases the only difference is that bottled water comes in a fancy container, rather than out of a tap. It found that “there are more standards regulating tap water in Europe and the United States than those applied…

Swiss push for EU tax concessions

This content was published on Mar 6, 2003 EU finance ministers are to discuss the Swiss demands on Friday, with Italy and Spain expected to lead resistance. The Swiss finance minister, Kaspar Villiger, said Switzerland was ready to join an EU-wide agreement on savings taxation, provided Brussels exempted Swiss firms from certain tax obligations. “We’ve found compromise on everything except one issue,” Villiger…

Internal: Archive

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ETH spin-off gains foothold in GPS chip market

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Former CSFB star charged by US regulators

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A profligate kingdom

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Life springs from Trümmelbach Falls

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Fresh water from the sea

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Swiss keep their hands firmly on the taps

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Swiss rivers allowed to flow freely

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Swiss resist attempts to tap into water market

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Is bottled water safer than tap water?

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Swiss push for EU tax concessions

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