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Markets remain edgy despite interest rate cut

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 Shares in Switzerland seesawed their way through the week, diving more than five per cent on Thursday in a Europe-wide sell-off, as continuing financial jitters in the US dragged down global markets. News that the Swiss National Bank had cut its target range for interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.75 to 3.75 per…

In conversation with a primate’s relative

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 Despite a long running controversy over the rights of animals among the Swiss, Penny Patterson says Switzerland has a far more progressive attitude towards animals than her native country, the United States. “The Swiss are very advanced in their thinking along these lines. Their constitution has already referenced the dignity of the animal for many…

More working Swiss are falling below the poverty line

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 Today, Switzerland’s “working poor” account for 7.5 per cent of the population – some 250,000 households – compared with 5.3 per cent a decade ago. Those worst affected, according to a new study by the Federal Statistical Office and canton Zurich, are large families, single parents, workers with only primary education and the self-employed. In…

Profits soar at EMS Chemie

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 The canton Zurich-based company had been expecting weaker growth over 2000, but attributes the better than expected performance to the successful launch of new products. The company also saw a significant improvement in its engineering business in Asia, which boosted sales. EMS Chemie, which is run by the right-wing Swiss politician Christoph Blocher, said it…

Mobutu’s Swiss villa to be put up for auction

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 The house in Savigny, canton Vaud, was seized along with other assets belonging to Mobutu in 1997. The former dictator is suspected of plundering millions from the former Zaire before he was ousted in a coup. The Swiss authorities have now ordered the local district receivership office in canton Vaud to organise the sale of…

Swiss beef consumption down in wake of BSE crisis

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 Total meat consumption in Switzerland fell to 382,000 tonnes last year, down by 5,700 compared to 1999. The Swiss central cooperative for meat distribution, Proviande, said most of the drop in sales was because consumers were buying less beef, particularly during the last three months of 2000. Consumption fell most in the French-speaking part of…

Record year for cantonal banks

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 The Association of Cantonal Banks said on Friday that some SFr589 million of the income would flow into the cantons’ coffers. Announcing the record figures, the Association said reserves for general banking risks had increased by almost 12 per cent and now stood at SFr6.76 billion. The total balance sum of the cantonal banks rose…

Migrosbank first to react to interest rate cut

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 Migrosbank said on Friday it would cut its rate for variable mortgages by an eighth of a percentage point to 4.25 per cent. The rate will come into force immediately for new mortgages, while it will be valid for existing mortgages from May 31. The chief economist of the Credit Suisse financial services group, Alois…

Swiss stock market takes a beating

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 Analysts said Zurich Financial Service’s dismal results for 2000 played a role in the market’s fall. Zurich, which is Europe’s sixth biggest insurance company, lost a fifth of its market capitalisation after posting the results on Thursday. The group’s shares plummeted by 20.2 per cent with a closing price of SFr549. Switzerland wasn’t the only…

Geneva hopes to escape worst of cuts at Procter and Gamble

This content was published on Mar 23, 2001 “It’s too early to know the detailed implications for Geneva,” the company’s Geneva office said in a statement. However, it made clear that this “global restructuring programme in no way reduces our commitment to the Geneva Business Centre”. P&G announced that it would reduce staffing by 9,600 jobs worldwide, or nine per cent of its…

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