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Weaker domestic demand puts brakes on industrial expansion

This content was published on Feb 2, 2001 The survey of some 300 industrial companies, released on Friday, suggests very strongly that the economy will remain buoyant. The UBS business cycle indicator, which acts as a trend barometer for GDP, indicates a growth rate of 3.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2000 and 2.6 per cent in the first quarter of…

SAirGroup pulls out of Portuguese airline deal

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 SAirGroup, the company which controls the national carrier Swissair, said it had decided “to pull out of TAP’s privatisation process”. TAP will continue to remain part of the Qualiflyer Group. “Portugal’s public works minister, Jorge Coelho, and the SAirGroup chairman, Eric Honegger, discussed the situation in an open climate and in mutual confidence,” the SAirGroup…

Switzerland tightens veterinary checks amid food scare

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The Federal Veterinary Office said on Thursday that the new measures would include more spot checks on farms across the country, as well as clearer guidelines as to how veterinarians check what antibiotics are given to animals and how they should monitor animal health. A spokesman for the Veterinary Office, Hans Wyss, said: “The checks…

Sabena faces cash crisis

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 Sabena is jointly owned by the Belgian government, which has a 51 per cent stake, and the Swiss airline holding company, SAirGroup. In a letter addressed to colleagues, Mueller said the company’s proposed Blue Sky restructuring programme was the “strict minimum” needed for survival and to secure the airline’s long-term future. His conclusion was based…

Swiss watch exports break all records

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Thursday that the “fantastic” result showed a 14.4 per cent improvement in exports over 1999, and reflected 17 months of uninterrupted growth within the sector. The improvement in the industry’s performance was mainly due to the sustained demand in major markets, the strength of the US…

Swiss arrive home after rescuing Indian quake victims

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The 52 members of the Swiss Rescue Chain and their nine sniffer dogs abandoned their search after pulling out eight people alive from ruined buildings in the cities of Ahmedabad and Bhuj. The last person to be rescued, a 55 year-old woman, was found late Tuesday after spending 114 hours trapped in the debris. But…

Robots to track rumours on the web

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The so-called “Rumorbot” trawls through search engines and databases and could be used to identify a speculator starting a rumour to move share prices or a paedophile supplying child pornography. “The idea is to track and analyse, in real time, online newsgroups, chatrooms and lists,” said Stephane Perino, founder and managing director of the Geneva-based…

Syngenta sells herbicide business to Bayer

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 Bayer is to pay $106 million (SFR171 million) for the unit, which produces the sulcotrione herbicide, a key pest poison in maize production. The sale is not likely to cause any problems with the European anti-trust authorities following the merger, which created Syngenta from Novartis’ agribusiness and Zeneca Agrichemicals. Mikado had global 1999 sales of…

Swiss trade balance falls into the red

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 For the year 2000, Switzerland ran a trade deficit of SFr2.07 billion ($1.26 billion), its first annual deficit in eight years. It had posted a trade surplus of SFr1.03 billion in 1999. Andreus Huffert, an economist at UBS Warburg Dillon Reed, told swissinfo that the growth in imports, which led to the deficit, was welcome…

EMS succeeds in Axantis takeover

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 EMS declared the public offer successful and said it would publish interim results on the offer on February 6. Its purchase of 814,802 shares gives the Swiss firm control of Axantis. EMS also extended the offer of SFr330 per share ($202) until February 19 from an original closing date of January 31. EMS has so…

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Internal: Archive

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Weaker domestic demand puts brakes on industrial expansion

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SAirGroup pulls out of Portuguese airline deal

More

Switzerland tightens veterinary checks amid food scare

More

Sabena faces cash crisis

More

Swiss watch exports break all records

More

Swiss arrive home after rescuing Indian quake victims

More

Robots to track rumours on the web

More

Syngenta sells herbicide business to Bayer

More

Swiss trade balance falls into the red

More

EMS succeeds in Axantis takeover

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