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Switzerland eases tariffs on Balkan exports

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 The measures, announced by the government on Thursday, will give the three countries the same trade privileges as the poorest developing countries for the next three years. The effect will be to remove almost all tariffs on industrial products from the three nations. Agricultural products from Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina will also be almost tariff-free. Yugoslavia…

Experts make sense of science

This content was published on Feb 1, 2001 University professors, science journalists and directors of museums and science centres are holding a three-day conference at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory. Paula Catapano, spokeswoman for CERN, said one difficulty was that the world of pure research was far removed from the realities and preoccupations of everyday life. She said another problem was jargon.…

Adecco figures suggest acquisition was a job well done

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 The company, based at Chéserex near Lausanne, said the profit figure excluded charges tied to goodwill and restructuring. The 2000 results include the acquisition last year of the United States employment group, Olsten. Goodwill charges include those from the 1996 merger which formed Adecco from the fusion of Adia and France’s Ecco. Adecco is now…

Swatch clocks up record sales

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 Record profits are also expected, with growth rates “substantially higher” than those of sales. Swatch chairman Nicolas Hayek told swissinfo: “We have exceeded every record in the watch industry, we are number one worldwide as no one has ever achieved these kind of results in our industry up till now.” Hayek also explained that the…

Stronger demand boosts Valora sales

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 Sales in Valora’s core businesses rose by 8.7 per cent to SFr2.48 billion. That excludes Slumberland, the bedding group which it plans to sell as part of a restructuring. Slumberland sales fell 7.2 per cent to SFr504 million. The group said in a statement that its largest revenue earner, K Group, which includes store sales…

State pension funds given green light to seek better returns abroad

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 The government said on Wednesday that a modification of the current law would come into force on February 1. The interior ministry said the move away from investments in Swiss stocks alone would bring more money into the fund, without having to take any more risks than at present. It added that up to 60…

Bankers support merger of financial regulatory bodies

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 The proposal was made last November by a group of experts, led by Jean-Baptiste Zufferey of Fribourg University. They were appointed by the government to draw up a report on “Financial Market Supervision”, which is now in an official consultation procedure. In a statement on Wednesday, the Bankers Association said a merger of the Federal…

Davos forum celebrates 30 years

This content was published on Jan 31, 2001 The man behind the forum is Professor of Business Administration at Geneva University, Klaus Schwab. It was Schwab who took the initiative in 1970 to invite Europe’s top business leaders to discussions in the Swiss skiing resort of Davos. The success of that first meeting led to the establishment in 1971 of the European Management…

Organic farming comes of age

This content was published on Jan 30, 2001 Speaking in Basel on Tuesday, they described some of the ways in which they are harnessing nature to improve crop yields and combat plant diseases. One classic success story has been in strawberry production where the berry can be destroyed by grey mould fungal disease. Another fungus can be used to attack the grey mould…

Government unveils plan to slash CO2 emissions by 2010

This content was published on Jan 30, 2001 Called Energy Switzerland, the programme aims to reduce emissions mainly through voluntary measures. However, regulations and a possible tax on CO2 emissions are also foreseen. Presenting the programme in Bern, the energy minister and this year’s president, Moritz Leuenberger, said Energy Switzerland should make an important contribution to sustainable energy provision. Other aims of the…

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Switzerland eases tariffs on Balkan exports

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Experts make sense of science

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Adecco figures suggest acquisition was a job well done

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Swatch clocks up record sales

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Stronger demand boosts Valora sales

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State pension funds given green light to seek better returns abroad

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Bankers support merger of financial regulatory bodies

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Davos forum celebrates 30 years

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Organic farming comes of age

More

Government unveils plan to slash CO2 emissions by 2010

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