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Core profit up but net profit down at Zurich

This content was published on Sep 6, 2000 Normalised net profit better reflects the company’s core business as it excludes potentially volatile gains or losses from capital investments. However the group’s net profit rate, which includes capital fluctuations, actually dropped back by 24 per cent at $1.3 billion over the same period, as Zurich Financial Services cut back on capital gains. The company…

Oil price rises threaten winter crisis

This content was published on Sep 6, 2000 The surge in crude oil prices to a 10-year high means consumers can expect to pay almost twice as much for their heating this year as they did in 1999. Petrol prices have also risen sharply, but unlike France there is no petrol shortage in Switzerland. Swiss petrol stations are reporting a big influx of…

Swisscom ups the stakes in price war

This content was published on Sep 6, 2000 In the latest move in Switzerland’s telecom price war, Swisscom will reduce the price of calls to Britain to SFr0.12 ($0.068) a minute during the week from a current SFr0.25 a minute. The weekend rate will be SFr0.10 a minute down from SFr0.20 a minute. Call charges to South Korea and Taiwan will be slashed…

Small and medium firms urged to log on

This content was published on Sep 5, 2000 The “Untapped Potential” conference highlighted a range of benefits available to smaller firms, including increasing their customer base and widening their sources of supplies. Addressing the conference were Olli-Pekka Lintual, director of Nokia Mobile Phones, Michael Büsbeck, director of the Zurich-based e-commerce consultants Commerce One, and Swiss writer and commentator, Beat Kappeler. “Four years ago…

Profits up at SGS as restructuring continues

This content was published on Sep 5, 2000 Sales over the same period increased to SFr1.2 billion, an improvement of SFr100 million. In a statement on Tuesday, the company played down earnings prospects for the year, saying revenue would be hit by “increased business development expenditure, including costs associated with e-commerce, and the non-renewal of the pre-shipment contract with the Philippines”. It added…

Gotthard tunnel turns 20

This content was published on Sep 5, 2000 Switzerland has few modern engineering or architectural marvels that meet the eye – indeed, flying over the country, a visitor would be hard pressed to spot one. The country’s tallest building, for example, currently under construction in Basel, will be just 30 stories high on completion. The reason is that in this alpine land, the…

Swiss palates warm to homegrown reds

This content was published on Sep 5, 2000 The figures, from the Federal Office of Agriculture, reveal that the average Swiss likes a glass with dinner, but stops short of finishing the bottle. In the year to June, almost 300 million litres of wine were sold in Switzerland – an increase of 1.3 million litres over the previous 12-month period, or one bottle…

Unaxis back in the black

This content was published on Sep 5, 2000 In the first six months, the Zurich-based company posted a profit of SFr73 million ($42 million), compared to a loss of SFr18 million a year ago. Unaxis put the improvement down to its new strategy of focusing on the high-technology sector. Chairman and chief executive, Willy Kissling, said he expected growth to continue. “On the…

Swiss banks under fire for dealings with Abacha family

This content was published on Sep 4, 2000 In a report released on Monday, the Swiss banking commission accused the banks of serious “violations and organisational shortcomings” for failing to detect and reject deposits from what it said were “dubious” sources. The commission’s chairman, Kurt Hauri, said the fact “that assets of dubious origin were deposited at Swiss banks is highly unsatisfactory and…

Statistics seen as vital tools in battle to improve lives

This content was published on Sep 4, 2000 Her appeal came at a major conference in Montreux on Monday on how statistics can help in the fight for human rights and against poverty. The gathering is being jointly organised by the International Association for Official Statistics and two Swiss government agencies. Some 700 delegates from 110 nations are meeting on the banks of…

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Core profit up but net profit down at Zurich

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Oil price rises threaten winter crisis

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Swisscom ups the stakes in price war

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Small and medium firms urged to log on

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Profits up at SGS as restructuring continues

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Gotthard tunnel turns 20

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Swiss palates warm to homegrown reds

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Unaxis back in the black

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Swiss banks under fire for dealings with Abacha family

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Statistics seen as vital tools in battle to improve lives

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