Internal: Archive

Spring session of IMF overshadowed by protests

This content was published on Apr 16, 2000 The Swiss finance minister, Kaspar Villiger, says the concerns of anti-globalisation demonstrators have to be taken seriously. Villiger is heading the Swiss delegation at the spring meeting in Washington of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Although thousands of protestors managed to delay the arrival of some financial leaders, the meeting went ahead as…

Switzerland sets out its agenda for World Bank-IMF meeting

This content was published on Apr 15, 2000 The issue of debt relief is set to dominate the spring summit of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington this weekend. Switzerland is calling for a rethink of the way donor countries hand out loans to poorer nations and is also urging a restructuring of the Bretton Woods institutions. The economics…

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

This content was published on Apr 14, 2000 The collapse of a huge merger proposal, calls for tax cuts and banking secrecy topped the business news this week. The aluminium industry was rocked by the collapse of the merger between French company, Péchiney, Canadian firm Alcan and Switzerland’s Algroup. Pechiney withdrew after it became clear Alcan was unwilling to sell its stake in…

Kosovo: the ethics of intervention

This content was published on Apr 14, 2000 The ethics of Nato’s intervention in Kosovo is the focus of a three-day meeting in Zurich of European and Swiss politicians, security and human rights experts. The Hannah Arendt annual conference is named after a German political philosopher prominent during and after the Second World War. Nato was forced into action because of the “denial…

ICRC puts war and poverty under the spotlight

This content was published on Apr 14, 2000 The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been highlighting the links between war and money in the latest edition of its Focus publication. Understanding the interaction between war, money and the economy is vital for humanitarian agencies which have to deal with the changing face of war today, says the publication. In…

Swisscom considers flotation to keep head above water

This content was published on Apr 13, 2000 The country’s largest telecommunications operator, Swisscom, is considering a flotation of its mobile network to finance future growth. The move, announced at a news conference in Zurich, appears to be a U-turn forced on the company by spiralling costs for the third generation of mobile phone networks or UMTS. Bids for such licences in Britain…

Massive aluminium merger falls through

This content was published on Apr 13, 2000 The French aluminium group, Pechiney, has confirmed that its mega-merger with the Canadian and Swiss concerns, Alcan and Algroup, has fallen through. However, Algroup says it will still go ahead with a merger with Alcan. A statement issued by the Paris-based Pechiney group said its planned merger with Alcan and Algroup had failed because of…

Bumper Winter Bonanza for Swiss Hotels

This content was published on Apr 13, 2000 The Swiss hotel industry has reported glowing winter results for the 1999/2000 season, with an increase of nearly two per cent in overnight stays compared to last winter. Despite a spell of stormy weather in December, the increase is mainly down to the fact that the rest of the season had good snow conditions. In…

Catering group, Mövenpick, loses steam

This content was published on Apr 13, 2000 The hotel and catering group, Mövenpick, saw a dramatic drop in net profits last year. The company said the main reasons were high costs for product and market development. Mövenpick announced a drop in net profits to SFr37 million from SFr272 million in the previous year. But turnover rose by more than 10 per cent…

Roche and Ciba Specialty Chemicals enjoy turnover success

This content was published on Apr 13, 2000 The Basel-based pharmaceuticals giant, Roche, has reported a 17 per cent increase in turnover in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 1999. The biggest growth areas were the concern’s pharmaceuticals division, with a turnover of more than SFr4.5 billion, and diagnostics with a turnover of Sfr1.4 billion. Roche also…

Internal: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Sign in and personalize Swissinfo

Internal: Archive

More

Spring session of IMF overshadowed by protests

More

Switzerland sets out its agenda for World Bank-IMF meeting

More

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

More

Kosovo: the ethics of intervention

More

ICRC puts war and poverty under the spotlight

More

Swisscom considers flotation to keep head above water

More

Massive aluminium merger falls through

More

Bumper Winter Bonanza for Swiss Hotels

More

Catering group, Mövenpick, loses steam

More

Roche and Ciba Specialty Chemicals enjoy turnover success

Popular Stories

Most Discussed