Internal: Archive

Construction industry turns down deal with unions

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 Employers in the Swiss construction industry have turned down a compromise salary deal worked out after months of painstaking negotiations with the unions. The move could lead to an escalation of unrest in the industry. At an extraordinary meeting, the Swiss Master Builders’ Association put a new proposal on the table, namely a general salary…

New GM rice to combat blindness

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 Researchers in Switzerland and Germany have developed a strain of genetically-modified rice, which they say could mean an end to a leading cause of blindness and death among children. Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and the University of Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany, have developed rice plants which stimulate the body…

Novartis reportedly seeking merger partners

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 The Swiss life sciences giant, Novartis, is looking for merger partners in the United States, according to a report in Britain’s Financial Times newspaper. The paper says Novartis has its sights on a tie-up with with American Home Products or Pharmacia and Upjohn. Citing sources close to the company, the FT says Novartis is exploring…

Swiss Life to shed 280 jobs

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 The insurance company Rentenanstalt/Swiss Life says it is going to shed 280 jobs over the next year. The company says most of losses will be among its administrative staff, but it does not anticipate any forced redundancies – it says the jobs will be shed through voluntary resignations and retirements. The cuts come as part…

Swiss government plans tighter rules for GM crops

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 The cabinet plans to introduce tighter regulations for producers of genetically-modified organisms, but has stopped short of imposing a complete ban on the planting of GM crops. The draft proposal aims to protect bio-diversity and the dignity of living creatures, without stifling further research. The seven-member Swiss cabinet had indicated that a complete ban on…

Parliament to consider funds for Hurricane Lothar clean up operation

This content was published on Jan 18, 2000 The government will be asking parliament to approve funds to pay for the devastating damage caused to forests by hurricane Lothar in December. The storm felled 15 million trees in the Swiss midland plain, which would normally amount to two and a half years of annual timber production. The federal environment agency, BUWAL, has just…

Swisscom to launch mobile Internet services

This content was published on Jan 18, 2000 Switzerland’s largest telecommunications operator, Swisscom, has announced that it is to launch a new era in technology next month. It is bringing the Internet mobile phone service to Switzerland with the new worldwide standard called Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Swisscom says that after the explosion in use of the Internet and the mobile phone over…

Davos summit organisers play down threat of protests

This content was published on Jan 18, 2000 The World Economic Forum has rejected accusations of a lack of transparency and is playing down the threat of disruption by demonstrators when its annual meeting opens in Davos on January 27. At a presentation of the elite meeting’s line-up at the Forum’s headquarters in Geneva, the organisers said they had invited 650 media representatives…

Ares-Serono registers record sales

This content was published on Jan 18, 2000 The biotechnology company, Ares-Serono, has posted strong double digit growth, with 1999 sales up 14.8 per cent. Sales have broken through the SFr1.5 billion($1 billion) threshold for the first time, with fourth quarter sales up more than eight per cent to a record of more than SFr430 million. “Surpassing our goal of $1 billion in…

Swiss Federal Railways moots merger

This content was published on Jan 17, 2000 There have been further reports about a possible merger between the Swiss Federal Railways and the BLS Lötschberg Railway. A Federal Railways spokesman, Reto Kormann, confirmed that the issue had been raised during discussions between the two railways on increased co-operation. He added that savings of up to SFr50 million could be made annually if…

Internal: Archive

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Internal: Archive

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Construction industry turns down deal with unions

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New GM rice to combat blindness

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Novartis reportedly seeking merger partners

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Swiss Life to shed 280 jobs

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Swiss government plans tighter rules for GM crops

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Parliament to consider funds for Hurricane Lothar clean up operation

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Swisscom to launch mobile Internet services

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Davos summit organisers play down threat of protests

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Ares-Serono registers record sales

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Swiss Federal Railways moots merger

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