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More Swiss logging on to the world wide web

This content was published on Aug 22, 2000 The survey, published on Tuesday by the company Wemf AG, estimates that around 1.65 million people in German Switzerland use the Internet daily, either for work or private purposes, or both. More than half have used the Internet for on-line shopping. The survey found that, in the past year, there was a 10 per cent…

A remote valley celebrates its unique culture

This content was published on Aug 22, 2000 A Swiss border guard surveys the area. He doesn’t stop many of the cars crossing the border, mostly with German and Swiss licence plates carrying tourists to or from large resorts in the Tyrolean Alps. I’m disappointed to find out that I’m not standing at Switzerland’s most eastern point. Even here on the Italian border,…

A Highland Fling in the Engadine

This content was published on Aug 22, 2000 Pictures of the Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Mull line the walls. The sun sets over a mountain ridge. Lüssi sits at her computer and writes, “Darkness spreads over the land and Loch Nevis…”. She’s writing about a fictional character, Duncan McCleod, a person, who she says, is torn between England where he grew…

Half-year profits at UBS top SFr4 billion

This content was published on Aug 22, 2000 UBS reported on Tuesday that it had made a net profit after tax and minority interests of SFr2.052 billion ($1.19 billion) for the second quarter of 2000. A communiqué said this represented “outstanding growth” of 138 per cent over the comparable period last year, once the effects of divestments and one-off provisions had been taken…

Sweet-toothed customers push Lindt sales higher

This content was published on Aug 22, 2000 In a statement on Tuesday, Lindt and Sprüngli said it expected group sales to slow slightly in the second half. It noted the last months of 1999 had been particularly good because of extra sales linked to the Millennium. It added that cost reductions and optimising the use of capacity should result in improved operating…

Cooling down in the baths after a hot night in Zurich

This content was published on Aug 22, 2000 But they aren’t just about swimming and sunbathing. They’ve become important meeting places and even cultural hotspots. Thousands of people flock to them every weekend and the one you go to regularly says as much about you as the car you drive. A dip in Lake Zurich is especially refreshing after a hard day in…

German light aircraft crashes in Swiss Alps

This content was published on Aug 22, 2000 A spokesman for the Swiss civil aviation authorities said the plane came down in the Alps in canton Glarus late on Monday. A search operation, which was hindered by bad weather on Monday, resumed early on Tuesday. Helicopters are helping in the operation. The plane – a Cessna 340 – was flying from the Italian…

Bank chief refutes criticism of Swiss system

This content was published on Aug 21, 2000 Speaking on Monday, the Bankers Association president, Georg Krayer, attacked critics of the Swiss banking system, and reaffirmed that Switzerland’s secrecy laws are not up for negotiation. He said the Swiss banking system had an “exemplary regulatory regime, equal to any in the world”. And he rejected what he described as “the rebuke” meted out…

Swatch sees profits double

This content was published on Aug 21, 2000 Turnover at the Biel-based group rose 22 per cent over the same period to SFr2 billion. All areas of the business reported strong sales growth, with luxury watches and electronic systems showing the best performance. The market reaction to the results has been very positive, as the actual figures exceeded analysts’ most optimistic expectations by…

Switzerland hammered by violent storms

This content was published on Aug 21, 2000 In some areas, as much as 20 litres of rain per square metre fell in a single 15-minute period. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s meteorological department said the hot weather over the weekend had created ideal conditions for storms. The worst hit cities were Berne, Lucerne and Zurich, as well as parts of eastern Switzerland. Several…

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