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Swiss economy in good shape, says Villiger

This content was published on Jan 22, 2000 The finance minister, Kaspar Villiger, has given an upbeat report on the present state of the Swiss economy at a Radical Party conference in Basel. “Our country is doing better than we think,” he said. Overall, conditions in the country “are good”, but there remains a lot to be done. Villiger explained to the delegates…

Bad weather hampers Swiss balloon festival

This content was published on Jan 22, 2000 Gusty winds and freezing conditions put a dampener on the hot air balloon festival at Chateau D’Oex on Saturday with over half of the 70 balloons failing to lift off. Even the Swiss round-the-world balloonist, Bertrand Piccard, was grounded. His teammate, Brian Jones, a British pilot who circumnavigated the globe with Piccard, had more luck…

Expo bosses tell government they have met conditions

This content was published on Jan 21, 2000 Organisers of the planned but troubled national exhibition, Expo.02 – headed by Radical Party president, Franz Steinegger (pictured) – believe they have now met the government’s conditions to ensure the project gets the go-ahead. The board of Expo.02 gave details at a news conference in Berne of a new streamlined budget, saying it had met…

Black boxes shed no light on Crossair crash

This content was published on Jan 21, 2000 Investigators are still no closer to discovering the cause of last week’s Crossair crash near Zurich in which 10 people died. They said the data on black box flight recorders was in good condition and usable, but had not allowed them to determine the direct cause of the accident, nor to exclude anything. The head…

Switzerland provides legal aid to Nigeria over Abacha assets

This content was published on Jan 21, 2000 The Swiss authorities say they are providing legal assistance to Nigeria to help it recover assets belonging to the late dictator, Sani Abacha. More than US$640 million held by Abacha and his associates in Swiss banks have been frozen. “We have decided to provide legal assistance to Nigeria in this case,” said federal police spokesman,…

UBS Warburg Dillon Read cooperates with Vodafone

This content was published on Jan 21, 2000 The UBS group, through its investment banking division Warburg Dillon Read, has signed an agreement with the British telecommunications company, Vodafone AirTouch, to co-operate in the electronic distribution of investment information. A statement said that Vodafone AirTouch, with its mobile communications network, would allow Warburg Dillon Read, as a content provider, to supply value-added information…

National Bank puts up interest rates

This content was published on Jan 21, 2000 The Swiss National Bank has indicated a slight tightening of monetary policy, announcing that it will nudge interest rates higher amid signs of a continued economic upturn. The SNB said it had decided to aim its three month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) towards the upper end of its 1.25 to 2.25 per cent target…

Kiosks to offer new services

This content was published on Jan 21, 2000 Swiss kiosks – traditionally places where you can find newspapers, magazines, cigarettes and chocolate – are changing with the times. They are offering more products to lure the customers, and an increasing number of services. Any kiosk worthy of its name now offers convenience and fresh food, drinks, books, presents and cosmetics. And customers can…

Expo.02 calls on government to give it green light

This content was published on Jan 21, 2000 The board overseeing the organisation of Switzerland’s planned national exhibition has called on the government to give the green light for Expo.02 to go ahead. At the presentation of a feasability study in the capital, Berne, the board said it had fulfilled the government’s conditions. The board said it had cut the exhibition’s total budget…

Upbeat employment record at Geneva’s international organisations

This content was published on Jan 20, 2000 International organisations based in Geneva have been on a steady job creation drive since 1998, according to official figures released on Thursday. This trend puts an end to a three year decline in jobs at international organisations in Geneva. Overall, there has been an increase of over six per cent since March 1998. Figures from…

Internal: Archive

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