| 1/3/2004 |
Desired
ü, ä and ö
Big demand for Swiss Internet domains
with umlauts: In the first two hours
today, 2700 new internet domains were
registered. Despite the large demand the
registration systems of the Swiss
registration provider 'switch' were
stable. The old Internet alphabet has
increased by 31 new signs and
characters. |
| 1/3/2004 |
Top
secure and top clean
According to an international study
Luxembourg is considered the safest city
of the world. Rank 2 in regards to
security is shared by the cities of
Berne, Zurich, Geneva, the Finnish
capital Helsinki and Singapore.
Worldwide, Zurich offers the highest
quality of life. |
| 1/3/2004 |
More and
more expensive medicines
With 174.2 million (plus 1.4%) sold
packages the Swiss turnover with
medicines increased in the last year by
7,1 per cent. Increased has also the
sales of generic pharmaceuticals,
virtually by 50%. |
| 17/2/2004 |
More
money and more jobs
In 2003, Postfinace administered 5,1
billion Swiss Franks more than in the
previous year. The new influx of capital
is thus larger than that of the Credit
Suisse. Besides Postfinance creates new
jobs, the banks do not. |
| 12/2/2004 |
Billion-gain
for CSG
After a loss in the previous year, the
Credit Suisse Group (CSG) shows positive
figures - thanks to rigid cost
reductions. The second largest bank of
Switzerland announces a profit of 5.209
billion Swiss Francs. But the yields
decreased. |
| 10/2/2004 |
Swiss
indiscretions under the magnifying glass
The Swiss stock exchange started a
new investigation against the
"Swiss". The company is
alleged to have offended with
indiscretions over the quarter numbers
last November. |
| 3/2/2004 |
Swiss
clocks less in demand
The Swiss watch-and-clock-making
industry looks back on a weak year.
Export sank by 4,4 per cent to 10.177
billion Swiss Franks, the federation of
the Swiss watch-and-clock-making
industry (FHS) admits. |
| 9/1/2004 |
Migros
turnover slightly up
Migros, largest Swiss retailer, has
increased last year's turnover of 20
billion Swiss francs by 1%. According to
internal statistics the market share
rose by 0,4 per cent. |
| 8/1/2004 |
More
than 168'163 persons unemployed
In December the unemployment in
Switzerland has risen to 4.1%. This is
the highest figure since six years. |
| 7/1/2004 |
Regional
banks bundle forces
Banks of the RBA are in even closer
co-operation. 31 regional banks work in
the future under the trade mark "Clientis"
and concentrate their central functions. |
| 6/1/2004 |
Cash
thanks to high gold price
In 2003, the Swiss central bank (SNB)
has gained a billion CHF profit thanks
to the higher gold price |
| 30/12/2003 |
Increasing
poverty
The social differences in Switzerland
have also in the current year drifted
further apart. Over 850'000 people live
presently in poverty. |
| 22/12/2003 |
Helsana
takes over KBV
The insolvent Winterthurer health
insurance company KBV dissolves itself
by 1 July 2004. Now the Helsana takes
over the personnel as well as those
insured the KBV. |
| 19/12/2003 |
Swisscom
attacked
The Weko (agency for free
competition) stated that the Swisscom
has abused its dominating market
position by preference of its daughter
Bluewin opposite competitors of ADSL
services. |
| 18/12/2003 |
Mobile
market mixed up
The mobile phone market in
Switzerland will no longer consist of
only Swisscom, Sunrise and Orange. The
communication commission ComCom has
given mobile network licenses to
In&Phone and Tele2. |
| 18/12/2003 |
Colgate
buys Elmex
Swiss tradition tooth paste Elmex
becomes an American product. Colgate
Palmolive takes over the Basle-based
Gaba. |
| 6/12/2003 |
Swisscom
enters into the TV business
Swisscom wants to compete with the
cable system operators. TV channels and
games are to be submitted to households
over phone lines. First experiments
start in a few weeks. |
| 26/11/2003 |
Moderate
recovery announced
The declining Swiss Franc conversion
rate and the attractive world economy
should make it possible for Switzerland
to achieve an economic growth of 1.25%
in the next year an economic growth of
1.25%. This is the assumption of the
OECD. |
| 25/11/2003 |
Switzerland
imports billionaires
For the first time since 2000 the
300 richest people in Switzerland became
richer again. Together they possess 352
billion Swiss Francs. Nearly every
second person originates from abroad. |
| 19/11/2003 |
Musik Hug
buys Jecklin
Musik Hug takes over the tradition house
Jecklin. The name Jecklin and the five
branch offices are to remain. |
| 18/11/2003 |
Women
earn 20 per cent less than men
Employees in Switzerland earned last
year an average of 5'417 Swiss Francs
gross. The financial trade pays higher
wages. Women earn further clearly less
than men. |
| 17/11/2003 |
More
broadband customers envisaged
The cable system operator Cablecom
plans expansion. In the next year 70'000
new customers are targeted and an
investment of 150m Swiss Francs will be
made. |
| 14/11/2003 |
Regret
on the cannibal island
Inhabitants of the Fiji Islands
apologized that in 1867 their ancestors
have and eaten the English missionary
Thomas Baker. Ten descendants of the
clergyman have been welcomed on Thursday
in Nabutautau.
(Article in German http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/dyn/news/vermischtes/324413.html)
or download article here |
| 31/10/2003 |
Paper
mountains are 'money-eaters'
The increasing tide of documents costs
Swiss enterprise millions. According to
a study of the market study company IDC
the expenditure for providing and
administration of documents eat up to 15
per cent of the turnover. |
| 28/10/2003 |
"Winterthur"
to cut 200 jobs
In the next twelve month, the insurance
group "Winterthur" wants to
combine the sales organizations for the
life insurance and non-life insurance
into living and in the next twelve
months the Nichtleben business in the
market unit Switzerland @@@Nichtleben.
200 jobs will disappear. |
| 21/10/2003 |
The
apprenticeship market recovers
After the decrease of the apprenticeship
contracts from 70'947 to 68'535 in the
year 2002, the youngest apprenticeship
barometer shows an upward trend. |
| 20/10/2003 |
72
destinations, 44 countries
From this Sunday, the "Swiss" flies
to 72 destinations in 44 countries. The
does no longer fly to 24 previous
destinations and has pulled out 27 of
the 108 airplanes. |
| 7/10/2003 |
Agreement
to the fusion
The Esec shareholders agreed to the
takeover of the semiconductor supplier
by the technology company Unaxis. |
| 3/10/2003 |
Travel
agencies against "Swiss"
Some travel agencies do not recommend
the "Swiss" any longer. They
complain thereby against the
disadvantage with the reservation of the
cheap "Swiss" Europe-Tickets. |
| 30/9/2003 |
Unemployment
on new highest level
For the first time in six years the
unemployment in Switzerland rose to 4
per cent. Young people and foreigners
are particularly affected. |
| 23/9/2003 |
"Swiss"
flies with British Airways in Oneworld
Alliance
The "Swiss" remains
independent: Joining the Oneworld
Alliance brings according to
"Swiss" confidence and helps
on the way to profitability. Not yet 'on
board' is necessary business credit. But
a joint venture with British irways is
certain. |
| 19/9/2003 |
Joint
venture
Migros and LeShop brought their
assortments together in the on-line
business. Starting from the next year
customers can order over 6000 articles
via computer. This creates the largest
Internet supermarket of Switzerland. |
| 18/9/2003 |
Bankers
attack OECD
The conflict between Swiss banks and
the OECD takes a further twist. The
bankers term the Paris institution as no
longer reliable. |
| 4/9/2003 |
Economics
on shrinking course
The recession in Switzerland continued
in the second quarter, however more
slowly than in the previous quarter.
Private consumption improved by 0,7 per
cent. |
| 28/8/2003 |
"Swiss"
as cheap fliers
The "Swiss" lowers the prices
on the European net substantially. In
the future, flights to Berlin and Paris
are to cost less than CHF 50. The
alliance question is still open. |
| 21/8/2003 |
Pension
funds with good net yield
Swiss pension funds obtained a net yield
of 4,5 per cent in the first half-year
2003 on their fortune. To the good
result the stock markets contributed
substantially. |
| 20/8/2003 |
"Zurich"
with half yearly gain
The reorientation of the insurer Zurich
Financial services (ZFS) bears fruits.
In the first half-year the once
crisis-vibrated company obtained a
profit of US$ 701 million. |
| 19/8/2003 |
The
highest wages of the world
Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lugano
belong to the most expensive cities of
the world. Owing to the highest wage
level, the purchasing power is also
world-class. |
| 15/8/2003 |
Seco
shortens prognosis
Switzerland is for the first time
for nine years over a whole year seen in
the recession. The Federal State
Secretariat for Economics (SECO) counts
for 2003 on a contraction of the gross
inland product by 0,3 per cent. |
| 13/8/2003 |
Up to 3
per cent more wages demanded
The Swiss trade union federation
launched the wage round 2004. It demands
2 to 3 per cent more wages. Economics
and politics are called to active
economic policy. |
| 8/8/2003 |
"Swiss"
with more passengers in July
The crisis-stricken airline
"Swiss" transported 977'226 of
passengers in July altogether, 46,657
more than in June. The seat load factor
rose in the monthly comparison of 75,7
to 77,1 per cent. |
| 30/7/2003 |
Downtrend
stopped
The bottom of the Swiss economics has
probably been reached. According to
business barometer the lack of growth
will however still continue until end of
this year. |
| 26/7/2003 |
Customers
ripped off with exchange rates and
"fees"
Who pays abroad with a credit card must
be prepared for unfavorable exchange
rates, thus raising the price of the
purchase by five to ten per cent. |
| 25/7/2003 |
"Berner
Zeitung" swallows "Bund"
The newspaper "Berner Zeitung"
takes over the operational management of
its ailing competitor "Der
Bund" starting from 2004. 25 jobs
will be cut |
| 21/7/2003 |
Nearly
9000 Swiss francs per
household
In the year 2001 the average monthly
income of a Swiss household amounted to
8797 Swiss francs (~F$11315). Of it on
average CHF 7912 were spent. |
| 18/7/2003 |
Microsoft
increases annual profit
The world largest software company
Microsoft increased its profit in the
past financial year by 22 per cent to 10
billion US dollars. Microsoft profited
among other things from good business
with enterprise software. |
| 16/7/2003 |
Pilots
accept notices
The "Swiss" and the pilots'
association "Swiss Pilots"
settled their differences. The former
"Crossair" pilots accept the
job termination of 559 members of their
corps. The "Swiss" waives the
regional line "Swiss Express". |
| 9/7/2003 |
Accounts
blocked for Distefora founders
Switzerland blocked the accounts of the
Distefora founder Alexander Falk and its
co-accused arrested in Germany. Several
millions Euro were found in the accounts |
| 7/7/2003 |
Casinos
are still no gold donkeys
In the last year 15 gaming houses
started their business. They paid 68.8
million Swiss francs to the federal
state together with the provisionally
licenses it was 123.8 million. That is
less than expected. |
| 1/7/2003 |
Germanwings
considers Kloten as new hub
The German cheap-flights airline
Germanwings wants to furnish at the
latest in October beside Cologne/Bonn a
second spider/hub. Two to four airplanes
are to be stationed there. |
| 24/6/2003 |
Swiss
dismantling: 3000 jobs and 34 airplanes
The rescue plan of the national
airline Swiss starts with cuts: By
reducing the fleet of 34 airplanes 3000
jobs will be eradicated. With a new
Business plan the airline wants to take
of the ground again. |
| 21/6/2003 |
Suva in
red figures in 2002
For the first time since seven years,
Suva, the largest accident insurer of
Switzerland, had to post a loss. |
| 19/6/2003 |
Cablecom
can take a deep breath
Cablecom who has outstanding debts of
more than 3.8 billion Swiss francs has
reached an conversion of debts
agreements with creditors and other
parties involved. |
| 12/6/2003 |
Unique
cuts 30 jobs
The Zurich airport reacts to the
renewed worsening in the flight
business. 30 full time jobs disappear,
for autumn a wage reduction by 3 per
cent is planned. The number of
passengers in 2003 dropped further by
5.5%. |
| 11/6/2003 |
No more
all-finance business?
The CSG insurance company Winterthur
sells her British non-life insurance
company, Churchill, for 2.4 billion
Swiss francs. Analysts believe this is
may be the end of the all-finance
strategy. |
| 6/6/2003 |
Hasler
threatens the trade unions
The director of the employers'
association, Peter Hasler, warns the
trade unions of illegal actions and
political strikes. Who takes part in
such, can be dismissed without given
notice. |
| 31/5/2003 |
Syngenta:
stains in the pure booklet
The Basle agro company Syngenta has
a problem with child labour in India.
Farmer families who have contracts with
the company do not send their children
to school, but instead to the cotton
fields. |
| 28/5/2003 |
Business
barometer shows further downward
Switzerland is far distant from an
economic upswing. Quite the opposite:
the economic growth continues to slow
down according to the KOF business
barometer. |
| 27/5/2003 |
Large
loss and further "drastic
measures"
The airline Swiss flew in the first
quarter a net loss of 200 million Swiss
francs. Although the cost-cutting
program "Target Turnaround"
shows some results, further
"drastic measures" are
essential. |
23/5/2003
|
Euro
higher than on date of issue
For the first time the Euro exceeded the
level of its initial January 1999 value
to the US dollar. Analysts are expecting
a further decline of the dollar. |
| 22/5/2003 |
Zurich
improves
After some bad results in the past
Zurich Financial Services announced a
clear profit jump in the first quarter
2003. Also the income from premiums
grew. Management is prudent about the
future. |
| 20/5/2003 |
Takeover
battle has started
Two competitors want to take over the
Swiss Medtech enterprise. After the
British Smith & Nephew the US
enterprise Zimmer had now also made an
offer. The share price experienced heavy
fluctuations. |
| 14/5/2003 |
Swisscom
with small losses
The telecom company Swisscom kept
its turnover stable in the first quarter
2003. The earnings, however, were less
than in the same period last year. |
| 7/5/2003 |
No
recovery before autumn
The growth of Swiss economics
continued to weaken in the first
quarter. Expectations of the enterprises
remain pessimistic. |
| 14/4/2003 |
Migros
with less profit
With virtually the same turnover as in
the previous year the 2002 profit of
Switzerland largest retailer Migros
decreased by 30% to CHF 178m. |
| 9/4/2003 |
Swiss
now also "Sars-sick"
As reaction to the outbreak of the lung
illness Sars, Swiss cancels flights to
Tokyo. The passenger numbers of Eastern
Asia flights decreased by 15 to 20 per
cent in the first April week. |
| 7/4/2003 |
Stock
exchanges strongly in the plus
The news about the raids of the US
troops in the center of the Iraqi
capital Baghdad and associated hopes for
an imminent end of war released a strong
rally at the stock exchanges on Monday. |
| 2/4/2003 |
Raiffeisen
with record result
The Raffeisen bankers' syndicate with
head office in St. Gall obtained 2002
the best result in its 100-year history:
balance sheet total, profit and the
number of members rose consierably. |
| 28/3/2003 |
Post
improves but still
"insufficiently"
Compared to 2001, the Swiss Post was
able to increase both profit and
turnover last year. The enterprise calls
the result "not sufficiently". |
| 26/3/2003 |
Swisscom
below expectations
Swisscom increased turnover and
operating profit in the last year. The
net profit, however, is considerably
lower. The German mobile phone
daughter, Debitel, negatively impacted
Swisscom once more. |
| 20/3/2003 |
Smith&Nephew
takes over Centerpulse
The former Sulzer Medica might not exist
one year as Centerpulse: the medical
technic company is to be taken over for
3.3 billion Swiss Francs by the British
competitor, Smith&Nephew. |
| 19/3/2003 |
Ospel
number two of the top earners
UBS president Marcel Ospel is ranked
second - after Novartis boss, Daniel
Vasella - in the Swiss manager wages
hitparade. Despite profit decrease at
UBS, Ospel received with CHF12.5m no
income decrease. |
| 6/3/2003 |
Stock
exchange: Driving downhill without
brakes
On Friday at 13.30 o'clock, the
Swiss standard value index SMI dropped
under the mark of 3900 points. This is
the lowest value of the SMI since more
than six years. |
| 4/3/2003 |
Only the
Dutch still buy more
In 2002, 356'000 of bicycles were sold
in Switzerland. This corresponds to a
per-head turnover which is only exceeded
by the bicycle nation Holland in Europe. |
| 4/3/2002 |
Hotelplan
with turnover decrease
For the first time since seven years the
Migros travel company, Hotelplan,
suffered a turnover and a passenger
decrease. The profit shrank by 11 per
cent to 20 million CHF. |
| 3/3/2003 |
Bon
appétit Group pays for expansion hunger
Starbucks and Le Shop have eaten a
hole of 53 million CHF into the assets
of the Bon appétit Group torn. The new
board chairman, Beat Curti confessed
strategy errors and demanded downsizing. |
| 27/2/2003 |
SMI
under 4000 points
On Thursday morning, the SMI dropped
below the psychologically important mark
of 4000 points; however, later it
slightly increased again. Nestlé,
Zurich Financial Services and ABB
published their financial results for
the last year. |
| 27/2/2003 |
Sunrise
with black figures
TDC Switzerland, the owner of the
Sunrise brand, achieved a positive
result in 2002. The profit before taxes,
interest and depreciation amounts to 251
million CHF, in the previous year a
deficit of 23 million CHF had to be
posted. |
| 26/2/2003 |
Migros
lowers mortgage rates again
The mortgage interest rates take a dive
again. The Migrosbank lowers the
interest rate for variable mortgages
down 1/4% to 3
1/8 per cent. This move results to the
lowest mortgage rates since 1946. |
| 26/2/2003 |
Roche
makes tabula rasa
Roche draws a line under unpleasant
chapters of the past: For 2002 because
of special factors a combine loss of 4
billion Franconia is proven.
Operationally it ran Roche well. The
dividend is again to be increased. |
| 25/2/2003 |
Clariant
reduces up to 1700 jobs
With an job reduction of up to
1700 employees and the sale of business
the chemical concern Clariant wants to
come out from its difficult situation.
For 2002 the conglomerate posted a loss
of 648 million Swiss francs. |
| 24/2/2003 |
Economy
again weaker
The Swiss economy has already lost its
momentum. For the 4th quarter of 2002,
experts predict a growth decrease to a
mere half per cent. |
| 21/2/2003 |
Atel:
2002 with more profit and turnover
The energy conglomerate Atel gained
2002 a profit of 170 (previous year 165)
million Swiss francs. The turnover rose
by 2,2 per cent to 3.7 billion CHF. |
| 20/2/2003 |
Cloudy
perspectives for the property market
An end of the housing scarceness is not
yet in sight: The prices may increase a
further 3 per cent, forecasts a Crédit
Suisse study. Due to over-capacities in
office space, prices face pressure in
this segement |
| 19/2/2003 |
Automobile
salon with record participation
This year's Geneva autosalon is larger
then ever before: Owing to a new
building the fairground offers
additional 13'000 m2 surface. 265
companies will exhibit their products at
the 73rd International automobile salon. |
| 18/2/2003 |
UBS with
3.535 billion Swiss Francs net profit in
the last year
The profit of UBS is 29 per cent less
than the record yield of 2001. In the
fourth quarter 2002 the bank had to
accept a loss of 101 million CHF. |
| 18/2/2003 |
Telephony
over TV cable launched
Cablecom introduced on TV cable
telephony project. The Internet
customers of the cable system operator
in the Swiss German region can phone
over ordinary television cable for the
next 3 months. |
| 14/2/2003 |
Swissair
shareholders cannot expect much
With estimated assets of approximately
472 million CHF, the prospective
dividend will be between 0 and 6 per
cent, depending the final evaluation. |
| 13/2/2003 |
Roche
reduces price for AIDS drugs
The pharmacy enterprise reduces its AIDS
medicines in price considerably: In the
poorest countries in the world as well
as in the African states south of the
Sahara, Roche sells the medicines
according to a press release
"without profit". |
| 6/2/2003 |
Waro
takeover: Weko brakes Coop
For the time being, Coop cannot take
over the Waro chain. The competition
commission (Weko) introduced an
intensified examination. It feared that
with the takeover Coop could become too
powerful against new competitors and
suppliers. |
| 1/2/2003 |
Search
for Kirch documents at CS
The affairs around the German media
entrepreneur Leo Kirch lead to searches
in Switzerland: At the head office of
the Credit Suisse in Zurich and in the
St. Moritz branch office the Zurich
district attorney looked for documents. |
| 29/1/2003 |
Stock
exchange again in free fall
Last October, the SMI stood at 4333, its
lowest since February 1997. Who thought
the worst was over was in for a
surprise. On Monday, the Swiss Blue chip
index fell to 4323 points. |
| 28/1/2003 |
Belgium
targets UBS and CS
According to a press release, the
liquidator of Sabena wants to make the
SAirGroup and Swiss banks to pay for the
liquidation of the Belgian airline. The
cost are estimated at 2.4b € (Euro) |
| 27/1/2003 |
Tourism
booming
Despite economic crisis and political
conflicts the worldwide number of
tourists has last year increased to a
record high. |
| 25/1/2003 |
WEF:
more hope than belief in economic growth
At the World Economic Forum in Davos,
politicans, scientists and entrepreneurs
have tried to assess the world economy
outlook. While politicians believe in
long-term growth, corporate managers and
scientists are asking for short-term
measures. |
| 22/1/2003 |
Fear of
war pushes gold price to a 6-year high
Trading gold at The London exchange of
precious metals was up to 360.55US$ per
ounce. |
| 21/1/2003 |
CS Group
expects net loss of 3.4b Swiss francs
Because of large expenditure in the
investment sector and the ailing
insurance daughter company Wintherthur,
the Credit Suisse Group (CSG) expects
for 2002 red figures. |
| 17/1/2003 |
SUVA
re-used COBOL code using Delta's SCORE
Integration Suite
SUVA, the Swiss national accident insurance company modernised its success-decisive core applications by reusing more than 5.000.000 of COBOL code –
right on schedule and without overrunning the budget.
"We were impressed that using SCORE Integration Suite we managed to
consistently achieve productivity improvements of 400% to
600%", said Thomas Müller Manager Application Architecture and Methods,
SUVA. |
| 16/1/2003 |
Large
order for Pilatus Aviation Works
Ireland will be buying eight
training airplanes of the type PC-9. The
order has a volume of 70m Swiss francs |
| 9/1/2003 |
Migros
increased turnover to more than 20
billion
Like in 2001, the Migros Group has
realised at turnover of more than 20b
Swiss francs. The ten co-operatives
alone accounted for 14,213b. This is an
increase of 228 millions or 1,6%. |
| 7/1/2003 |
Lego can
be copied
The Danish toy producer Lego Systems
has lost a court battle against the
Canadian competitor Mega Bloks Inc.
Competitive products looking similar
like the form of Lego blocks don't
contravene the law. |
| 6/1/2003 |
Handyman
market: Coop with European partner
In the fight for shares in the
do-it-yourself handyman market Coop
wants to co-operate with the
international purchasing group «TOOMAXX».This
group already owns the German
conglomerates Rewe and AVA and the
Austrian bauMax. |
| 5/1/2003 |
Dollar
drop halves SNB profit
In 2003, the Swiss National Bank has
made a total profit of 2.2b Swiss
francs. A year earlier the result was
4.1b CHF. The considerable
reduction is attributed to the
development of exchange rates. |
| 4/1/2003 |
From
Lucerne to all corners of the world
The bakery and savouries producer
Hug has increased his turnover by 4% to
74.7M Swiss francs. The export is 19% of
the entire production. |
| 23/12/2002 |
Gretag-Imaging-Management
attacked by shareholders
On Monday, the shareholders were
expected to approve the salvage plan
during an extraordinary meeting. The
plan was not approved but management was
strongly critisised.
Nestlé agrees
The world's largest food company no
longer wants $6m from the government of Ethiopia.
Instead, they ask for $1.6m contributing
to a fund for the hungry. |
| 20/12/2002 |
Weko
scrutinises price increase by Swatch-ETA
The Swatch Group has considerably
increased the prices for certain watch
components. This has been confirmed by
ETA to its customers. The fair trading
commission (WEKO - "Wettbewerbskommission")
is analysing the situation. |
