Tui Travel, the UK arm of the German travel group Tui AG, have posted a £289m loss in the first six months to March, which represents a 9% reduction on last year. The loss was down £28m from the £317m loss posted in the first half of 2012. While tour operators generally report losses during the traditionally weaker first half of the year and make the majority of their profits during the summer months, Tui T ...

The USD/JPY recently broke the long waited psychological level of 100. The trend looks like it is going to continue as no sign of weakness is visible technically. In fact, a new fresh high of 101.21 was hit this morning. Since the yen broke the 80 level in November, the daily chart has not looked back and has not shown any sign of weakness or reversal. The price has remained above the 200 day moving average ...

The Federal Council has approved the reorganization of the National Contact Point (NCP) established under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNE) and on 1 May the final arrangements were made. The OECD Guidelines is a set of recommendations created by the OECD members to guide multinational companies on how to act in a more responsible manner and is akin to Corporate Social Responsibility. T ...

Since its establishment back in 1995, easyJet has been a pioneer in the low cost airline sector. While airlines in Europe never saw any interest in using the internet for anything other than as a marketing tool, easyJet saw real value in using the internet as an e-commerce tool. In 1998, easyJet was the first airline in Europe to offer real time bookings via the internet. 15 years on the airline is still se ...

The airport’s annual report and balance sheet for the financial year 2012 were unveiled on 22 April 2013. The solid nature of the corporate business model is confirmed by the airport’s encouraging financial performance year on year. With a turnover of CHF 364 million (5.62% higher than 2011) and a profit of CHF 66.5 million (an increase of 2.94% on 2011), the airport continues to assert itself as Switzerlan ...

Chaos struck German airports for a second time in two months on Monday as the national airline was forced to cancel 1700 flights, leaving 150 000 passengers stranded over an ongoing pay dispute with staff. The airline has estimated that the strike will cost it tens of millions of euros and called such strike action “out of proportion”. Trade union Verdi, which represents some 33 000 workers, is demanding a ...

In a surprising turn of events, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has decided to invest in its plant in Nyon which was up for closure only 18 months ago. Novartis is now ready to invest CHF 150 million in order to modernise the plant and increase activity. Already, the number of people working at the plant has increased by 15% and today it employs 730 people. Novartis is considering the plant a long term ...

The recent BCV (Banque Cantonale Vaudoise) report “De l’or dans la montagne” confirms the health and strength of the Swiss watch industry and the key role of four cantons: Geneve, Vaud, Neuchatel and Jura. They deliver more than 70% of the value, an amount that reaches more the 90% when you include the cantons of Berne and Soleure. Switzerland is confirmed as the global leader in terms of value of  sales * ...

Major trading houses, gathered in Lausanne for the FT Global Commodity Summit, expect wholesale food prices to come down this year. After a disastrous 2012, due to extreme drought in harvesting countries which resulted in supply shocks and price volatility, 2013 is seen as a promising year. However, since agriculture is dependent on weather conditions, it is too soon to draw any conclusions yet, according t ...

Following on from Swiss Government recommendations for transparency in the Commodity Trading Industry, the Chief Executive of Cargill, the world’s biggest agricultural trading house, has urged trading firms to shed light on their ways of doing business. Greg Page, speaking at the FT Global Commodity Summit in Lausanne on 16 April, stressed the need for the industry to become more transparent in doing busine ...

In late February, Marissa Mayer (Yahoo  CEO) announced a complete ban on working at home. The measure will be effective as of June 2013 and will affect all Yahoo’s employees, including the ones that previously agreed  flexible work arrangements with the company. The news was initially sent by the HR department as a confidential email to all employees but quickly appeared in the media and by the end of March ...

For the global economy to keep growing and for societies to continue developing there is an ever increasing demand for greater computing power. The solution to this growing demand, which also stems from an ever increasing use of the internet and the need to store vast volumes of data, has been to create data centres, some of which cover acres. In other words, the Information and Communication Technologies ( ...

If you are thinking of developing a project that might change the world, Ashoka’s Impact competition could help you to realize it! Ashoka is a non-profit organization that has built the largest global network of innovative Social entrepreneurs over the last 30 years. Its main objective is to contribute in a world where everyone can be a change-maker. Candidates can apply online until the 26th of April 2013 ...

SGS has launched an in-house racking system inspection program whose aim is to cover warehouse operators' needs while maintaining international safety standards. The project was developed in Portugal where the World leading inspection firm assisted a recognized European retailer in developing in-house inspection capabilities to prevent workplace accidents or racking system collapse which could ultimately le ...

Moving fast and efficiently, the Swiss government has decided it wants to be able to present new legislation on the initiative to prevent abusive salaries  to parliament before the end of this year. The new legislation must be in force by 3rd March 2014, one year after the decisive referendum. The decision to move quickly on this issue was announced on 26 March in a press statement released by Federal Couns ...

Tamedia is a Swiss media group whose headquarters is located in Zurich. Founded in 1893, it has become one of the leading media corporations in Switzerland. The ‘Tribune de Genève’, ‘24 heures’, ‘Le Matin’ as well as ‘Le Temps’are just some of the publications owned by the group. On Monday 25 March, Tamedia announced that a total of 34 million Swiss francs had to be saved in the next few years, of which 18 ...

More than a simple social media network, over the years Linkedin has become a platform of recruitment & job search, very cleverly combining the logic of a network with the classic functions of a job board. So, it was logical that Linkedin recently announced the launch of their new portal, "Linkedin Career". This genuinely new tool offers solutions for both companies who want to promote their image and p ...

As the result of the referendum on 3rd March was published, reactions to it followed a predictable pattern with the supporters of the new initiative being jubilant and those that had fought the initiative expressing consternation. Switzerland is not the first country to introduce legislation interfering with the rights of publicly listed companies to determine the compensation of CEOs. It is, however, the f ...

From 6 -8 March the Graduate Institute invited alumni and other interested parties to come and talk to a number of potential employers. With more than 30 presentations, participants had a rich variety of organisations to choose from and most sectors were present. There were people representing the philanthropy sector, from the profit sector as well as the non-profit sector. Of course, the UN had made itself ...

Small and medium sized companies are still not good enough at recycling as PET, paper, glass and organic waste is still found in company's waste, according to local newspaper Tribune de Genève (TDG).  TDG reports that the Canton Geneva now wants to increase the amount of recyclables collected from 54% in 2011 to 70%. To ensure this happens, audits will be conducted and following these an engineering company ...

I was on vacation in Italy last week and had no intention of writing anything. However, there’s nothing like firsthand observation to study the contrasts and contradictions of the almost unique situation that this country finds itself in, and the major role it might play in the financial demise of Europe. The resignation of  Pope Benedict XVIII and the general election for a new national assembly had brough ...

In a referendum on 3rd March, voters in Switzerland adopted the “Minder-Initiative” by an overwhelming majority of 67.9 %.  The approval of the initiative was  foreseen as the support for it had been growing since it reached the 100 000 votes needed for it to be put to a referendum. Lately, events had helped solidify the support as former Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella was awarded chf 72 million upon his depar ...

Cultural diversity is the well-established hallmark of a stable, cosmopolitan society.  How can this diversity be measured and, more importantly, increased?  Before we explore the latter, it may be prudent to note why such diversity is essential and how it can economically benefit international trade. At first glance, Switzerland would appear to be ideally situated to reap the rewards befitting a centrally- ...

UNCTAD, (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) has organized the Global commodities Forum 2013 on the theme of "Recommitting to commodity sector development as an engine of economic growth and poverty reduction".  The conference will take place from 18-19 March 2013 at the Palais des Nations, E-Building, Geneva. The Global Commodities Forum will address key issues relating to risk management a ...

Daniel Edelman, who died on January 15th at age 92, is hailed as the creator of public relations as we know it today. He started his career as a journalist and launched Edelman in 1952, making his name by promoting Toni home-perm kits. His big break came when he hired twins, one with a  “Toni” home perm and the other without. The twins travelled through the States, posing for photos, kissing local celebriti ...

  Statistics released by the Swiss government today show significant growth in 7 out of 9 export sectors in January. With a surplus of CHF 2.1bn, markets in North America and the EU saw the greatest growth while both imports and exports from and to Japan fell by double digits. For the first time in 17 months, the sale of textile machinery improved while the tobacco, food and drinks sector strengthened ...

On 1st February, Doris Leuthard visited Denmark to meet with minsters for the energy and transport sectors. As Swiss Federal Counsellor for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (DETEC), Mrs Leuthard is responsible for overseeing the development of the energy grid as well as the further integration of the Swiss transport system into the EU. In Brussels the next steps on the TEN-T (Trans-European ...

Yesterday morning the Spanish national carrier Iberia had to cancel more than 415 departures because ground personnel in the Spanish airport Barajas, Madrid initiated a strike. The strike comes after management announced a restructuring plan which would result in the loss of 3807 jobs and a lowering of salaries for the remaining staff. Iberia estimates that over the week more than 1200 flights will have to ...

stablish.me is a new 'Swiss made' social endorsement network startup. It is a new web-social platform where you can : visualize, find, be found and share your talents. It is an original way to show your skills and what you are good at. Your friends and acquaintance can endorse you with positive badges. The badges are a visual representation of the user's skills, competencies or personality traits and aggreg ...

Swatch group sales rose by 14% to a record CHF 8,1 billion during the year 2012. This record is based on the continual demand in Asia and from Asian tourists worldwide who buy most of the Swatch timepieces sold in Europe. With more than 19 brands, the Swatch Group increased its market share in the watch sector worldwide. According to Global Industry Analysts, Swatch Group sales will reach USD 47 billion by ...

Official figures from both countries show that China surpassed the U.S. to become the world’s largest trading nation last year, as measured by the sum of exports and imports of goods. Export and import of U.S. goods last year totalled $3.82 trillion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported last week. China’s customs administration reported last month that the country’s trade in goods in 2012 amounted to $3.87 ...

Tempus Fugit ! It's time again for the Geneva International Fine Watch-Making Exposition (SIHH) organized by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, where Switzerland's Richemont Group showcases the most glittering jewels in their corporate crown. Foundation President Fabienne Lupo gathered Sixteen Maisons under one glamorous roof at the Palexpo Convention Center to welcome this year's watch-making profession ...

Yet another scandal hit the headlines last week : the U.S. government is suing Standard & Poor's in federal court in Los Angeles, accusing the subsidiary of McGraw Hill Cos Inc (MHP.N) of a scheme to defraud investors in mortgage-related securities that collapsed in the financial crisis. And the sum claimed? US$5 billion, no less! A deeper look into the details reveals the enormity of the charge, becaus ...

By autumn 2013, Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) plans to introduce ten more online courses. All over the world, an increasing number of higher education institutions are developing free interactive online university courses, known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).  This is a trend illustrated by EPFL President Patrick Aebischer as he is taking a six-month sabbatical this year in the ...

While it is still difficult in some companies for women to accede to executive positions, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), one of the largest associations for women professionals and business owners in the United States, has released its annual list of the  top 50 companies for executive women. This ranking is based on their commitment to women’s empowerment, with the companies require ...

According to a survey released by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Bern, consumer confidence has shown significant improvement. For the first time since March 2012, a gain of more than 6 points above the historical average has been recorded, outperforming the previous quarters that had been only just above average. This new confidence is the result of households' optimistic view on the d ...

In its latest quarterly report on economic development in Haute-Savoie, the Chamber of Commerce (ICC) paints a picture of a struggling region. Some sectors show a drop in activity, while other sectors have been able to maintain business at an unchanged level. Trade figures show the extent of the problems as imports have dropped by 7.6% and exports are down by 0.3%, while imports from Switzerland have been s ...

On 3rd March, the Swiss are going to vote in a referendum on new stronger measures against the abusive payments given to top CEOs, including forms of golden parachutes. The recent departure of NOVARTIS’ CEO Daniel Vasella, whose compensation has yet to be disclosed, provides support for the bill's sponsor, the Schaffhausen entrepreneur, Thomas Minder. The measure is supported by the Socialist Party, the Gre ...

Apple announced in a Press release published earlier this week that the iTunes Store has passed the figure of 25 billion song downloads in 10 years - a cash generating machine that the music industry wouldn’t have bet on a decade ago. Do you know how to win €10’000 without doing anything, or maybe by just investing € 0,99? It’s easy; you just need to be the person who bought the 25 billionth song on iTunes. ...

  As eloquently shown by the International AIDS Society there is a very good business case for tightening control with the amount of resources spent on production. Building on the experience of the IAS, it seems like it is only the imagination that limits what can be done when discussing the topic of resource management. In the case of the IAS, a well implemented strategy not only reduced waste to the ...

Meeting the IAS For various reasons, the news stream on national as well as international media platforms could give the unsuspecting viewer the impression that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) deals only with multinational companies such as Exxon, BP, H&M and that the field of CSR is about stakeholders and handling crises. For example, in November 2012, a fire at an apparel factory in Bangladesh a ...

When just local media are present at an event in Switzerland, nothing too internationally significant should be expected. But when different foreign media representatives are waiting impatiently in front of closed doors before an event launch in a small village near Zurich, including media from as far afield as Mexico, something pretty exciting must be going on. On 2nd February, 2013, the Sauber F1 Team hos ...

This week the renowned British journal The Economist drew a favourable portrait of the Nordic countries and the societal model they have developed.  One of the characteristics of the Nordic countries is their level of taxation which averages just below 50% but, as The Economist points out, on several important parameters such as happiness and competitiveness the group of countries scores well and most often ...

The Geneva based ‘Children are Treasure’ is not your run-of-the-mill foundation, most of which tend to be vehicles to cater for the philanthropic urges of those who have large family fortunes. This one was founded as a non-profit organisation in 2003, when Kanchan Nair (now Mrs. Ellam), a young lady in her mid-twenties returned to Switzerland, the country of her birth, after having left to study and work in ...

In a communiqué released by the Geneva local government, 2012 was a great year for the new label which aims at combatting long-term unemployment. In December alone 9 new companies joined the program bringing the total up to 29. Since it was launched in May with just 6 companies participating, this CSR initiative is on its way to rapidly becoming a “must have” for employers in Geneva. The 9 companies that si ...

Mr Dhiraj Saha the Marketing Executive for Access MBA, responded to my questions. Since 2004, the Access MBA Tour has organised over 280 One-to-One events in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia. Every year the Tour enables approximately one hundred accredited schools and universities to meet over 20,000 candidates around the world.   “Access MBA was created by Mr. Christophe Coutat who inven ...

by Anil Rikhye, Consultant, Business & Trade On Thursday the 10th of January the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIG), the Office for the Promotion of Industries and Technologies (OPI) and the Swiss-India Business Forum (SIBF) in partnership with Bioalps organized an information evening for Swiss companies interested in being part of an economic mission to visit India from 3rd to 10th March 20 ...

Nestlé Health Science, a fully owned subsidiary of Nestlé, has signed a joint venture agreement with the pharmaceutical and healthcare group Chi-Med. Both groups have decided to create a new company called Nutrition Science Partners Limited (NSP), in which they will hold equal shares. No financial details have been disclosed. NSP will focus on the gastrointestinal health sector and might in the future expan ...

The Swiss “NO” to joining the European Economic Area (EEE) will be commemorated next week on 6 December. This topic is being related in several Swiss newspapers . ‘La liberté’ has published a cartoon by Alex featuring a visitor to a museum, who stops in front of some extinct species. There is a mammoth, a prehistoric bear and … a man raising his fist, wearing a blue T-shirt on which we can reads “EEE YES!”. ...

  The Career Services events of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies are aimed at supporting students to learn more about the employment market and to develop their network in the field of their choice. On November 29th, 2012, the Graduate Institute, in partnership with Cinfo, is organizing a workshop entitled: Launch a career in the United Nations.  This workshop will be hel ...

This is the buzz of the week in the employment field: the top 10 professions where most of the workers present psychopathic characteristics include: business leaders, lawyers, media figures, surgeons, journalists and chefs, in other words, principally executives. This list is based on the latest opus from psychologist Kevin Dutton, 'The Wisdom of Psychopaths', published on October 16th. However, a clear dis ...

by Anil RIKHYE, Consultant, Business & Trade, Geneva Business News The World Development Report 2013 which was recently launched in Geneva by the World Bank at the headquarters of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) directly addresses the sensitive issue of Jobs. And while it is an excellent research document full of interesting statistics and anecdotal examples of successes and failures, it sad ...

Compared with the same period last year, revenues were up 5.7%, to USD 19.86 million. EBITDA and cash flow from operations became positive, at USD 2.68 million and USD 1.61 million, respectively. The net loss significantly decreased to USD 0.57 million, compared with a net loss of USD 20.40 million in Q3 2011. LifeWatch's situation also improved from its performance during the previous quarter : the cash fl ...

Even specialists have difficulties in identifying some of the irregularities appearing on counterfeit ‘Grande Complication’ watches seized by Swiss customs, such as for the Hublot Big Bang watch, seized last December where the similarity to the original is striking. All the elements are there – the appearance, the size and the weight. Even the smell is the same as the original model where the bracelet is sc ...

After Prexton Therapeutics and Quartz Bio, Merck Serono has launched the third spin-off company, from its entrepreneur Partnership Program. Asceneuron will develop Merck Serono’s research programs in the area of Alzheimer’s disease.  Merck Serono will invest € 5 million as seed funding The creation of this 3rd start-up is in line with the € 30 millions program launched by the group in order to “minimize the ...

Nearly 30 Ex Libris stores out of 113 will close in the next eighteen months. The Migros subsidiary, which distributes books and multimedia products, said it is “operating in an extremely difficult market environment”. A relatively small number of jobs will be eliminated: only a few small stalls within a network of affiliates will be consolidated, said Ernest Dieter Berninghaus , member of the Executive Boa ...

COMMUNICA, a unique exhibition in the French part of Switzerland will be holding its 3rd edition on October 10th and 11th at the Ramada Encore in Geneva. This year, “COMMUNICA” features several well known personalities leading conferences, in particular, Jacques Séguela on Wednesday, 10 at 5 pm, Jean-Claude Biver on Thursday, 11 at 4 pm and Gilles Marchand at 1 pm. In addition, current themes in the field o ...

The luxury Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer, established since 1860, is known worldwide for its marketing campaigns using the faces of famous movie stars and athletes. On August 6 2012, the Swiss brand announced the renewal of its association with the Indian Brand Ambassador Shah Rukh Khan who has already been linked to the brand for the last nine years. The latest TAG Heuer Carrera 1887 Elegance collection has ...

From taking days a couple of decades ago, the time to get blood test results has gone down to hours or even minutes. LifeWatch takes this even further by integrating more than seven tests into a single smartphone available to both patients and medical staff. The benefits are huge : better preventive medicine, faster diagnostic, lower healthcare costs, and better healthcare service to rural populations. Twen ...

The Swiss foreign office has just published its status report on the contribution of Switzerland to the Eastern extension of the European Union (EU). In 2006, Switzerland decided to pour a billion francs to support to this extension. The project concerned ten new countries of the EU (2004) with a period of completion of 5 years and a period of realization of the projects which will end in June, 2017. The Co ...

According to a report from KPMG on Thursday, the aggregated profits of the 15 largest European banks reached 62 billion euros last year, against 84 billion in 2010. New financial obligations which take effect from 2013, require banks to strengthen their capital ratios. Concerning their exposure to Greece, the fifteen banks in the study wrote off 9.5 billion euros. According to the KPMG 2011 annual report, " ...

The shortage of teachers is forcing  Swiss cantons to find new ways of trainign them. In the future, qualified people from other professions will have access to teacher training colleges. People  wishing to retrain in teaching must be aged at least 30 and have  at least three years professional experience. Previously, one way to get into teaching was by having a 'maturité professionnelle' and additional qua ...

Bank employees and the Swiss Association of Bank Employees (ASEB) are mobilizing for their own protection. With at least eleven Swiss banks being in the sights of the American federal authorities it would seem that these establishments transmitted confidential information on their employees to the American authorities, with the agreement of Bern. ASEB has adopted a resolution supporting these employees, sug ...

Europe’s crisis As is well known, slow growth, low competitiveness, excessive public debt, large fiscal deficits and the American crisis have been the catalysts that have caused the European crisis. Europe is facing problems of competitiveness. It is expensive to produce here and therefore compete with other countries in foreign markets. The currency is the biggest problem. European member countries have a ...

The 'Déclaration de Berne' has unveiled its investigation concerning the sector of work clothes. 50 % of the working population in Switzerland wears work clothes, a significant proportion of which is bought by public institutions. These clothes are actually made in Europe, in Macedonia to be precise, by needleworkers paid CHF 0.70 per hour. It is worth noting that in the Republic of Macedonia, the differenc ...

Switzerland can still improve its free bicycle hire service, with  Lausanne and  Bienne rated as providing a "good"  service while Lugano scored an "adequate".  The criteria used to decide between the 40 cities in the TCS study include the bike quality, the accessibility of the scheme and the information available for tourists. According to TCS, the Swiss schemes have several weak points. Bike rental is onl ...

The group 'Outraged', born in May 2011 out of exasperation with the crisis, marched for two hours at the weekend to denounce corruption and the inability of politicians to lift Spain out of crisis. Posters were put up on every branch of Bankia reading, "This bank deceives, defrauds and throws people out in the street," referring to property repossessions affecting owners unable to pay off their loans and to ...

‘Free IT and Business Model’, were the themes of this conference organized in Paudex, at the Employers' Center, on Tuesday, June 5th, 2012. You will find below a summary of the issues addressed by the two speakers. Lionel Lourdin is a CEO and co-organizer of the 13th Global Open Source Meetings which will be held in Geneva from 7 to 12 July 2012. This young businessman made a presentation on ‘The Economics ...

          The “Déclaration de Berne“Association handed over a petition signed by 135 285 people to Parliament on 13 May.   The signatories are demanding that members of Parliament oblige companies which have their headquarters in Switzerland to respect human rights and environmental standards around the world. Between 2003 and 2009, 269 foreign companies moved their central or regio ...

ArcelorMittal , the steel giant, will have to pay $ 25.325 million to Elijah Turley, one of its employees, following a three week long trial in which the man spoke of the bullying and racist harassment which targetted him from 2005 to 2008. Sometimes called a "monkey" by other employees, he also saw the letters "KKK" - for Ku Klux Klan - written in the factory. "I find it unbelievable that law has to deal w ...

The Philias foundation has just published a press release concerning the "1+Pour Tous "certification. The aim of this free certification, created in partnership with the Government, Philias and other economic partners, is to recognise companies which hire long-term unemployed people. On 3 May of this year, the first six certified companies were unveiled: La Boucherie du Palais, Gastromer, Genilem, René Jung ...

According to a study by the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce and the Boston Consulting Group released on Tuesday, the attraction of the cantons of Vaud and Geneva for multinationals is diminishing. In both cantons, the multinational companies created two thirds of all new jobs between 2000 and 2010 and contributed to 67% of GDP growth in Geneva and 63% in the canton of Vaud. A strong franc has reduced the ...

The unemployment rate in May fell to 3% in Switzerland, compared to 3.1% in April. At the end of last month, 118 860 people were registered with the  regional employment centres (ORP), meaning there was a decrease in the number of unemployed of 4 298 in one month, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (SECO). However, in relation to May 2011, unemployment rose by 4 716 people (3.6%), explained SECO ...

In 2011, KPMG  published a survey called, 'Profile of a Fraudster'. For Switzerland, the typical profile is that of a middle aged man working as a manager in a finance related role who has over five years experience in the same company. In 2010, losses for Swiss companies were CHF 365 million. So, keep your eyes open! (http://www.kpmg.com/CH/en/Library/Articles-Publications/Documents/Advisory/ppt_20110615_m ...

Thursday, May 31 at 18:30, The Centre for the Study of Economic Geneva organized a conference on the theme of corporate finance. This event took place in the new office of the FAE (www.fae-ge.ch) at Plan les Ouates. The CEO, Serge Nouara and his attorney Frederick Levet,  presented the various financing solutions for companies to improve their cashflow or develop new opportunities. Their aim: "Maintaining a ...

The new law on grants and student loans has been effective since 1 June. Charles Beer, Head of the Department of Education, explained the main changes as being to the methods of calculation and to the different amounts depending on whether students are in the normal education system or doing an apprenticeship. According to the representative of the Government of Geneva, "One system and one Law are applicabl ...

Migros and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have just launched their 'green' contest for 'young' companies. The idea is to find a way to produce our goods while best preserving our limited resources. The winner, who will be chosen by Internet users starting on June 25th, will be rewarded with a prize of 30 000CHF as well as the opportunity to work for a year with the HUB in Zurich. The HUB is a 'global ...

The parent company of Bankia, Banco Financiero y de Ahorro (BFA), announced  yesterday  revised losses of 3.318 billion euros in 2011, in a report addressed to the Spanish stock exchange authorities. BFA was born from the merger of seven savings banks and owns 52.4% of Bankia. BFA attributed 1.561 billion euros of its losses to its stake in Bankia which had earlier announced its own losses of 2.979 billion ...

The Union Travail.Suisse  has published the results of an enquiry into the amount of paternity leave given to public employees. According to the survey, public employers are increasingly listening to the needs of their employees who have dependents with local regulations often being more generous than those required by law. For example, some offer 16 to 18 weeks maternity leave on full pay compared to the l ...

The International Labour Organisation (I.L.O) has sounded the alarm - 75 million young people aged between 15 and 25 years of age are unemployed. According to the ILO, 12.7% of young people will be unemployed in the world this year, four million more than before the crisis began in 2007. The unemployment rate is not expected to decrease until 2016. If you  take into account those who have  abandoned  or pos ...

European managers who use Facebook amongst others, believe they can improve business productivity by almost 20% The survey, conducted by Millward Brown for Google and published earlier this week,  focussed on the professional use of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Linkedln. 2700 employees in seven European counties were interviewed. It shows that managers are enthusiastic about these netw ...

The Geneva-based inspection, verification, testing and certification group SGS  has announced the acquisition of Vitrology LTD, a biopharmaceutical contract testing company based in Glasgow, Scotland. Vitrology is involved in laboratory testing in various fields including virology, cells, molecular biology as well as in electronic microscopy. The value of the transaction has not been revealed, however Vitro ...

Lufthansa's restructuring plan could affect Switzerland. According to the German newspaper 'SonntagsZeitung' the leading airline group in Europe is expected to announce a big reduction in its staff, with 276 posts being lost in the technical division based at Bâle-Mulhouse airport. According to Mr. Philipp Hadorn, President of the SEV-Gata trade union, discussions have not been promising and these redundanc ...

Holcim, the world’s second largest cement-maker, announced on Monday a series of measures it said would increase its 2014 operating profit by CHF1.5 billion compared to 2011 levels, through improved cost controls and other programs. “I am confident that we will achieve these targets,” Holcim CEO Bernard Fontana said in a press release. “At least CHF 150 million positive impact will be achieved in 2012,” he ...

Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers have begun a 24 hour strike over proposed changes to pension plans. The plans include increasing the retirement age to 68 to match the state pension age while changing from a final-salary pension scheme to a lower average career-earnings based one. Union leaders claim up to 400 000 workers will stay away from work today, whilst the Government puts the figure at ...

The World’s number one staffing solutions agency saw its net profits rise by 12% over the first three months of 2011, to 112 million euros. One of its main competitors, Randstad, revealed a 27% reduction in net profits for the same period in April of this year. Turnover at Adecco also increased 2% to 5 035 billion euros in a better than expected performance. “We started well in 2012” says the COE Mr. Patric ...

Nestlé is going to build a new factory in Romont. With an investment of 300 million Swiss francs, this will lead to the creation of 400 posts. According to a joint press release from Nestlé and the Fribourg government, work on the site will begin at the end of this year and it will be operational by June 2015. With this new factory Nestlé will respond to increased customer demand.  Last year, the company ha ...

U.B.S. has announced a net profit of 827 million Swiss francs for the first quarter of 2012, or a figure 54% less than in the same period last year. Compared to the 4th quarter of 2011 and the 319 million Swiss francs of profit recorded, the result for 2012 shows strong growth.  However, the performance in the first three months of 2012 was adversely affected by several factors. The number one Swiss bank be ...

“Ready, steady, you are fired"  A group of unemployed people have just celebrated the “First Olympic Games for the unemployed”. The event was organized in New York with some forty people participating in events such as mobile phone throwing and the "Race to unemployment". The main objective of this gathering was to create new networks and help improve their motivation to finally find a new job. Source:   te ...

Spain has recorded the highest unemployment rate since records began in 1996. According to the National Institute of Statistics (I.N.E.), the number of people without work has reached 24.44%,  or 5 639 500 people. Spain has fallen back into recession and the unemployment situation is worsening with 374 000 more people losing their jobs in the first quarter of 2012. This is bad news for the new Government of ...

The Geneva-based luxury group Richemont plans to build a production unit based in Val-de-Travers, Neuchâtel for the jewelery brand Cartier. This would create about 400 new jobs. According to Yvan Ansermoz from Richemont's real-estate departement, if all goes well, the construction for the new site should begin this Autumn and the hiring process in Summer 2014. Last summer, the same luxury group announced th ...

Richemont, the Geneva-based luxury watchmaking group, has announced that a new site in Meyrin will welcome more than 900 employees by 2020. The Départment de l’Instruction Publique (DIP) will collaborate with Richemont in order to help establish the 'Campus Genevois de Haute Horlogerie'. The Assistant General Director of Richemont, Mr. Richard Lepeu, stressed the necessity of the company being engaged in th ...

Imminent for some, and way too far ahead for others, but we will all have to retire, and those who do not prepare can face many difficulties, especially in times of crisis. According to Pierre Zumwald, general director of Rentes Genevoises, an asset management institution,  here are some tips that could help you prepare for your retirement: 1. Start preparing for it now. 2. Make a plan, and ask yourself fou ...

German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Merck KGaA announced today it would be closing the Swiss headquarters of its Merck Serono drug making division, eliminating some 500 jobs as part of “planned efficiency measures”, it said in a press release Tuesday. The company said the move was “to eliminate existing duplications of functions resulting from maintaining two European headquarters” in Geneva, Switzerla ...

Nestle first quarter sales grew by 5.6 percent year on year to 21.389 billion Swiss francs,  pushed by strong results in emerging markets, the world’s biggest food and drink maker said Friday. “In many developed markets, where consumer confidence is low, the trading environment is subdued,” Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke said in a press release. However, “in most emerging markets, conditions remain dynamic and rich ...

You have certainly visited Google’s homepage at least once, and noticed the special designs that celebrate famous people and historic events, called “Doodles”. Well, now is the chance to become a Doodler yourself! The world’s biggest search engine is now adding a Graphic Designer / Illustrator to its team. According to the job description posted on Google Jobs, the future lucky Doodler needs at least four y ...

Swiss greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise in 2010, the government said Tuesday, making it increasingly unlikely for the country to reach its targeted eight percent reduction in 2012 emissions compared to 1990 levels. According to a press release from the Swiss Ministry of the Environment, 2010 emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and four other greenhouse gases rose 3.4 percent compared to 2009, to r ...