Hydroelectric power plant in canton Valais, Switzerland
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland’s production of energy from renewable sources rose in 2010, new figures from the Federal Energy Office 30 June show.
Electricity from renewable sources, including hydroelectric power (without accumulation pumps consumption), rose by 1.2 percent for a total of 36.4 billion kWh.
Nuclear power plants currently provide 39.3 percent of the country’s energy, hydroelectric and dams 55.8 percent (TSR has several charts on Swiss energy).
Nuclear power is being phased out after the government voted last month to end it use.
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What global companies can learn from emerging markets, one of a series of Economist Conferences (15% discount for GenevaLunch readers from our media partner The Economist Group: quote GL/DC when registering):
Discover how the culture of innovation in emerging markets is creating opportunities, as well as dangers, for Western firms. Emerging markets have become the world’s innovation hotbed, producing breakthroughs in all the elements of modern business, from R&D and systems of production through to marketing, pricing and supply-chain management. They not only significantly reduce cost; they redesign entire business processes to do things better and faster than rivals in the West.
Location: Le Richmond Hotel, Jardin Brunswick, 1201 Geneva
Link out: http://eu.economistconferences.com/event/emergi…
Date: 2 Dec 2010
Start time: 8:00
End time: 17:30
Elisabeth Pasquier, Francois Murisier, Vinea's director and president, 2010
Sierre, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Vinea, a Valais-based association that was created 15 years ago to showcase the wines of Switzerland’s largest wine-producing canton, has grown into a major player in the wine world, far beyond its original Valais borders. Tuesday evening the group gave itself a new structure to better place it to educate the world about Swiss wines.
The wine business accounts for 15 percent of agricultural products, about half that of Swiss dairy products, including cheese. Agriculture is 1 percent of Swiss GDP (gross domestic product) overall, well behind industry and the service sector, which includes banking. But wine remains an important part of Swiss society, especially in French-speaking areas where vineyards often dominate the landscape.
New statutes were approved for Vinea to reflect the growing number of activities and work it does outside canton Valais. One of the country’s best-known wine experts, François Murisier, was named president of the revised association, with Elisabeth Pasquier, the former managing director, named to the new post of director.
Murisier is the former head of wine grape growing and oenology at the Swiss federal centre, Agroscope Changins-Waedenswil. He is an expert with the OIV (International Organization of Vin and Wine) and president of the scientific committee of Cervim, a mountain wines organization.
Kenya in 2009 overtook Sri Lanka as the world’s largest producer of tea, according to the government of Kenya. It says it shipped 342 million kg to 47 markets, accounting for 22 percent of world tea exports, reports AllAfrica. Sri Lanka, long the world’s top exporter of tea, sold 280m kg, according to Kenya’s Tea Board figures. Sicily Kariuki, managing director of the African country’s Tea Board, told AllAfrica that research has played a key role in rising sales, with Kenya now producing some 50 varieties of tea in seven growing regions.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Two of the three unions representing workers at Edipresse, French-speaking Switzerland’s largest media group, have told the company to start serious negotiations about the conditions for layoffs or face possible industrial action.
The unions representing the print and the technical workers rejected the company’s layoff terms, Wednesday 28 October, and demanded “serious negotiations”. The company has until noon 2 November to respond. An agreement had been reached with Impressum, the union representing journalists, but the print and production workers are reluctant to accept the terms of the layoffs.
India’s consumers have the world’s biggest sweet tooth, and are struggling with rising prices for sugar and a dramatic drop in domestic production. For 60 million Indians, sugary milky tea is the main source of carbohydrates. Poor rains in June in India and excess rains in Brazil contributed to the world sugar shortfall, estimated at nine million tonnes, in 2009. It is the second year running that demand outstrips supply. Domestic production in India dropped 43 percent to 15 million tonnes, reports Bloomberg.
The price of refined, white sugar increased four percent in trading 10 September on speculation that India, Indonesia and Pakistan were to import more sugar. The world price of sugar almost doubled in 2009. BBC, Bloomberg, Economic Times, India
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Prices for goods produced in Switzerland remained stable, down only negligibly and prices of imported goods were also stable, with only a very slight rise in July, the Swiss Statistical Office said Friday 14 August. This is the second month in a row that prices have remained stable. Prices are down 6.1 percent overall year on year, compared to July 2008, but the main reason is a significant drop in the price of oil compared to 12 months earlier.
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Pharmaceutical giant Novartis saw net sales grow 8 percent in local currencies, but slip 2 percent in US dollars in the first six months of 2009. Exchange rates had significant impact on profits, which fell by 12 percent to CHF4.32 billion, compared to the same period in 2008. Company CEO Daniel Vasella notes in the company’s press release on results that the company expects to “continue record underlying results in constant currencies.”
Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Medtronic, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of cardiac stimulators, including pacemakers, is celebrating production of its three millionth device at its Tolochenaz plant. The research centre and manufacturing plant opened in 1996-97 and the first pacemakers made in Switzerland came out in May 1997. The company added a major global training centre in 2002 at the site. Medtronic’s devices also include neurostimulators.
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Pharmaceutical company Roche is increasing its production of Tamiflu, one of two antivirals that appear to be effective against swine flu, A(H1N1), which is a new strain of flu virus type A. The company announced 12 May that it is also donating 5.65 million courses of treatment to the WHO (World Health Organization) as part of the organization’s phase 5 call for governments to step up preparations for a possible pandemic. The WHO’s official figures now show that 5,251 people have contracted the disease and 61 people have died, in four countries.
Valais, Swiss hydroelectric power
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A strong GDP (gross domestic product), larger population and leap year all contributed to a 2.3 percent increase in energy consumption in Switzerland in 2008, the federal government says. The 58.7 billion kilowatt hours set a record for annual consumption. Electricity production also set a record, up 1.6 percent, but it was unable to keep pace with consumption and Swiss electricity exports to neighbouring countries in summer were nearly halved. In winter, when Switzerland imports some electricity, the amount needed rose.
Two key figures for the Japanese economy showed serious deterioration in December 2008, with unemployment rising to 4.4% and production falling by a record 9.6%, following an 8.5% drop in November. Financial Times
