[Update] Trade surplus: Swiss exports surpass imports

Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Good news for the Swiss economy: Exports surpassed imports during the first half of 2008 leaving a trade surplus of almost 10 billion Swiss francs. The surplus reflects an increase of 7.5 per cent of exports in comparison to a growth of only 4.7 per cent of imports. According to figures released by the Federal Customs Administration during the past six months the Swiss trade surplus jumped 44.8 per cent compared to 2007. In June 2008 alone, exports amounted to more than 18 billion and imports stood at around 16 billion.

[Update] Swiss arms exports also shows an increase of more than 63 per cent during the first half of the year, with 44 million francs going to Denmark and a defence system sold to Pakistan. Additional details in TSR and Swissinfo.

Encrypted email an option for ultra secret communication

Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss technology is now providing customers with an electronic alternative to registered mail. Emails with sensitive information can be encrypted and sent to someone who will need a code to view it, thus avoiding third parties from reading it.

Picture @ Die Schweizerische Post

The Swiss Post uses a web-based alternative linked to your mobile phone number called IncaMail 2.0. The postal agency says the service uses web-based Swiss cryptotechnology that does not require additional software. If required, the Post provides the sender with dispatch time confirmation, downloading of the electronic letter with a digitally-signed postal receipt and postal certificate (digital ID and electronic signature of Swiss Post).

Additional information: World Radio Switzerland carries an interview with the CEO of IncaMail on the new technology.

Number of babies born in Switzerland increases but not enough

Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The number of births in Switzerland has increased to its highest number in six years. According to federal figures released by the Statistics Federal Office, 74,500 children were born making 2007 the year with the highest number of births since 2001. Although these are good news, Switzerland still has a very low birth rate of less than two children per woman. 

The report also shows that "moms" are much older than before. Women 35 and older were the largest group giving birth in the Confederation. By contrast, the number of women under 30 years of age giving birth has decreased. The number of out-of-wedlock births has significantly increased in the past ten years although the rate is still one of the lowest in Europe.

Other interesting statistics presented in the report:

• Men say "I do", exactly 71 per cent, more than women when it comes to same-sex domestic partnerships in Switzerland.
• There was a slight increase, 1.6 per cent, in the number of marriages.
• The number of divorces decreased 5.2 per cent in 2007.

Novartis moves to acquire Speedel

Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Major Speedel shareholders have entered into a binding agreement to sell 51 percent of shares to Novartis, which plans to fully acquire its biotech partner.

Novartis is offering the same price in cash, CHF130 per share, to the remaining shareholders. That is a 94 percent increase over Wednesday's close. Novartis estimates the total of the acquisition at CHF907 million, or $880 million. Speedel's board of directors is evaluating the bid and will make a decision within the next 10 days.

With the acquisition, Novartis plans to speed up the development of Rasilez (as it is known in the US)/Tekturna (as it is known in Europe), a drug for the treatment of heart failure.

Resources of the week: online shopping, media, wakeboarding

GenevaLunch never stops growing! Our resources page is filled with useful links. This week, we update our listing to bring you more of the best web addresses that can save you time, money and can help you expand your horizons and reduce your waste-line.

Bon a savoir
Consumer rights magazine provides advice on a good range of topics for consumers in Switzerland. In French only. Current issue: vacation tips, including easy to use ConvertWorld site (here, for English).

Current Concerns
Swiss-based international journal that promotes, through op-eds, public international law, human rights and humanitarian law. In English, French, German and a smaller section in Spanish.

easyWaterski.com
Waterski and wakeboard camps in neighbouring France. Based in Versoix, Switzerland, it advertises the cheapest courses around. Instruction in English possible. Open house 7-12 July.

Read about other great GenevaLunch RESOURCES. Send us your favourite and we'll consider including it.

[Update] Colombian gov't demands Geneva envoy explanation

Updated, 10:35

Daniel Vasella, head of Novartis, Monday denied Colombian government  reports that link Gontard to Farc money. Speaking to RSR, Swiss public radio, he says Gontard was only a "diplomatic intermediary" when two Novartis employees, held hostage by Farc, were liberated.

Bogota, Colombia (GenevaLunch) - A humanitarian expert from Geneva is at the centre of a scandal surrounding the Colombian Marxist-guerilla group, Farc. According to intelligence reports cited in Colombia, a Swiss envoy identified as Jean-Pierre Gontard carried hundreds of thousand of dollars belonging to the armed group.

Photo, Jean-Pierre Gontard & Farc's leader Guillermo Cano @ ElEspectador.com

Gontard, who is associated with The Graduate Institute for Development Studies (IUED) in Geneva, is being linked by the Colombian government to almost  US$500,000 seized from the Farc in Costa Rica. Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos stated: "All I'm saying is that, that gentleman, Gontard, is going to have to explain why he appears in Raul Reyes' emails". Santos makes reference to Raul Reyes, the Farc's spokesperson and second-in-command killed recently during a Colombian military operative in Ecuador and whose laptop was confiscated. The minister refused to answer further questions.

The Swiss government reacted immediately through its ambassador in Bogota, Thomas Kupfer.  

(click on image to view larger)

In a press release printed in its entirety by "El Tiempo", Kupfer says Gontard "is not a Swiss diplomat but an external adviser of the Swiss government seeking a humanitarian agreement". Kupfer recognizes that Gontard's mission on behalf of Switzerland involves a great deal of independent work and "neither his actions nor his statements necessarily compromise the Swiss government."

Kupfer added that in 2000 Gontard successfully mediated the release of two workers of Swiss multinational Novartis who had been kidnapped in Colombia and that perhaps the money was related to a possible ransom payment. The ambassador added that the Swiss government was "unaware" if this was the case or if Gontard had participated in such a transaction. Update: Monday morning Daniel Vasella, head of Novartis, denied Columbian government reports that link Gontard to Farc money. Speaking to RSR, Swiss public radio, he says Gontard was only a "diplomatic intermediary" when the two Novartis employees were liberated.

Contrary to some reports in Geneva that cite Gontard's role in operation "check," the Swiss ambassador says Gontard did "not" play any role in the release of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages. Rather, he says, it was by sheer chance that the Swiss and French envoys were in Colombia at the time.

• Related story, 4 July: Swiss radio: Betancourt and hostages not rescued but released

Sports: Geneva ice hockey team loses player

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Current forward for the Geneva-Servette Eagles Kirby Law is leaving the Swiss team to play with the newly formed Russian Continental Hockey League.

The Canadian will play for the Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk team as of September and will no doubt play against his former teammates. The Russian squad meet the Swiss 10 August in Loeche-Les-Bains, Valais. Team manager Chris McSorley says Law is a "prolific player" but the team needs to stay competitive. "Our policy is to make a change only when it can improve the team."

Picture, Kirby Law @ gshc

How to find news, information on the Lake Geneva region

GenevaLunch is the region's best source of news and information, and we've just made it a little easier for you to find what you need: check out the lefthand column (sidebar in webspeak), where you'll now find the categories we give our articles. Select the one you want for all the features or business stories or, of course, everything on Euro 2008. Build your knowledge about life in the Lake Geneva area.

And don't forget the menu at the top of the page, with events and resources, two of our readers' favourite features, updated frequently, and each with our editor's selected "spotlight" tips.

Blogs: the menu at the top of the page takes you to a page about our blogs and if you select a blogger's name, you'll find the list of his or her posts. Life in Nyon, the traveling/working international man, food, wine, background to the news: it's all there!

FEATURE / Women mean business in the 21st century

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Women are not a minority nor should they be considered part of a diversity programme, argues Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, co-author of Why Women Mean Business. Women in the 21st century are rapidly taking their place as an integral part of the business world.

Wittenberg-Cox is CEO of 20-first, a gender consultancy company baesd in France. Her co-author, Alison Maitland, former Financial Times writer who is today an independent journalist, offers three key reasons why women are changing the face of business and with it, society. Women are now a significant  portion of the international labour pool, and six of 10 university graduates are female. They make up 50% of the work force and are 30-40% of management. Maitland notes that the management figure varies enormously between countries.

Women are also moving into the driver's seat when it comes to car and other consumer purchases: they are the decision-makers in two-thirds of car purchases in Japan and 80% of all consumer spending in the United States, says Maitland, who asks, "Are companies really grasping the role that female consumers are playing?" In the UK women aged 18-24 are the single largest group of web users on the Internet.

Maitland's third point is that women and gender balance are good for economic performance. Of the eight million new jobs created globally since 2000, six million have been filled by women. Companies with women managers and women on boards have been shown to perform better than those without, she argues.

The two authors were part of a 5 June panel discussion sponsored by GWIT (Geneva Women in International Trade) on "Why Women Mean Business." They were joined by three Lake Geneva region executives, Gianni Ciserani of Procter % Gamble, Paolo Fellin or Caterpillar and Peter Lorange, who retired at the end of March 2008 as president of IMD in Lausanne.

Photos (click on images to view larger): top - front, Peter Lorange, left to right, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Gianni Ciserani, Alison Maitland. Bottom, Paolo Fellin.

Sports: The women are ready to serve, volleyball serve, that is

Montreux, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - In anticipation of the Beijing 2008 games, six among the best women teams in the world will fight for the Montreux Volley Masters title. Italy, Cuba, China, Serbia, the Netherlands and Germany will sharpen their volleyball serve on the shores of Lake Geneva. Italy, the current European and World Cup champ comes back to Switzerland after a year's absence. China, already qualified for the Olympics, is ready to show its game.

Japan, Poland and Russia declined the invitation this year, while Brazil and USA, two Olympics favourites, prepare at home without facing any of their future opponents. According to organizers, the best way to guarantee a "high" technical quality and stir interest in the competition, is to play in a round robin format. All the teams will play each other.

Photo copyright, Daniela Tarantini, Olivier Zeller & Olivier Comment