Search Results for: Switzerland

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

IN an economic climate where industries are trying to cut costs left and right, it only makes sense that the converting industry at large – a key element of many manufacturing sectors – has been raising the bar when it comes to waste handling and recycling.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WINNERS

VF

In one of 2011’s biggest deals, US-based VF announced its plans to buy major footwear brand Timberland in a US$2bn takeover. As well as boosting earnings by US$700m a year, the purchase would leverage VF platforms in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and boost e-commerce operations.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched a detailed anti-trust investigation into concerns that US-based Johnson & Johnson may have paid the generic branches of Switzerland’s Novartis to hinder the sale of generic versions of pain killer Fentanyl in the Netherlands.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE LEADING powers of the automotive industry worldwide have agreed to attempt forging common technical standards for the still evolving electric car sector. An agreement struck today (Thursday) in Geneva, Switzerland, will see the United States working with the European Union (EU) and Japan within two working parties: their goal is to write a formal global technical regulation (or regulations) on electric cars by 2014 and debate informal standardization.…

BY JILL LANGLOIS, IN SÃO PAULO

BRAZIL’S dyeing and finishing sector is working hard to maintain a commercial edge – especially through environmental good practice – while its key market, the Brazilian textile industry, faces some tough times.

Foreign competition, weak international branding and unhelpful Brazilian government regulations are weakening the textile sector in Brazil: "The industry’s deficit will hit a record USD5 billion [last] year [2011] – we’ve already had to cut 19,000 jobs…" said Aguinaldo Diniz Filho, president of the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ABIT).…

BY ALAN OSBORN

HAS the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) taken on more than it can handle at present? In proposing that tax crimes be made a predicate offence for money laundering as part of its reform of its 40+9 Recommendations, the FATF has picked a fight with a number of heavyweights in the sector and may have a real struggle on its hands.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE WESTERN financial system is undergoing profound change, of weakened trust in the sector, heightened tax regulations, pressure to curb banking secrecy and tougher regulatory compliance. As a result, the owners of legal and extra-legal capital who are looking for a safe haven for their money are starting to consider destinations outside the established offshore jurisdictions – the less regulated financial centres of the Middle East and Asia.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

BETWEEN rising costs for raw materials and a global push towards more environmentally-friendly production, label converters and equipment manufacturers are becoming increasingly focused on getting things done right the first time; and getting them done quickly, at that.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

The recent 100% acquisition of UK voice and data communications company Airwave Solutions by Australian-based banking group Macquarie Group is the latest example of an investment company taking over a telco, writes MJ Deschamps. The Australian group’s Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund II (MEIF II) already owned just over 50% of Airwave, and is now buying all the stock.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS and KEITH NUTHALL

AFTER three years of painstaking scientific work, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has finished assessing 2,758 health claims made by European Union (EU) food manufacturers about their products.

The companies appear not to have covered themselves in glory.…