ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss dental implants maker Straumann (STMN.S: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is buying a 49 percent stake in Brazil’s Neodent for 260 million Swiss francs ($277 million), a pricey attempt to expand in a booming market for cosmetic surgery and offset sluggish demand in Europe.

Cosmetic dental surgery is already widespread in Latin America and Straumann expects a growing middle class to splash more cash on their teeth.

An estimated two million dental implants were sold in Brazil in 2011, which makes it the second largest market by volume after the United States. That contrasts with Europe, where austerity-hit consumers have been putting off expensive dental treatments which are generally not reimbursed by insurers.

“With this acquisition … Straumann can unlock the full potential of the South American markets,” Straumann President and Chief Executive Beat Spalinger said in a statement.

Analysts said the deal was pricey, but made sense.

“(The) acquisition of Neodent is expensive, but the step to increase exposure to emerging markets through a distinguished value player is the right one,” said Vontobel analyst Carla Baenziger.

Shares in Straumann were trading up 2.9 percent at 150.90 Swiss francs by 5:20 a.m. EDT, compared to a slightly negative European healthcare sector index .

NEUCHATEL, Switzerland, May 14 (Reuters) – Andrew I-Jen Chen swapped a career crunching numbers at French bank BNP Paribas to take up an apprenticeship at one of Switzerland’s most prestigious watchmaking schools.

He is one of a growing number of people attracted to a career in horology as Swiss watch firms vie for staff to meet buoyant Asian demand for high-end timepieces and to fill the hole left when industry heavyweight Swatch decided to cut the volume of mechanical watch parts it sells to others.

“In banking you just sit there working with numbers that don’t mean anything,” the 29-year-old from Taiwan said as he turned a hand lathe to painstakingly cut the tip of an axle, a

component used in the balance wheel, which makes a watch tick.

Legislation to tighten the rules on what can be called a Swiss made product also means that watch companies are ploughing millions into new factories at a time when many Swiss firms are thinking of moving production abroad.

Exports of Swiss timepieces soared 19 percent to a record 19.3 billion Swiss francs ($20.8 billion) last year, rebounding from the 13.2 billion low hit in 2009 in the depths of the financial crisis.

This feat was achieved despite the handbrake of the Swiss franc, which rocketed from one record high to another as investors sought safety from the euro zone’s debt troubles, pushing a third of mechanical and electrical engineering firms into the red.

ZURICH, May 14 (Reuters) – Holcim, the world’s second-largest cement maker, facing surging energy costs and weak demand in Europe, plans to cut costs and improve efficiency to boost profits by at least 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.62 billion) by the end of 2014.

The Swiss company’s cost-cutting drive, which could also include some asset sales, follows a tough first quarter for the world’s big cement-makers, which are battling soaring fuel costs and sluggish European markets.

Holcim and rivals Lafarge, HeidelbergCement and Mexico’s Cemex have been trying to offset the surge in electricity, coal and oil costs through higher prices for their products.

Holcim is now taking action on costs too.

Under its efficiency programme, the Swiss company plans to cut logistics costs, reduce working capital and improve energy efficiency by increasing the use of alternate fuels.

Holcim also said it could make some selective divestments.

Chief Executive Bernard Fontana said the programme would add at least 150 million Swiss francs to operating profit in 2012. The company anticipates the savings plan will cost 200 million Swiss francs to complete.

ZURICH, May 9 (Reuters) – European builders are pinning their hopes on the U.S. after severe weather, rising fuel costs and cutbacks in domestic public spending projects conspired to bash first quarter volumes and profit.

The world’s second largest cement maker Holcim said sales of cement, aggregates, ready mix concrete and asphalt all dropped by double digits across the region and net profit after minorities was 10 million Swiss francs ($10.82 million), well short of an average forecast for 41.2 million.

Wienerberger, the world’s largest brickmaker, swung to a net loss after tax of 50.1 million euros ($65.1 million) in the first quarter, as cold and snowy weather depressed volumes.

“The harsh winter brought many construction sites in Western and Eastern Europe to a temporary standstill in February,” Holcim Chief Executive Bernard Fontana told reporters.

In contrast, both companies highlighted the relatively mild winter in the U.S. as giving rise for cautious optimism about the region’s prospects.

“I assume U.S. new residential construction has bottomed out and see stable to slightly positive development this year,” Wienerberger Chief Executive Heimo Scheuch said in a statement.

“However, I do not want to appear too euphoric despite the improvement in volumes during recent months because the effects of the mild weather on demand for building materials in the USA are not clear,” he said.

ZURICH, May 8 (Reuters) – Adecco, the world’s largest staffing company, pledged to keep a firm grip on costs as it grapples with weak demand in parts of Europe.

The Swiss company on Tuesday beat first-quarter profit forecasts as robust results in North America and Germany helped offset weakness in its biggest market, France.

Adecco, which is providing staff for the London 2012 Olympics, said it expects conditions in Europe to remain tough and is prepared to cut costs.

“For us, more important than growth for the full year is a clear commitment to focus on disciplined pricing and taking out measures on the cost side when needed,” Chief Financial Officer Dominik de Daniel told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Dutch Rival Randstad has warned of uncertain developments in Europe, while U.S. competitor ManpowerGroup Inc forecast a double-digit decline in Southern Europe in the second quarter.

Unemployment in the euro zone equaled a 15-year high in March with a slump in factory activity and worsening business sentiment suggesting no let-up in the number of job losses soon.

De Maeseneire said Adecco was gaining market share in Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, and Austria while southern Europe was experiencing a slowdown.

ZURICH, May 8 (Reuters) – Adecco, the world’s largest staffing company, pledged to keep a firm grip on costs as it grapples with weak demand in parts of Europe.

The Swiss company on Tuesday beat first-quarter profit forecasts as robust results in North America and Germany helped offset weakness in its biggest market, France.

Adecco, which is providing staff for the London 2012 Olympics, said it expects conditions in Europe to remain tough and is prepared to cut costs.

“For us, more important than growth for the full year is a clear commitment to focus on disciplined pricing and taking out measures on the cost side when needed,” Chief Financial Officer Dominik de Daniel told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Dutch Rival Randstad has warned of uncertain developments in Europe, while U.S. competitor ManpowerGroup Inc forecast a double-digit decline in Southern Europe in the second quarter.

Unemployment in the euro zone equaled a 15-year high in March with a slump in factory activity and worsening business sentiment suggesting no let-up in the number of job losses soon.

De Maeseneire said Adecco was gaining market share in Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, and Austria while southern Europe was experiencing a slowdown.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Europe’s biggest biotech company Actelion said it would only return to earnings growth in 2014, later than analysts expect, as new medicines and cost cuts would take time to offset falling sales of a key heart and lung drug.

The Swiss group, which received a boost last week from positive trial results of a new generation heart and lung disease treatment, said on Tuesday it expected stable core earnings in 2013 in local currencies, followed by a return to growth in 2014 and double digit percentage growth in 2015.

Actelion has already forecast flat core earnings in 2012 as it braces for a decline in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Tracleer, which accounts for around 90 percent of group sales, but which goes off patent in 2015 and faces growing competition from Gilead’s rival treatment Letairis.

“Current consensus and we also were expecting growth as soon as 2013 and beyond of about 10-12 percent. Hence we expect expectations to be cut but by about 10 percent following today’s announcement,” said Vontobel analyst Andrew Weiss.

Shares in Actelion, which jumped 18 percent after the data on new PAH drug macitentan were released last week, were down 4.1 percent at 38.35 Swiss francs by 0745 GMT. [ID:nL5E8FU0GW]

The decline was exacerbated by the stock going ex-dividend, meaning buyers will now not qualify for a 0.8 franc payout.

Actelion said its priority was to expand its leadership in the market for treating PAH, with its pipeline in immunomodulation and antibiotics a second focus.

VIENNA/ST GALLEN, Switzerland (Reuters) – The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council put pressure on Iran on Thursday to allay international concern about its nuclear program, and said they expected talks with Tehran to lead to concrete steps toward a negotiated solution.

Iran and major powers resumed talks in mid-April in Istanbul after more than a year – a chance to ease tension and help to avert the threat of a new Middle East war. They are to meet again on May 23 in Baghdad.

In a joint statement issued at a nuclear conference in Vienna, the United States, France, Russia, China and Britain pressed Tehran to agree urgently with the U.N. nuclear watchdog on access to “relevant sites and information”.

“We remain concerned by Iran’s persistent failure to comply with its obligations under UNSC (U.N. Security Council) resolutions,” the statement said, referring to repeated demands that Tehran curb its disputed nuclear program.

The West says Iran’s nuclear work is a cover for developing atomic bombs and wants verifiable assurances to the contrary from Tehran – for example, by accepting much more intrusive U.N. nuclear inspections and limiting its enrichment capacity.

Iran denies having a weapons agenda, saying it is enriching uranium solely for peaceful energy purposes.

Western diplomats say Iran appears to be stonewalling a request by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for access to a key military site, Parchin, where it believes military-related nuclear research may have taken place.

LONDON/ZUG, Switzerland (Reuters) – Miner Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sought to win over waverers to the merits of its $39 billion takeover by commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), telling shareholders to back the “fair and reasonable” offer even as investors flexed their muscles by expressing opposition to its pay plan.

The structure of the deal, which requires at least 75 percent of shareholders excluding Glencore to approve it, means opposition from investors representing just over 16.5 percent of Xstrata’s total shareholding would be enough to derail it.

Industry analysts believe the deal will ultimately succeed but Xstrata nevertheless faced a taste of opposition from a subdued crowd of investors, as 36.5 percent of those voting rejected its pay plan, up from a hefty 31.7 percent no vote last year.

Including shares withheld, 39 percent failed to back the plan.

Mick Davis, Xstrata’s chief executive, is one of the best paid top executives in the FTSE 100, taking home $5.4 million pounds last year in salary, cash bonus and benefits – excluding long-term incentives, deferred bonuses and retirement benefits that could more than triple that if he hits set targets.

Davis has agreed to forgo a “change of control package” that would normally have been triggered by the takeover, but he is still expected to get a hefty shares package to ensure he stays on after the deal, a potential flashpoint for opponents to the merger.

The package is expected to be detailed in a circular to shareholders due later this month.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss engineer ABB (ABBN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is banking on a recovery in North America to offset a weaker China and austerity-ravaged southern Europe after first-quarter orders beat expectations.

Strong demand for power equipment in North America helped to drive first-quarter orders of $10.4 billion, compared with a forecast for $10.1 billion in a Reuters poll.

Orders in Asia, however, fell 11 percent year-on-year, dragged down by weaker demand in Chinese construction and rail transportation markets. Softness in the Mediterranean also weighed on orders in Europe, which slipped 5 percent.

“North America continues to look positive on both the power and automation front, while China remains an open question as far as the timing of new investments in key sectors for ABB like construction,” chief executive Joe Hogan told a news conference.

Surveys earlier this week showed European factories had their worst month in April since June 2009, while China showed some improvement after a muted start to the year. The United States has been faring better, but surprisingly weak jobs data last week raised fears this may not continue.

Chief financial officer Michel Demare said he expected a faster recovery in China’s industrial sector, although a question mark still hung over the timing of a rebound in the key nuclear, construction and rail transportation segments where ABB sells high margin products like switches and circuit breakers.

Shares in ABB were down 3.3 percent by 1248 GMT, compared with a 0.8 percent firmer European industrial goods and services sector index .