ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss drugs industry supplier Lonza (LONN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (LONZ.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) kicked out chief executive Stefan Borgas after profits for 2011 plunged by a third and said 2012 was set to pose further challenges because of the difficulties faced by pharmaceutical firms.

The Basel-based group, which is battling currency headwinds and volatile raw material prices, said the board took the decision to replace Borgas in the last 48 hours.

GENEVA, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Swatch Group’s
decision to lower watch part supplies to rival watchmakers this
year has already impacted the industry, forcing some brands to
hold back production and others to scramble for alternatives,
executives told a fair this week.

The outlook for 2012 might be more gloomy than it was for
2011 but the Swiss watch industry is enjoying record demand,
having recovered much faster than expected from the 2008/2009
downturn, putting unprecedented pressure on its production base.

ZURICH, Jan 16 (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank
(SNB) is seeking a new board member to help decide policy on
interest rates and how far to limit the strength of the
safe-haven franc after Philipp Hildebrand resigned as chairman
over a currency trade made by his wife.

The bank’s supervisory council apparently forced Hildebrand
to step down after emails failed to clear him of involvement in
the deal.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Christoph Blocher, mastermind of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), has crowed over his role in bringing down long-term adversary Philipp Hildebrand as central bank chief, but his aggressive tactics could backfire and cost him votes.

Swiss National Bank Chairman Hildebrand was forced to step down on Monday, after emails cast doubt on his earlier claims not to have known about a big dollar trade made by his wife Kashya weeks before he imposed a cap on the soaring Swiss franc.

ZURICH, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Swatch Group, the
world’s largest watchmaker, shrugged off the impact of the
strong Swiss franc to post record sales in 2011 and said it is
confident of more growth in 2012.

The group, which is best known for its colourful plastic
Swatch watches, said on Tuesday sales rose 21.7 percent at
constant rates in 2011 compared with the previous year to a new
record of 7.143 billion Swiss francs ($7.50 billion).

BERNE, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Swiss central bank chief
Philipp Hildebrand resigned on Monday in the face of growing
criticism of a controversial currency trade made by his wife in
August.

Hildebrand’s decision to relinquish one of the top 10 central
banking jobs in the world, came as Swiss parliamentarians met to
discuss the scandal, which erupted last week after Sarasin bank
sacked an employee who leaked details of the trade to a
political rival.

BERNE, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Swiss central bank chief
Philipp Hildebrand resigned on Monday in the face of growing
criticism of a controversial currency trade made by his wife in
August.

His resignation came as he prepared to face Swiss
parliamentarians in the aftermath of the scandal, and as the
bank employee sacked for leaking news of the trade was
reportedly committed to a psychiatric clinic after a suicide
attempt.

BERNE (Reuters) – Swiss central bank chief Philipp Hildebrand resigned on Monday in the face of growing criticism of a controversial currency trade made by his wife in August.

His resignation came as he prepared to face Swiss parliamentarians in the aftermath of the scandal, and as the bank employee sacked for leaking news of the trade was reportedly committed to a psychiatric clinic after a suicide attempt.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Embattled Swiss National Bank Chief Philipp Hildebrand faces a grilling by a parliamentary committee on Monday about a controversial currency trade made by his wife three weeks before he imposed a cap on the soaring Swiss franc.

Hildebrand has been fighting allegations of wrongdoing after an employee of the bank used by his family leaked details of the trade to the lawyer of a political adversary.

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said on Saturday it would review its internal rules governing own-transactions made by board members as it seeks to clean up its image following a trading scandal centered on its chief.

The SNB has come under pressure to shake up its internal ethics codes after an employee of Swiss bank Sarasin leaked information that the wife of SNB chief Philipp Hildebrand had bought dollars weeks before he imposed a cap on the Swiss franc.