ZURICH, Nov 21 (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank
(SNB) told Switzerland’s cantons on Monday they might not
receive their customary dividend as the central bank tries to
shore up its balance sheet after racking up record losses in
2010 to try and stop the franc soaring.

Under its new framework agreed with the finance ministry,
the SNB said it would reduce its annual payout to the federal
government and Switzerland’s 26 cantons to 1 billion Swiss
francs ($1.1 bln), if and when it posts a big enough profit.

ZURICH, Nov 17 (Reuters) – A Swiss court on Thursday
said it lacked clear evidence to rule on an appeal by a former
Swiss banker turned WikiLeaks whistleblower against his
conviction for breaching Switzerland’s strict banking secrecy
after he revealed private client data.

Rudolf Elmer, who worked at the Cayman Islands branch of
Swiss private bank Julius Baer until he was fired in
2002, helped bring WikiLeaks to prominence when he used the data
to publish bank documents to expose tax evasion.

BERNE, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Swiss firms in the
electrical, machinery and metals sectors are bracing for a tough
first half of 2012 as the strong franc and a darkening economic
outlook eat into margins, industry group Swissmem said,
reiterating its call for a weaker currency.

New orders from companies in the three sectors (MEM) fell
4.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, with
exports down 2.2 percent, the lobby group said on Tuesday. That
was despite export prices falling by 4.8 percent in
the first nine months of the year, it said.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Employers burned by the cost of laying off workers in the last crisis are uneasy about taking on permanent staff amid faltering economic growth putting pressure on the current workforce, a staffing industry executive said on Thursday.

Demand for temporary workers often acts as a leading indicator for overall economic growth, as firms hire flexible workers at the start of a recovery and cut staff ahead of a downturn.

ZURICH, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Swiss cement maker Holcim
and Austrian brick maker Wienerberger were
upbeat about prospects on Thursday as construction growth in
emerging markets helps offset weaker demand in debt-mired Europe
and the United States.

Faltering economic growth has weighed on the construction
industry, with the STOXX 600 European Construction and Materials
index losing around a fifth so far this year.

ZURICH, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Holcim , the world’s
second largest cement maker, posted a 34.5 percent in third
quarter net profit as price hikes failed to offset rising energy
costs and the strong Swiss franc.

Faltering economic growth has weighed on the construction
industry, and energy-hungry cement makers have also had to
grapple with high oil prices and cost inflation in emerging
markets such as India.

LONDON/ZURICH, Nov 4 (Reuters) – A week of high drama in the
euro zone has left Europe’s business leaders bewildered and
fearful the unresolved crisis will tip the continent back into
recession.

“At a certain point you just get post-traumatic stress
syndrome where everything is numb,” said Joe Hogan, chief
executive of Swiss engineering group ABB .

ZURICH, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Swiss engineering group ABB
set out higher medium-term margin targets on Friday
and said it was looking for acquisitions, as it aims to outpace
economic and market growth until 2015.

ABB, which makes products used by oil, mining and utility
companies, is banking on higher demand for green technology as
governments replace ageing power networks and high oil prices
make power-saving technologies more attractive.

ZURICH, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Swiss specialty chemicals maker
Clariant said it expected a further slowdown in
economic activity as customers in its plastic and coatings
businesses run down stocks, after the strong Swiss franc weighed
on third-quarter profit.

Clariant, whose products put colour into plastics, said on
Monday that sales in the third quarter rose 25 percent in local
currencies to 1.865 billion Swiss francs, slightly better than
the average forecast in a Reuters poll.

ZURICH, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Swiss engineer ABB said
a murky economic outlook made near-term forecasting challenging
as it unveiled weaker-than expected third-quarter results, due
to a slowdown in its early-cycle business.

Still, ABB is upbeat about long-term prospects as a global
push to use energy more efficiently is set to drive demand for
its products.