ZURICH (Reuters) – A record-high Swiss franc and soaring raw material and energy costs pummeled cement maker Holcim’s <HOLN.VX second-quarter net profit, sending its shares sharply downwards.

Holcim is struggling to offset higher coal, diesel and oil prices, which increase production and transportation costs, and is suffering from a sluggish construction recovery in North America, and high inflation in emerging markets such as India.

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank on Wednesday made fresh efforts on Wednesday to tame a runaway franc but again steered clear of direct intervention, disappointing markets that had positioned for more radical measures and sending the currency sharply higher.

The central bank said it would further boost liquidity by expanding sight deposits to 200 billion Swiss francs from 120 billion francs, and would if necessary introduce further measures.

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank made fresh efforts on Wednesday to tame a runaway franc but again steered clear of direct intervention, disappointing markets that had positioned for more radical measures and sending the currency sharply higher.

The central bank said it would further boost liquidity by expanding sight deposits to 200 billion Swiss francs from 120 billion francs, and would if necessary introduce further measures.

ZURICH (Reuters) – World No. 1 staffing company Adecco suffered a margin squeeze in the first half of 2011 as firms postponed new IT projects, particularly in the United States.

The company’s second quarter profits beat forecasts on Wednesday because companies wary of adding to their permanent headcount in uncertain times made more use of its services. Revenue rose by 11 percent.

ZURICH, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Adecco, the world’s biggest
staffing company, said it expected solid revenue growth after
second-quarter profit beat expectations, as firms seek a
flexible workforce in uncertain economic times.

Demand for temporary workers often acts as a leading
indicator for overall economic growth, as firms are wary of
adding to their permanent headcount when they are uneasy about
the direction of the global economy.

ZURICH, July 28 (Reuters) – The chief executive of Logitech
resigned on Thursday after weak trading in Europe
pushed the world’s biggest computer mouse maker to a quarterly
loss and prompted a cut in its sales outlook.

Logitech said CEO Gerald Quindlen has been replaced by
chairman Guerrino De Luca, who headed the company from
1998-2008, until a permanent candidate is found.

ZURICH, July 27 (Reuters) – Specialty chemicals maker
Clariant AG warned raw material costs would rise in the
second half after a sharp increase in the second quarter, as the
strong Swiss franc undermined earnings growth.

Net profit in the second quarter rose to 40
million Swiss francs from 25 million a year earlier, but this
was weaker than expected as the strong Swiss franc weighed.

By Caroline Copley

ZURICH (Reuters Life!) – Holidaymakers don’t come happier than 39-year-old Swiss private banker Andreas Pletscher, who has just saved 2,000 euros ($2,840) on a two-week family holiday to Greece.

Wallets stuffed with the single currency, the Swiss are shunning Alpine resorts and flocking abroad. Sovereign debt woes in the euro zone have driven the safe-haven franc up some 6 percent against the single currency so far this year, after a rise of more than 15 percent in 2010.

ZURICH, July 21 (Reuters) – Swiss engineering firm ABB
expects strong demand from emerging markets to support
growth, as revenues from its recent acquisitions helped it power
to better-than-expected profit in the second quarter.

ABB said despite rising concerns about a faltering global
economic recovery, it was confident it would see a pick-up in
its infrastructure business in the second half of the year.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The lives of half a million children in the Horn of Africa are at risk, international aid agencies said Friday, as the worst drought in decades forces thousands of people to flee their homes each day.

High food prices and the driest years since the early 1950s have pushed many poor families in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti into desperate need, UNICEF said.