Not all is gloom that dooms

Monday, March 16th, 2009. Hang Seng: + 3.60%
18.45 at Starbucks, laptop on lap.

Researchers at the ETH University managed to cure tumors in the lymph gland completely by developing anti-bodies, who are actually able to identify cancer cells and successfully eradicate them. An absolute first in medical science.

SBB, the Swiss railway operator, vowed to postpone the price increase it published earlier this year to 2010, due to the financial crisis. Unbelievable! A railway operator with a heart. It ticks punctually too.

It gets even better. The Swiss standards commission voted for a relaxation on the import rules that subjected consumer foods and drinks that freely retail in the EU to extreme additional test before they can be sold in Switzerland. So much so, that many importers and producers simply give up or never even start the process.
We, the expats in Zürich, look forward to see some more variety on the shelves!

The number of killings in Columbia was down to 44 per day in 2008, the lowest since 30 years.

Barclays and Citigroup reported a return to profitability. Santander, at no point making a loss in 2008 (did anyone else notice this?) expects a raise in profit for 2009.
And while most big banks and insurers saw their shares dropping, the Raiffeisen Group registered 158.000 new customers who brought some 11,6 billion CHF in savings with them. Before you get your calculator out, this amounts to an average of 73,417 CHF per customer.

For the first time in 2009, a brief moment of 20 degrees centigrade were reported last Saturday in Tessin.

Spring is in the air!