European Stocks Close Higher On Recovery Hopes And Positive Vaccine Updates
Fairly encouraging economic data from Germany also contributed to the positive mood in European markets.
On the vaccine front, the UK s drug regulator has approved Moderna s vaccine for use. Moderna s vaccine will be the third in distribution in Britain following those developed by Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech.
Meanwhile, a laboratory study has reportedly found the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech to be effective against the new and highly-transmissible variant of the virus.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.66%. The U.K. s FTSE 100 gained 0.24%, Germany s DAX advanced 0.58% and France s CAC 40 surged up 0.65%, while Switzerland s SMI edged up 0.18%.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Switzerland's jobless rate was stable in December, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed on Friday.The jobless rate was a seasonally adjusted
Swiss Market Ends Modestly Higher
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market, which moved in a tight band in cautious traded on Friday, ended modestly higher amid stock specific activity.
While optimism about coronavirus vaccines and expectations of additional fiscal stimulus aided sentiment, surging coronavirus cases and tighter restrictions on movements in several parts of America limited market s upside.
The benchmark SMI ended with a modest gain of 19.32 points or 0.18% at 10,797.99. The index, which advanced to 10,838.86 early on in the session, touched a low of 10,777.67 around mid afternoon.
Alcon gained about 2%. Roche Holding and Sika gained 1.35% and 1.1%, respectively, while Lonza Group, Geberit, Novartis and ABB ended higher by 0.75 to 1%.
Government calls for swift decision on Crypto export licences
Manipulated devices were sold to more than 100 countries for spying purposes Keystone / Ennio Leanza
The Swiss government has instructed the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to examine and approve the suspended export applications for encryption devices and modules in connection with the Crypto spying affair, provided the relevant requirements are met.
This content was published on December 31, 2020 - 16:45
December 31, 2020 - 16:45
Keystone-SDA/ts
This is in response to the suspension of the criminal proceedingsExternal link by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG).
For decades Crypto, a Zug-based communications encryption firm, allegedly sold these secretly manipulated devices to more than 100 countries for spying purposes. Until 2018 the company was owned by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Germany Federal Intelligence Service (BND), both of whom had the a
89 views
ENP Newswire
The government of Albania has annouced plans for launching the first tender for the construction of utility-scale on-shore wind power plants, which will make a major contribution to improve the country s future energy supply and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The tender, expected to be launched early in 2021, will be the first in a planned series of investments in wind energy projects and was supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with additional financial grant support of EUR650,000 provided by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Head of Albania, said: We are delighted to expand our partnership with the Albanian authorities to start up the wind power sector, building on the successful experience with solar. We are confident that transparent and well prepared tenders for wind can deliver attractive energy prices and quality investors for Albania .