Low borrowing costs, currency shifts and the hunt for both cost savings and growth opportunities will drive a steady flow of merger and acquisition deals this year despite geopolitical tensions, according to business leaders meeting this week.
Switzerland
Strong Swiss franc boosts trade at German brothels
A jump in the Swiss franc against the euro, which threatens to push the country's economy into recession, is boosting trade in brothels across the border in Germany.
Oil tankers in the front line of Libya's two-government struggle
Oil shippers face higher costs and the possible loss of insurance cover on Libyan voyages, caught in a struggle between the rival governments there and threatened by air attacks.
Gates sees 'miracle' tools for AIDS by 2030 in vaccine and drugs
Two new tools to fight AIDS should be available by 2030 in the form of a vaccine and new intense drug treatments, ending most cases of a disease that has killed millions in the past 30 years, Bill Gates said.
Liberia Ebola vaccine trial 'challenging' as cases tumble
A steep fall in Ebola cases in Liberia will make it hard to prove whether experimental vaccines work in a major clinical trial about to start in the country, the head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Saturday.
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Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan's largest drugmaker, is ready to look at doing deals now that it has refocused operations, its incoming chief executive said on Wednesday.
World leaders meeting in Davos this week are likely to agree that inequality is a problem but unlikely to do anything about it, the head of the International Labour Organization said.
"Swiss Made" has traditionally stood for quality, precision and reliability. But after a shock move to scrap the cap on the franc, it could convey a less attractive message: Made more expensive.
The takeover of U.S. candymaker Russell Stover will fuel growth for Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli after strong demand for premium products boosted sales in 2014, the company said on Tuesday.
Roche Holding will acquire a majority stake in molecular and genomic analysis business Foundation Medicine, it said on Monday, signaling its determination to expand in cancer immunotherapy by paying a hefty mark-up on the U.S. company's current price.
A hacker claiming to be behind a cyber attack on Banque Cantonale de Geneve on Friday divulged confidential client information after the Swiss bank failed to meet demands for payment.
Novartis said on Friday its experimental psoriasis drug Cosentyx was better at clearing the rough skin patches associated with the disease than Johnson & Johnson's Stelara.
Talks on cutting trade tariffs on hundreds of information technology products collapsed on Friday, delaying and potentially scuppering a deal estimated to be worth $1 trillion to global trade.
A trillion dollar deal at the World Trade Organization to reduce tariffs in the vast information technology sector will stand or fall in the next 24 hours, trade diplomats said on Thursday.
