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Gnomes of Zurich not immune from fall-out

YOU might expect a dive of more than 70% in quarterly profits to cause some consternation, even in the boardrooms of a Swiss bank. Read

Wales should consider Swedish start-up solutions

EARLIER this week, I spent a tiring but fascinating 24 hours in Sweden, where I had been asked to be the “opponent” for a PhD examining public sector support for new ventures. Read

Will the Year of the Rat nibble away at Chinese investments in 2008?

TOMORROW the Year of the Rat begins, which has in the past been noted as a year of plenty, bringing opportunity and good prospects. Read

Lean machines will win low-cost battle for skies

FROM next month we will have a new experience at Cardiff International Airport. The expansion of services by flybe, the regional airline, from March 30, will see competition on a number of key domestic routes. Read

China’s New Year resolution

Today is the last day of the Year of the Pig and tomorrow sees the start of the Year of the Rat. Happy Chinese New Year! Read

News is a commodity, whether good or bad

I’VE been called many things in my time but never struthious. Struthious? Like an ostrich – you know, with one’s head in the sand. Read

More thought needed on communities’ cash

THE majority of Wales is classed among the poorest parts of Europe, and within this so-called “Convergence” area there are further pockets of real economic and social deprivation that desperately require additional support to aid regeneration. Read

Capital gains and losses in rule change

LAST week the Chancellor finally announced a new capital gains tax relief for entrepreneurs, in a bid to show the Government’s continued commitment to supporting small business and enterprise. Read

Vultures are looking to swoop on SocGen

ROGUE trader Jérôme Kerviel may have escaped the more serious fraud charge relating to his SocGen dealing positions but he’s unlikely to be welcomed back to the bank with open arms. Read

Tax raid on the most dynamic sector

LAST autumn, in his pre-Budget report, the Chancellor announced the changes to capital gains tax that so incensed the business community. Read

Inspired way to put Wales on the global map

AS you read this, 2,500 business leaders and politicians from 88 countries will be waking up to their penultimate day at the annual World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland. Read

Give employers credit for training

Last week the Welsh Assembly Government launched its third skills and employment strategy, called Skills That Work For Wales. Read

Screens get the blues after being in the red

AT first glance everything looks ’orrible. The figures speak for themselves. In the UK alone the FTSE 100 suffered its biggest sell- off on Monday since the terrorists attack in September 2001 when the markets reacted angrily to President Bush’s economic plan for America’s revival. Read