Bayer pays $40 million in US settlement
A former marketing worker accused Bayer of “kickbacking” sales of two drugs to hospitals and doctors.
(dpa) The Bayer group has agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement in the USA because of alleged illegal commissions and misrepresentations in the marketing of certain drugs. Bayer will pay around $40 million (€40.2 million) to settle the case, the Justice Department said on Friday (September 2) in Washington. The company did not admit guilt.
Specifically, according to the announcement, it is about whistleblower complaints from a former marketing employee. She accused Bayer of driving the sale of two drugs through hidden commission payments (“kickbacks”) to hospitals and doctors. In addition, Bayer made false statements when selling and downplayed safety risks with a third drug.
Russian gas halt to Europe drags Dow lower
(dpa) The renewed escalation of the gas crisis in Europe pushed the US stock exchanges significantly into the red on Friday (September 2nd). Initial gains in the wake of robust labor market data fizzled out. Contrary to what was announced, no gas will flow through the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 from this Saturday, according to the state-owned company Gazprom. The reason is an oil leak in the Portovaya compressor station.
According to Gazprom, the flow of gas will now be stopped until it is cleared. It had previously been expected that gas would flow through the pipeline again after the announced three-day maintenance work had been completed on Saturday. The news brings Europe one step closer to blackouts, gas rationing and a deep recession. A significant economic downturn in the region would also hit the important trading partner USA hard.
The leading US index, the Dow Jones Industrial, lost gains of more than 1 percent and ended up falling 1.07 percent to 31,318.44 points. In the course of the week, the best-known Wall Street index recorded a loss of 2.99 percent.
The market-wide S&P 500 fell 1.07 percent to 3924.26 points on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 1.44 percent to 12,098.44 points.
164,000 new jobs in Switzerland – companies are struggling to fill vacancies
Companies are struggling to fill their positions.
tsf. The Swiss labor market is in full swing: As the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday, total employment rose by 3.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. 164,000 new jobs were created within a year. “This is the strongest increase since the statistics were introduced in their current form in 1991,” writes the BfS. There are a total of 5.316 million employees in the secondary and tertiary sectors throughout Switzerland.
Development was particularly dynamic in the service sector, where 140,000 new jobs were created. This is an increase of 3.4 percent compared to the previous year. A total of 4.2 million people work in the third sector. In the secondary sector (industry and construction) there were 23,000 additional jobs. The number of employees there grew by 2.2 percent to a total of 1.1 million.
In the Swiss economy as a whole, 39,900 more vacancies were counted than in the same quarter of the previous year (+45.5 percent). The number of job vacancies rose sharply in both the secondary and tertiary sectors, by 44.3 and 45.9 percent respectively. The rate of vacancies was 2.3 percent in total, 2.7 percent in the secondary sector and 2.3 percent in the tertiary sector.
The difficulties in recruiting skilled workers have increased significantly compared to the same period last year. The federal statisticians write that it is particularly difficult to fill vacancies in the “manufacturing” sector.
ZKB is looking for a new chief financial officer
tsf. At Zürcher Kantonalbank, there will be a change in the post of CFO in just over a year. As ZKB announced on Friday, Rudolf Sigg will resign at the end of October 2023 and leave the bank.
The announcement of the 60-year-old Sigg’s resignation is part of the regular long-term succession planning for the members of the Executive Board, which is controlled by the Bank Council, the statement said. The successor will be informed in due course.
Sigg has worked for ZKB for 45 years. In 2008 he took over the management of the finance business unit and became a member of the executive board. Sigg has managed and developed the business unit excellently over the past 14 years, explains Bankrat President Jörg Müller-Ganz in the communiqué.
Securities and Exchange Commission opens investigation against IGEA Pharma
The Swiss Stock Exchange is investigating the IGEA Pharma case.
tsf. The supervisory authority of the Swiss stock exchange SIX has opened an investigation against the Dutch pharmaceutical company IGEA. As SIX announced, it is about a possible violation of the listing rules. The SIX Exchange Regulation (SER) announced on Friday that IGEA Pharma did not publish the 2021 annual report within the regulatory deadline, which had been extended several times. Now it is being checked whether the regulations have actually been violated.
The deadline extensions are related to the takeover of the cannabis company Blue Sky Natural Resources and the issue of new shares in September 2021. SIX had already suspended trading in IGEA shares at the beginning of August.
IGEA Pharma is a life science company based in Amsterdam. It focuses on products and services related to the prevention of Alzheimer’s and type II diabetes.
Sulzer takes a stake in the Dutch company Cellicon
tsf. The Winterthur-based machine builder Sulzer takes a stake in the Dutch company Cellicon. As the group announced on Friday, it has initially acquired a minority stake, but has the option of increasing the stake at a later date. According to the announcement, Sulzer wants to use the cooperation to expand its range of process technologies for bio-based and renewable raw materials and to support the production and expansion of renewable biopolymers.