China, Switzerland FTA Talks Kick Off in Beijing
5.02.10 - China and Switzerland held their first study meeting on the feasibility of a Free Trade Area (FTA) in Beijing on Thursday, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement on its website. The meeting will continue until Friday, the department of international trade and economic affairs of the MOC told Xinhua. [read more]

The Watch Industry Expects a Modest Recovery in 2010
5.02.10 - The positive feedback conveyed at the recent Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva will confirm in the statistics. Exports have declined "only" 7.2% to 1.2 billion francs in December on a year, according to data released Thursday by the Federation watch (FH). It looks like there will be an export growth of around 10% this year at 5% increase in sales to final customers and 5% via effects restocking retailers. This vague of optimism is based on the currently displayed by flying markets like China (44% in December) and Hongkong (27%), now by far the largest market for Swiss watches. [read more]