Annual report of CHC 2012/13; Satisfactory result due to non-recurring items

The overall performance in the energy segment decreased from the previous year to 42.8 million Swiss francs or 8.0% to 492.7 million Swiss francs. It is because of the low rates of electricity for residential and business customers, but also considerably deprived the market price for transactions of optimization. Provisions for the supply of energy expensive contracts of 37.8 million Swiss francs had to be registered to the base in the medium term should also low sale price. A lower yield of 0.9 million Swiss francs due to a weaker performance from federal service and funds for nuclear waste disposal. In the same period last year, reached an excess return of 12.8 million Swiss francs. This energy poses a 55.1 percent more low surplus or deficit of the previous year in the segment with 27.9 million Swiss francs.

Reversal of provisions leads to higher earnings

In the segment, the judgment of the supreme Administrative Court of 29 January 2013 led the networks to a reversal of provisions for regulatory procedures. CHC had appeals against the part of the Federal Commission of electricity and solved successfully the provision for qualified of 46.6 million Swiss francs. Through the sale of shares in CHCs Grid AG, a capital gain of 5.1 million Swiss francs is reflected in the segment of the networks. Through these two one-off effects, the segment complete networks over the previous year, with operating profit more than CHF 63.8 million, 103.9 million Swiss francs.

The installation segment increases the overall performance of 8.9% for FY 2012/13 to 131.4 million Swiss francs. Operating income can be increased at 61.8%, representing 4.2 million francs. The reasons for this positive development within an improved order and cost management, a good load and strong weight gain.

After the structural adjustment of the pension fund PKE Behindertenzentrum energy has arisen a one-time reduction of interest charges to CHF 16.8 million due to the actuarial calculation of active retirement and pension liabilities according to IAS 19 for the CKW group.

2013/14 Views

CSC is still deeply wholesale market prices for power and hard by the rules predictable framework conditions and the requirements of the policy for the current fiscal year. In particular, decisions pending to fund federal decommissioning and waste disposal for nuclear facilities funds can strongly influence the cost of production. In addition, the development of the economic and financial market uncertain in Switzerland and Europe can influence the result of operation of the CSC.

The CKW group key figures

EBIT margin (in % of the)
Overall performance)

Equity of minority interests

Investment in a tangible and intangible. Equipment

* PP: percentage points

2014 General meeting

The Board of Directors proposes a consistent dividend of 4.50 CHF per action the General Assembly by January 31, 2014. The dividend shall be paid on 7 February 2014.

After about ten years of membership of the Board of Directors of CSC, which has six as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Heinz Karrer said yesterday his resignation. The Board of Directors of the General Assembly of Andrew Walo, February 1, 2014 new CEO of Axpo offers group, choice as successor and President of the Group of experts.

The annual report of CHC 2012/13 (annual report and financial statements) is the SCC Web site:

www.CKW.ch > investors > annual report.

Media office

Central Central-Swiss AG
Postfach, 6002 Lucerne

Phone 0800 259 259

Communications@CKW.ch

Novartis announces positive clinical trials for novel H7N9 vaccine results

85% of patients immunologically protected after receiving the second dose of experimental cell culture vaccine when combined with proven adjuvant MF59 ®The vaccine currently in production on a large scale, highlighting the rapid reaction of the FDA approved cell culture technology novel capacity135 laboratory confirmed cases and 45 deaths due to the virus of the H7N9 since the emergence in March, according to the world Organization of health [1]Basel, Switzerland, 14 November 2013 -Novartis announced today preliminary results of a Phase 1 clinical study with its vaccine exclusive cell culture for virus of avian influenza H7N9 involving 400 healthy volunteers (aged 18-64). The data show that 85% of subjects with a protective immune response after two doses of vaccine with adjuvant 15 ug MF59. Only 6% of subjects have a protective when response received two doses of adjuvanted vaccine UN 15ug. The complete set of test data will be submitted to a journal for publication in the near future.The vaccine was produced using cell culture on a large scale manufacturing technology, an alternative technology which can significantly speed up the production of vaccines against the traditional egg-based methods.[2] The cell culture technology uses an eggs line instead of the chicken of mammalian cells well characterized to grow virus strains.[3]"This rapid reaction underlines our position as leader in pandemic preparedness," said Andrin Oswald, Division Head, Novartis Vaccines. "Thanks to our investments in innovative production and adjuvant technologies, we are now able to offer a protection solution for a potentially deadly pandemic virus within a few months after the appearance of the virus H7N9."Reports of infection H7N9 first appeared in China in March 2013. Novartis, along with its partners at the Craig Venter Institute, synthesized the virus strain several days after that, it was shared with global researchers by the Chinese Centers for Disease Control. Novartis then produces clinical batches of first instance, has started clinical trials in August and launched a production on a large scale in its facilities in Holly Springs (NC), United States, and Marburg (Germany) in October.This project was funded in part with federal funds from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for preparedness and response, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under contract no. HHSO1002012000141DisclaimerThis press release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by words such as "will be investigative, acting" or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential effectiveness for Novartis H7N9 avian flu vaccine, or regarding potential future revenues from Novartis H7N9 vaccine against avian influenza. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. There may be no guarantee that Novartis H7N9 avian influenza vaccine will receive regulatory approval or be marketed successfully in the future. In particular, the expectations of management regarding Novartis H7N9 avian influenza vaccine could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis of existing clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or Government regulation generally; the company's ability to obtain or maintain exclusive intellectual property protection; general economic and industry conditions; global trends toward health care cost containment, including the ongoing price pressures; problems of unexpected manufacturing and other risks and factors current al Novartis AG 20-F Form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis provides the information contained in this press release as of this date, and undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.Subject of NovartisNovartis provides innovative health solutions that respond to the changing of patients and companies needs. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, of eye care, savings of generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools, products of over-the-counter health and animals. Novartis is the only multinational one with leading positions in these areas. In 2012, the Group had sales net of $ 56.7 billion, while R & D in all of the Group amounted to approximately 9.3 billion USD (EUR 9.1 billion excluding depreciation and amortization costs). Novartis group companies employ approximately 133,000 associates equivalent full-time and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow the @Novartis to http://twitter.com/novartis.References[1] www.who.int/ influenza/human_animal_interface/influenza_h7n9/en/index.html[2] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "HHS Awards contracts totaling more than 1 billion $ in the flu cell. '' 2006 Available at: http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/2006pres/20060504.html.[3] Gravenstein, Arvydas et al. Culture technique of novel mammalian cells for consistent production of a trivalent subunit vaccine well-tolerated and immunogenic. Vaccine. Flight 27. Number 43. 9 October 2009: 6022-6029. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X09011177. Retrieved October 3, 2012.# # #Novartis media relationsOnline Media Centre: + 41 61 324 2200 e-mail: media.relations@novartis.comFor Novartis multimedia content, visit www.thenewsmarket.com/ NovartisFor questions about the site or registration required, please contact: journalisthelp@thenewsmarket.com.Novartis investor relations

Actelion informs later in a legal dispute with Asahi

AppId is over the quota
ALLSCHWIL, Suisse - 19 décembre 2013 - Actelion Ltd (SIX : ATLN) a annoncé aujourd'hui que la Cour d'appel de Californie prononcée en novembre 2011 contre Actelion final Court of California (procédure no CIV478533 devant la Cour d'appel de Californie) a confirmé. Cette dernière phrase s'élevait à une amende d'un montant de USD 407325 millions. Y compris astreintes sont 30 millions par le biais de différents cadres supérieurs de la compagnie s'élevant à USD. En outre la Cour a fixé les paiements d'un montant de 8,3 millions d'USD pour les intérêts et autres frais pour la période antérieure à la détermination de la peine.

La société et ses conseillers externes sont convaincus que la décision de la Cour d'appel est appuyée par des faits et qu'il est juridiquement incorrecte. La société est donc fermement convaincue qu'il existe des raisons importantes, faire appel de cette décision. En particulier, la décision que l'intervention d'une société mère dans une entente contractuelle, une filiale est considérée comme irrecevable et elle ne peut être tenue responsable de cela n'est pas conforme à la décision de la Cour suprême de Californie dans l'affaire appliquées equipment Corp.

La compagnie prendra toutes les mesures nécessaires, à soumettre une demande de réexamen de la décision de la Cour d'appel de la Cour suprême de Californie.

###

 NOTES POUR LES RÉDACTEURS

LeMotion de procédure

Le 19 novembre 2008, une action en justice contre Actelion Ltd et ses filiales Actelion pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, société de portefeuille d'Actelion U.S., CoTherix, Inc. ("CoTherix") et trois cadres supérieurs de la compagnie a déposé la demanderesse Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation (« Asahi ») à la Cour, dans l'état de Californie, aux États-Unis. Le différend se réfère à une licence complétée entre Asahi et CoTherix pour l'ingrédient actif de l'accord de Fasudil et de développement qui a été suspendue après l'acquisition de CoTherix en 2007.

La décision du jury

Le 4 mai 2011, Asahi Kasei Pharma ("Asahi") ont été attribués à 547 millions de paiement de dommages-intérêts par un jury composé de maximum de USD. En outre, le jury a condamné individuels cadres supérieurs de la société 30 millions d'amendes s'élevant à USD.

Demandes soumises après la conclusion de la procédure

Actelion a présenté une série d'amendements après la proclamation du jugement que la Cour a confirmé en partie, pour que le verdict final--enregistrées dans les résultats de l'ensemble de l'année pour la société 385 millions en 2011 - une compensation d'un montant de USD. En outre, trois cadres supérieurs de la société ont été purgeant une peine de 30 millions de pénalités d'un montant de USD.

L'appel

L'appel a été en décembre 2011 à la Cour d'appel (procédure no CIV478533) de Californie a déposé, les plaidoiries ont été échangés et l'audience a eu lieu le 21 novembre 2013. La Cour d'appel de Californie a confirmé le jugement modifié, prononcé en novembre 2011 contre Actelion en Californie. La compagnie prendra toutes les mesures nécessaires, à soumettre une demande de réexamen de la décision de la Cour d'appel de la Cour suprême de Californie.

Actelion Ltd

Actelion Ltd est une société biopharmaceutique dont le siège est à Allschwil/Bâle, Suisse. Premier médicament de Actelion, Tracleer ® (Bosentan), est un antagoniste des récepteurs de l'endothéline double approuvé pour le traitement de l'hypertension artérielle pulmonaire sous forme de comprimés. Actelion commercialise Tracleer ® par le biais de ses bureaux dans les principaux marchés internationaux, comme aux États-Unis (dont le siège est à South San Francisco), l'Union européenne, Japon, Canada, Australie et de la Suisse. Actelion, fondée en 1997, est une entreprise leader dans l'exploration de l'endothélium. L'endothélium sépare la paroi vasculaire de la circulation sanguine. Avec plus de 2 300 employés, Actelion met l'accent sur la découverte de médicaments innovants dans les régions où les besoins médicaux non satisfaits, à développer et commercialiser. Actelion actions sont à la SIX Swiss Exchange dans le contexte de la blue chips Index SMI (indice du marché Suisse SMI ®) échangé (symbole : ATLN).

Pour plus d'informations, veuillez communiquer avec :

Roland Haefeli
Senior Vice President, responsable des relations avec les investisseurs et affaires publiques
Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, commercial allée 16, CH-4123 Allschwil
+ 41 61 565 62 62
+ 1 650 624 69 36
www.Actelion.com

Les informations ci-dessus contient certains énoncés prospectifs concernant les affaires de la compagnie, qui "sera grâce à l'utilisation de termes tels que « estimer », « croire », « prévoit », »,"devrait","' d","recherche","en attente","s'attend"ou des expressions similaires et peuvent être identifiées par analyse de la stratégie, des plans ou des intentions. Ces déclarations comprennent des descriptions de programmes de recherche et de développement de la société et donc dans les dépenses connexes, les descriptions des nouveaux produits, ce qui devrait être mis sur le marché par la société et la demande pour ces produits déjà existants ou disponibles uniquement sous Vista. Ces énoncés prospectifs reflètent les vues actuelles de la compagnie au sujet de cet événements futurs et sont soumis à des risques connus et inconnus, des incertitudes et des hypothèses. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent influencer le rendement efficace, des résultats ou des performances, donc ils peuvent différer considérablement de ces déclarations prévisionnelles mentionnées explicitement ou implicitement. Devrait être l'un ou plusieurs de ces risques ou les hypothèses s'avéraient être incorrectes, les résultats effectifs de la société peuvent différer sensiblement de l'attendre.

Meyer Burger concludes a strategically important contract with a leading Asian cell manufacturer for the supply of coating systems for its first heterojunction line in the market. The order volume is CHF 14 million.

PostFinance partecipa al programma US

AppId is over the quota

13.12.2013, Bern

PostFinance a décidé de participer au programme de la pièce de litiges fiscaux avec les États-Unis. Vous devez vous inscrire à la fin de décembre, dans le délai prescrit, au ministère de la Justice (MJ) pour une participation dans la catégorie 2. PostFinance réserve la possibilité de demander à une date ultérieure une « Non-Target-lettre » selon la catégorie 3.

La décision en faveur de la catégorie 2 est basée sur l'actuelle incertitude quant à la possibilité pour PostFinance, pour être admissible à la catégorie 3. Il est également ne pas clair dans quelle mesure le modèle d'affaires de PostFinance, unique en son genre, ayant pour mandat de fournir des services de base dans les paiements sont envisageables dans le cadre du programme. Avec cette façon de procéder, PostFinance minimisera le risque pour l'entreprise, les clients et les employés d'entrer en conflit avec les autorités étrangères. Si vous décidez de passer à la catégorie 3, il va le faire entre le 1 juillet et 31 octobre 2014.

Porte-parole de postFinance : Tél. 058 338 32 30.

Pathogens in Plants

a Consumption of fresh produce has increased in recent years, prompted by healthy eating campaigns in the USA, Europe and other parts of the world. However, compared to previous years, fruit and vegetables are now being identified more frequently as the source of a growing number of outbreaks associated with zoonotic pathogens.Between 2003 and 2008, the food vehicles identified in 1,565 outbreaks reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are a broad spectrum of animal- and plant-derived foods (picture 1). The list of implicated foods is regularly expanded as new ones are identified during outbreak investigations. Between 2006 and early 2012, 15 new specific food types were identified as food vehicles in outbreaks affecting the United States. It is curious that while many of the pathogens have animal reservoirs, many new food vehicles are plant derived. This includes plant-derived processed foods, like peanut butter, peanut paste, and spinach powder; spices such as black and white pepper; tree nuts and fresh produce items.Consumer demand for greater choice, variety and year-round availability of fruit and vegetables, as well the vogue for convenient ‘ready to serve’ products, such as bagged salads, has driven the globalisation of supply chains and increased pressure on the food industry. Unfortunately, this may compromise safety. The standard of water used for irrigation, as well as hygiene at harvest and during storage, can vary widely between countries, potentially exposing consumers to increased numbers and varied strains of these pathogens.Intensive farming is not new. It is becoming apparent though that lessons learned in livestock farming can also impact fresh produce growing and processing.Zoonotic pathogens are not commonly present in fruit and vegetables in nature. Human intervention and commercial food production practices have brought the two into close proximity.Pathogens may be naturally present in soil, or may become incorporated in the soil from organic wastes added as fertiliser, or by accidental contamination. For example, water supplies used to wash and irrigate crops can be contaminated with faecal material (and its pathogens) by run-off from nearby fields and livestock farming. The risk of contamination under these circumstances is far greater than the chances of accidental contamination caused by the intrusion of wild animals and birds into fields.Pathogens in water used for spraying can remain on fruits and vegetables and survive on these new carriers. Studies have shown that some enteropathogens are quite adept at surviving on the leaf surface (phylloplane). A study showed that E. coli applied to lettuce could be isolated from the plant for a further 15 days. Fruit and vegetable plants react differently to enteropathogens. Some have been shown to actively support their survival, while others resist. Effective washing and exposure to UV radiation can typically deal with surface contamination. While UV radiation is traditionally used to minimise contamination, successful phylloplane bacteria typically colonise sites that are protected from UV, such as the base of structures (trichomes).Pathogens do not always die on leaving the host animal, but may find a new carrier in the form of plants. Plants sprayed with contaminated water, either during growing or processing, can absorb pathogens through any wounds to the flesh. This is a particular issue with popular consumer items such as pre-prepared lettuce and salads. The cut surfaces exude nutrients and supply pathogens with the means to survive, penetrate to the internal tissue and grow – beyond the reach of chemical sanitisers. Internalisation of pathogens into plants may also be possible through stomata and hydathodes (permanently open water pores). Normally used to secrete water from a plant, a study has shown that under certain conditions pathogens can enter leaves through its hydathodes and move into the vascular system, which may even result in the internal translocation of the bacteria inside plants. Furthermore, contaminated irrigation water can be taken up by a plant’s root system and any pathogens can be stored within its flesh.As a result the food industry must innovate and identify for ways to better protect and improve the microbial quality of fruit and vegetable produce.There is little that consumers can do to protect themselves from fruit and vegetable contamination, as these products are often not cooked. Washing them has little effect on any contamination and being invisible to the naked eye it becomes increasingly important to prevent contamination occurring in the first place.In theory, existing regulations and the food industry requirement that all processors and manufacturers implement hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) strategies, should prevent environmental contamination reaching the consumer. Overall evidence suggests that actual contamination of fruit and vegetables with pathogens is low. However, any outbreak has the potential to make consumers ill and in rare cases cause death.All HACCP plans should be reviewed regularly. They must deal not only with questioning whether the water at a facility is safe to use, but also if that water source is trusted and protected against potential contamination. Post-harvest contamination is also known to result from poor food handling processes and poor worker hygiene. Processors need to ensure that HACCP plans are robust, documented and perhaps most importantly, implemented. Poorly trained employees are potentially the weakest link in any plan.The food industry has, out of necessity, invested heavily in microbiological testing and surveillance programmes. Fruit and vegetable products can undergo microbiological testing at any stage of the supply chain but are most commonly checked as the end product. This enables processors to identify any pathogen contamination before goods reach the point of sale.An integrated testing programme can verify the microbial quality of products and in the event of contamination being identified, prevent them reaching the consumer. This is preferable to suffering a product recall as a direct result of an outbreak. Product recalls cost the industry more than just money. They also damage consumer confidence and devalue the brand involved.Global supply chains mean that contamination issues in one part of the world can quickly spread. Existing food safety systems have focused on post-harvest safety, hygiene, handling and testing. Improving food safety going forward will likely rely on increased awareness of public health issues and enforcement of regulations in new and developing markets. This should be complemented by increased focus on identifying contaminations earlier, preventative in-field solutions and introducing stricter practices more in line with livestock farming.For further information please visit our Food Safety website.Ron Wacker, PhDGlobal Food Testing Business Development ManagerSGS Germanyt: +49 6039 4696Picture 1: Distribution of illnesses by food type in 1,565 foodborne outbreaks caused by a single food type and reported to CDC's National Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System, 2003-2008. (Foodborne Website on August 2013)

BFS – Krankenversicherungsprämien-Index 2013 – Prämienwachstum 2012-2013 dämpfte die Entwicklung der verfügbaren Einkommen um 0,1 Prozentpunkte

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Krankenversicherungsprämien-Index 2013 – Prämienwachstum 2012-2013 dämpfte die Entwicklung der verfügbaren Einkommen um 0,1 Prozentpunkte

18.11.2013 (BFS) – Der Krankenversicherungsprämien-Index (KVPI) verzeichnete für das Prämienjahr 2013 ein Wachstum von 1,1 Prozent gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Auf der Basis 1999=100 erreichte der KVPI damit einen Indexstand von 170,4 Punkten. Der vom Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) berechnete KVPI erfasst die Prämienentwicklung der obligatorischen Krankenpflegeversicherung und der Krankenzusatzversicherung. Anhand des KVPI lässt sich die Auswirkung der Prämienentwicklung auf das Wachstum des verfügbaren Einkommens schätzen. Gemäss der KVPI-Modellrechnung dämpften 2013 die steigenden Prämien das Wachstum des verfügbaren Durchschnittseinkommens um 0,1 Prozentpunkte.