Category Archives: News

Stora Enso records the best CSR-Performance Report in Finland

Zurich, January 18th, 2016

stora ensoStora Enso’s Global Responsibility Performance Report 2014 has won four awards in the independent annual sustainability report review, commissioned by FIBS, Finland’s leading non-profit corporate responsibility network. The four awards include the best sustainability report, best reporting on Human Rights and on Tax Footprint and the top choice of a consortium of Finnish corporate sustainability students.

In FIBS’ review Stora Enso’s report was particularly acknowledged for its extensive and transparent sustainability reporting, with a special focus on reporting related to the target-oriented management of human rights.

“We are proud of this achievement, as transparent reporting is a key element in our sustainability work,” says Noel Morrin, EVP Sustainability at Stora Enso. “However, good reporting requires continuous development. Going forward, we are aiming to set the bar even higher.”

The FIBS has been organised for the 20th time, and its review covered a total of 173 sustainability reports, including reports produced by all of the companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Helsinki together with selected reports from the private and public sector.

Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wood and paper on global markets. The company aims to replace non-renewable materials by innovating and developing new products and services based on wood and other renewable materials. The CSR-Champion employs some 27 000 people and is publicly listed in Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R).

Source:    

www.storaenso.com

 

 

 

Local and Global Arctic 2015

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In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process – Local and Global Arctic 2015 Conference

24.11.2015 9:00–26.11.2015 16:00 2nd International Conference, 24-26 November 2015 Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland

The conference is the second in the series of biennial international Arctic conferences organized by the City of Rovaniemi, the University of Lapland and its Arctic Centre and the Arctic Society of Finland in Rovaniemi.

With the theme “Local and Global Arctic” the conference has addressed the interaction of the global, regional and local levels in the Arctic, such as the impacts of global processes on local communities in the Arctic. Moreover, the role of institutions such as the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the European Union, in interlinking Arctic stakeholders has been highlighted.

Key questions included: How the local perspective is, or should be, seen in global and international context in the Arctic? Does Arctic international co-operation truly support sustainable development at the local level? How do local perspectives and values translate to regional and global contexts?

Source:

www.rovaniemiprocess.fi

 

Finance Cluster Dialog in Zürich

Paradigmenwechsel auf dem Finanzplatz Zürich

Dienstag, 1. September 2015, Konferenzzentrum
SIX ConventionPoint Selnaustrasse 30, 8001 Zürich

20150901_SF_einladung_finance_ES_def

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Der Zürcher Finanzplatz ist im Wandel begriffen: neue gesetzliche Rahmenbedingungen und wachsende Anforderungen von Kunden geben die Richtung vor. Zeiten des Wandels beinhalten immer auch viele Chancen für diejenigen, die sie zu nutzen wissen.

Wie stärkt man die Qualität der Beratung im Private Banking?
Wie sorgt man für die geforderte Innovation im Asset Management? Und welche Rolle spielen dabei nachhaltige Finanzen?

Dies sind Fragen, die mit verschiedenen Akteuren des Zürcher Finanzplatzes diskutiert werden.

Weitere Informationen: Download PDF Finance_ES

 

Zinswende in den USA mit Folgen für Bondinvestoren

Zürich, 30. Juli 2015

Kommentar von Dr. Felix Regli

In den Vereinigten Staaten zeichnet sich eine baldige Trendwende bei den Zinsen ab. In den USA ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer ersten Zinserhöhung des FED nach fast sieben Jahren bei unveränderten Zinsen von 0 – 0.25% bereits bei der nächsten FED-Sitzung am 17. September gestiegen und in Grossbritannien ist ebenfalls mit einem ersten Schritt Ende 2015 bzw. Anfang 2016 zu rechnen. Gemäss FED-Chefin Yellen sollte der Zeitpunkt der ersten Zinserhöhung jedoch nicht überbewertet werden, denn die Geldpolitik werde noch lange Zeit expansiv bleiben. Entscheidend sei der gesamte erwartete Zinserhöhungszyklus. Insgesamt ist nur mit moderaten Zinserhöhungen zu rechnen.

fed-funds-graph

 

Während in den angelsächsischen Ländern USA und Grossbritannien die Geldpolitik etwas weniger expansiv werden dürfte, ist im Euro-Raum vorderhand keine Änderung der Geldpolitik zu erwarten. Die Europäische Zentralbank (EZB) kauft seit März 2015 Staatsanleihen von monatlich im Durchschnitt 60 Mrd. Euro, insgesamt bis September 2016 nicht weniger als 1.1 Billionen Euro. Gemäss EZB-Chef Mario Draghi werden die Käufe so lange fortgesetzt, bis sich die Inflationsrate im Euro-Raum dem Zielwert von nahezu 2% annähert. Dies scheint jedoch in den nächsten Monaten ausser Reichweite zu sein. Hier ist noch kein nachhaltiger Anstieg der Inflation in Sicht.

Was für Auswirkungen haben die divergierende Geldpolitik in den einzelnen Währungsräumen?

Wichtig für die Rendite der langfristigen Anleihen sind namentlich die Inflationserwartungen. 10-jährige Staatsanleihen in den USA haben gegenwärtig eine Rendite von 2.31%, jene in Grossbritannien von 1.98%, im Euro-Raum (Deutschland) von 0.72% und in der Schweiz von 0.02%. Seit ihren Tiefstständen in diesem Jahr sind die Renditen in den USA und in Grossbritannien um je 65 Basispunkte gestiegen, jene im Euro-Raum um 64 und in der Schweiz um 28 Basispunkte. Mit Ausnahme der Schweiz, wo wegen der am 15. Januar erfolgten Aufhebung des Mindestkurses gegenüber dem Euro eine Sondersituation besteht, überrascht doch der im Gleichschritt erfolgte Aufwärtstrend der langfristigen Zinsen.

Dies ist einerseits ein Zeichen, dass sich die wichtigsten Bondmärkte trotz mehrfachen Unkenrufen per Saldo nicht vom globalen Trend – ausgehend von den USA – abgekoppelt haben. Anderseits weist dies auch auf mittel- bis längerfristig wohl auf ein allmähliches Ende der deflationären Tendenzen hin. Was die Höhe der Langfristzinsen betrifft, so wurden und werden diese durch die massiven Interventionen der Zentralbanken beeinflusst bzw. niedrig gehalten.

Ein Ende bzw. Abflachen dieser Bondkäufe ist jedoch mittelfristig absehbar, da diese Politik kein Dauerzustand ist bzw. sein kann. Die Kapitalmarktzinsen sind immer noch auf einem sehr tiefen Niveau und werden mittelfristig ansteigen. Für Besitzer von (erstklassigen) Anleihen stehen deshalb eher unruhige Zeiten bevor. Grundsätzlich rate ich im jetzigen Zeitpunkt von Obligationenkäufen ab.

Download PDF Zinswende in den USA und Grossbritannien mit Folgen für Bondinvestoren

Loblaw’s good news

 

Zurich, June 12, 2015

Loblaws caLoblaw announced that its house–brand cosmetics and household products will no longer contain three controversial ingredients: triclosan, phthalates or micro bead. It will happened by the end of 2018. The company admits that the increasing scientific evidence around the world that indicate these ingredients could be harmful to human health and the environment. and therefore move on bannig the controversial ingredients. Canada’s largest food retailer pledged to phase out these ingredients from products sold under their Life and President’s Choice brands.

To the problematical ingredients:

Triclosan
Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent found in consumer products such as soaps, body washes, toothpaste and some cosmetic products. Studies raise concern that triclosan resistance may contribute to reduced susceptibility to important antimicrobials.

Phthalates
Phthalates are a family of chemicals used to in hundreds of products, for example, to add fragrance to body lotions and to reduce cracking in nail polishes. There are health concerns that the chemical may cause hormone disruptions that can lead to thyroid disorders and diabetes.

Microbeads
Microbeads are a common component of skin exfoliants. The tiny beads seep out of water-treatment systems into lakes and rivers, choking fish and sea life that ingest it. In the south, Illinois became the first U.S. state to ban the manufacture and sale of products containing microbeads, which will be enacted in 2018.

Loblaw has followed suit of companies like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and P&G, which in 2013 announced the ban of phthalates and triclosan in its beauty and personal care products, in response to decade long pressure from activist groups alarming consumer goods company to stop using chemical ingredients that have been linked to birth defects, cancer, diabetes and infertility.

This is just the company’s latest move to detached its products of substances that consumers are increasingly shunning: Last autumn Loblaw also announced that it would remove artificial flavours and colours from all President’s Choice products. There are good steps in the right and sustainable direction. Good news for consumers and sustainable investments.

Facts on ViewPick:

1 billion customer transactions per year
>  2,300 stores
< 1,800 pharmacies
65 million square feet
$43 billion in revenue
$3 billion adjusted EBITDA
~192,000 full and part-time employeesSource: 

 

 

Source:

Loblaw Companies Limited

csr@loblaw.ca

pr@loblaw.ca, 905-459-2500 x612336

http://www.loblaw.ca

 

 

Sharp fallen on hard times

Zurich, Thursday May 14, 2015

IMG_6868Sharp Corporation has always enjoyed a high reputation for the quality of its products. Once the successfully Osaka-based company hurts Kansai region and  falls on hard times. The company is considering reducing its capital substantially to put itself into the tax category of “small- and medium-size companies” to ease its tax burden.
The struggling electronics maker plans to cut its capital from the current ¥120 billion ($1 billion) to ¥100 million or less, the corporate tax threshold for small- and medium-size companies, according to the Japanese sources. This decision, which is very unusual forcompanies like Sharp, which has consolidated sales of nearly ¥3 trillion, has been largely endorsed by its creditor banks.

The redeemed capital , which would help Sharp wipe out its accumulated losses, will be proposed at a general shareholders’ meeting in June, according to company’s declarations.  The plan has been announced today along with the company’s latest earnings report and its new medium-term management program, according to the sources.

Unlike in the case of 100 percent capital reductions by bankrupt firms, the 99 percent reduction eyed by Sharp will keep shareholders’ voting rights intact.

Sharp is likely to have a net loss of about ¥200 billion in the fiscal year that ended in March, with the loss expected to continue in 2015. The company is facing extensive restructuring measures, including a cut of some 5000 jobs in Japan and abroad as well as plant closures.

Sharp has effectively gotten the green light to receive ¥200 billion in financial support from its two main creditor banks — Mizuho Bank and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ — and is also planning to receive ¥25 billion from a corporate reconstruction fund that the two banks have invested in, according to sources close to the matter.Sharp Corp. posted a full-year loss that was wider than expected as the debt-saddled display maker for Apple Inc. cut jobs and received financial support from its main lenders.

The company reported a net loss of 222.4 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in the year ended March 31, according to a statement released Thursday. That compares with the 30.7 billion-yen average estimated loss.

The company, once a paradigmal for the sector with cutting-edge TVs and home electronics, has struggled under its debt to keep up with rivals diversifying into software and content businesses. Sharp, which went to the brink of bankruptcy in 2012, received a lifeline from lenders under very tough condition.

Neither the company’s Aquos smartphones nor its TVs are among the top 10 sellers globally by units, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Source:

www.japantimes.co.jp

NORDIC HYSTERIA Design

Helsinki, 2015 May 11

Wood is always wood but the quality of its origin and end-products is the main matter. In Finland is this living tradition.

The Nordic Hysteria is the Finnish ecological design company that takes manufacture production back to urban environment. Its facilities are to be searched and found in the centre neighborhood of the city. For  Its designers and for everyone who works at the Nordic Hysteria are offered the best “opened views” by designing and manufacturing of the products.

Ecological production

Manufacturing inlahti an urban environment demands zero landfill waste and further more, it minimises waste all together. The commuting costs  and the ecological impact are reduced to the mostly necessary.

Revers ergonomics – Adapting the machines to people

The Nordic Hysteria adapts the machines to people and not vice-versa. By using specifically created tools and machines the company provides less noise, needs less production space, and it reduces significant the many pollution’s sources.

Sustainably designing

The well known designer Tepio Antilla based in Lahti Finland is particularly interested in wood and working it by modern shapes, with a special dedication to the Nordic traditions. Tepio Antilla designs furniture of functional features for home and public environment.

Production committed to “cradle to cradle”

Nordic Hysteria fousses on smallest possible ecological footprint, and “a fresh three-dimensional form language” in design and wood processing. The company minimises the use of material by using high-yielding birch veneer from sustainable Finish wood sources.

The manufacturing process produces no landfill waste, uses consistently much less energy as conventional processes, regularly required by traditional form pressing.

The company creates and manufactures clean and simply shaped lighting and accessories from sustainable materials, and developed technologies that represents a modern take on design and use of raw materials.

The lifecycle of company’s products is a “cradle to cradle” sustainable journey. They can be easily disassembled, and re-used or recycled back to energy.

The products offered by Nordic Hysteria are contract quality, and used in hotels and restaurants, as well as in homes.

Conclusion: The Nordic Hysteria ethical values are living in its products: sustainable design, ecological urban manufacture, functional ergonomics for employees, and fully recycling processing.

Green Good Design award

Finnish ecological design company Nordic Hysteria’s product and manufacturing concept has won on May 7, 2015 the annual international Green Good Design award.

Green Good Design is the most widely recognised design award for promoting ecological production and green technologies. The award also aims at restauring worldwide environments and improving quality of life. The competition is organised by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, European Centre for Architecture Art Design, and Urban Studies.

“Consumer Product design, architecture, and urban planning projects from 24 countries top this year’s list as “The Green 100.”
This year’s winners of the Green GOOD DESIGN Awards, from a new campus plan in Egypt to a farming kindergarten in Vietnam, are redefining our future and proving that design can be a force for positive social change.
Under the banner, “Build a Better World Now,” hundreds of submissions were received this year by the world’s most prestigious architecture and design firms and manufactures for the annual awards for the best new and innovative green design.”

Source:  

www.nordichysteria.fi

www.chi-athenaeum.org

 

 

 

 

Währungen: Trendumkehr des US-Dollars gegenüber dem EURO?

Zürich, 5. Mai 2015

Dr. Felix Regli

Die Stärke des US-Dollars gegenüber dem Euro in den letzten 12 Monaten war mit rund 20% sehr ausgeprägt, zwischenzeitlich betrug die Zunahme gar 25%. Hauptgründe für die Dollarstärke bzw. Euroschwäche sind die sich abzeichnende sachte Normalisierung der Geldpolitik in den USA mit einer ersten Zinserhöhung wahrscheinlich noch in diesem Jahr und einer extrem expansiven Geldpolitik in Europa.

IMG_antik 6839Mit dem gigantischen Kaufprogramm der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB) von monatlich 60 Milliarden Euro an Anleihen von Staaten und europäischen Institutionen im Zeitraum März 2015 bis September 2016 möchte die EZB die deflationären Tendenzen bekämpfen und die Konjunktur ankurbeln. Das noch ungelöste Griechenlandproblem trug bisher ebenfalls für den Euro negativ zu Buche. Der schwache Euro ist seitens der Euro-Zone willkommen und zeitigt auch bereits erste Früchte bezüglich sich verbessernder Wirtschaftsaussichten.

In den USA wiesen demgegenüber die letzten Konjunkturindikatoren auf eine eher enttäuschend schwache Wirtschaftsentwicklung hin. Sollte diese Schwäche in den Vereinigten Staaten anhalten, so hätte dies in zweierlei Hinsicht Auswirkungen. Erstens würden die amerikanischen Währungsbehörden ihre beabsichtigte erste Zinserhöhung seit 2006 wohl weiter in die Zukunft verschieben. Zum zweiten würden die Wachstumsunterschiede zwischen USA und Europa kleiner. Das Höchst des Dollars vom 13. März 2015 von 1.05 gegenüber dem Euro könnte der Wendepunkt gewesen sein. Der Dollar war in der Vergangenheit mehrheitlich unterbewertet, ist aber gegenwärtig gemäss Kaufkraft um ca. 12% überbewertet.

“Der Dollar ist unsere Währung, aber euer Problem”, beschied einst John Connally, US-Finanzminister unter Richard Nixon, dem Rest der westlichen Welt. Doch dieses Mal hätte Mario Draghi von der EZB sagen können: der Euro ist unsere Währung, aber euer Problem. Der schwache Euro war gewollt, wenn dies auch nicht explizit ausgesprochen wurde. Doch die Trendwende könnte eingeläutet worden sein. Der in den letzten Tagen weltweit erfolgte deutliche Anstieg der Renditen von Staatsanleihen führte dazu, dass auch viele auf Euro lautende Papiere wieder positive Renditen aufweisen. Dies ist ein deutliches Zeichen, dass der Kapitalabfluss aus Euro-Anleihen sich verringern dürfte. Selbst ein Zahlungsausfall oder ein ungewollter Austritt Griechenlands aus dem Euro würde den Euro wohl höchstens kurzfristig belasten.

Eine Lösung des Griechenlandproblems, wenn auch mit schmerzlichen Begleiterscheinungen, dürfte gar den Euro stärken. Auf einen schwachen Euro bzw. einen starken Dollar würde ich nicht setzen, aber auch nicht auf einen übermässig starken Euro.

 

 

Wärtsilä on success drive

 

Helsinki, April 7, 2015

Waertsilae logoWärtsilä, the marine industry’s solutions and services provider, has received new orders from Norway and Turkey. The company is delivering complete main propulsion systems for six new chemical tankers, as well as four new X92 engines to container ships. Wärtsilä has not disclosed value of the orders. The chemical tankers are being built at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group yard in China on behalf of Stolt Tankers B.V, which is part of the Norwegian Stolt-Nielsen Limited. The company operates of one of the world’s largest chemical tanker fleets. Container vessels are a vital element within the transportation infrastructure, and environmental issues and fuel economy are likely to be the key drivers in maintaining the role of container transportation, says Martin Wernli, Managing Director of Wärtsilä Switzerland. The new four container ships were ordered by Ciner Group, based in Istanbul in Turkey, and they are being built at Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC) shipyard’s facilities in Subic Bay, the Philippines. Source: www.wartsila.com

Novo Nordisk

Helsinki, March 27, 2015

Novo NordiskShares of Novo Nordisk surged  over 10 percent after the pharma firm announced it was resubmitting a new insulin drug for clinical trials in the U.S.

Novo Nordisk yesterday announced that the company has decided to submit the prespecified interim analysis of DEVOTE as part of a Class II Resubmission of the New Drug Applications (NDAs) of Tresiba® and Ryzodeg® to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The resubmission is expected to take place within the next month.

Novo Nordisk has a strong commitment to sustainability

The company believes that a healthy economy, environment and society is fundamental to long-term business success. This is why it manages its business in accordance with the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) business principle and pursue business solutions that maximise value to its stakeholders as well as its shareholders.