Roche responds to adoption of shareholder rights plan by Illumina Board of Directors. Although not unexpected, Roche is disappointed that the Illumina Board of Directors has been unwilling to participate in substantive discussions with Roche regarding a negotiated transaction and has instead adopted this shareholder rights plan in response to the offer to acquire Illumina. Link: Click Here

The Schlatter Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: STRN) recorded a 19 per cent rise in the order intake to CHF 130.0 million (previous year: CHF 109.7 million) in the 2011 financial year despite the strong Swiss franc. The Group’s net sales totaled CHF 117.7 million (CHF 119.7 million), and the order backlog as of 31.12.2011 was CHF 50.9 million (CHF 38.6 million). Link: Click Here

Datwyler continues to post organic growth. The Datwyler Group, with its four divisions focused on the manufacturing, pharmaceutical and datacom industries, continued to grow on a currency-adjusted basis in 2011. Excluding exchange rate effects, the Group achieved organic growth of 5.4%. Link: Click Here

Geberit: New Member of the Geberit Board of Directors. The Board of Directors of Geberit AG has decided to nominate Jeff Song for election to the Board of Directors at the 2012 General Meeting. The Geberit AG Board of Directors will nominate Jeff Song as a new member of the Board of Directors at the Ordinary General Meeting on April 4, 2012. Link: Click Here

 

Economy
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Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship – new innovations to generate social and environmental impact, with the potential for financial returns. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Credit Suisse Research Institute, in collaboration with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, released the key findings of its report entitled “Investing for Impact: How social entrepreneurship is redefining the meaning of return.” The report provides insight into the major trends shaping Impact Investing today and its ability to tackle some of the world’s most intractable societal problems. Link: Click Here