radio

Lüthi 9th in Misano, Dupasquier far from the points

by

Thomas Lüthi (Kalex) took 9th place in the Moto2 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix held at the Misano circuit. The victory went to the Italian Enea Bastianini (Kalex).

Sixth last week on the same circuit for the Grand Prix de St-Marino, the Bernese was less successful in a race disrupted by the weather.

So after six laps, the drivers returned to the pits to let the drops pass. 16th on the grid, the Emmentalois had gained two places at the time of the interruption. When it was time to restart the race for ten laps, the rain once again postponed the final tussle which finally saw the Italian Enea Bastianini win ahead of his compatriot Marco Bezzecchi. Championship leader Luca Marini finished just behind the podium, just behind Englishman Sam Lowes.

Thomas Lüthi ‘limited’ the breakage by still managing to climb into the top 10 with a 9th place. The Bernese entered the top 10 for the fourth time in a row.

Dupasquier far away, Aegerter falls

Jason Dupasquier (KTM) failed to score his first points in Moto3. The 19-year-old Friborg man took 23rd place. His two 19th places therefore remain his best results. The victory, his 12th in his career, went to the Italian Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) after a breathtaking final.

Bad luck for Dominique Aegerter during the second MotoE race. The Bernese was forced to retire in the second round after being hit from behind by the Italian Tommaso Marcon. Aegerter was not injured. He quickly got back into the saddle, but could not do better than 16th in a race with only seven laps. The 29-year-old driver lost his first place in a world championship now led by Italian Matteo Ferrari (86 against 82 points) who won the race. Spaniard Jordi Torres follows with 79 points.

The last two races are scheduled for October 10 and 11 at Le Mans.

/ ATS

.

DENGUE: more than 700 confirmed cases in one week

by

In this month of September where high heat and rains alternate, it is therefore necessary to remain vigilant in the face of widespread viral spread throughout the country. In addition, the current meteorological conditions are favorable to the development of peri-domestic larval sites. Martinique remains in Phase 4 level 1 of the PSAGE * dengue fever: epidemic confirmed.

The cumulative number of new biologically confirmed cases over the past four weeks (August 17 to September 13, 2020) is 2,310 cases, including more than 700 cases to date for last week (September 7 to 13, 2020). The trend has therefore been for several weeks to a very clear increase in the weekly number of new confirmed cases. In total, since the start of the epidemic in November 2019, nearly 6,000 biologically confirmed cases have been notified.

The circulation of the dengue virus remains very active in Martinique, going from 1,800 clinically suggestive cases seen in city medicine in week 36 (from August 31 to September 6, 2020) to 2,000 in week 37 (from September 7 to 13, 2020 ). Nearly 6,000 patients have consulted a private general practitioner for suspected dengue fever over the past 4 weeks, or more than a third of the 16,560 suspected cases seen in consultation since the start of the epidemic.

Over the past four weeks, the spatial distribution of clinically suggestive cases of dengue fever concerns almost all the municipalities of Martinique. Twenty-six of the twenty-eight municipalities with sentinel doctors report clinically suggestive cases and among them, sixteen show high incidences of more than 100 cases per 10,000 inhabitants. In addition to two municipalities which had previously reported cases (Le Carbet and Ducos), no other area of ​​the island is spared by the circulation of the virus and the majority is very strongly affected.

.

Emmi strengthens its position in desserts in the United States

by

The manufacturer of dairy products Emmi buys the New Yorker Indulge Desserts, specializing in ‘high-end’ desserts, and achieving an annual turnover between 80 and 90 million dollars (72 and 81.8 million francs).

The transaction, the financial details of which have not been disclosed, has yet to receive the green light from the US competition authorities.

‘The takeover of Indulge Desserts allows us to acquire an agile skills center (…) and enjoying a solid base in the American market. In doing so, we are also accessing new sales outlets for our high-end Italian desserts, ‘explains Managing Director Urs Riedener, quoted in the press release issued on Friday.

For the Lucerne group, which has made several acquisitions in recent years, particularly in Italy, the dessert activities are of great strategic importance.

Indulge Desserts was born from the company Taste it Presents, founded in 1993 by John Alair Garcia, which will retain a minority stake. Paula Perlis will continue to hold the position of Development Manager.

/ ATS

.

Emmi strengthens its position in desserts in the United States

by

The manufacturer of dairy products Emmi buys the New Yorker Indulge Desserts, specializing in ‘high-end’ desserts, and achieving an annual turnover of between 80 and 90 million dollars (72 and 81.8 million francs).

The transaction, the financial details of which have not been disclosed, has yet to receive the green light from the US competition authorities.

‘The takeover of Indulge Desserts allows us to acquire an agile skills center (…) with a solid base on the American market. In doing so, we are also accessing new sales outlets for our high-end Italian desserts, ‘explains Managing Director Urs Riedener, quoted in the press release issued on Friday.

For the Lucerne group, which has made several acquisitions in recent years, particularly in Italy, the dessert activities are of great strategic importance.

Indulge Desserts was born from the company Taste it Presents, founded in 1993 by John Alair Garcia, which will retain a minority stake. Paula Perlis will continue to hold the position of Development Manager.

/ ATS

.

Clariant to build state-of-the-art factory in China

by

Specialty chemist Clariant announced on Friday the construction of a new plant for its Catalysts division in Jiaxing, in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.

Work is expected to begin before the end of the current quarter and the site is expected to operate at full capacity in 2022.

The new facility will mainly be responsible for producing a catalyst for the dehydrogenation of propane (Catofin), used in the production of olefins such as propylene.

‘Thanks to its excellent reliability and productivity, Catofin allows annual production greater than that of alternative technologies, which translates into increased overall profitability for propylene producers,’ assures the multinational from Muttenz in its press release.

China is the world’s largest producer of single-use propylene. The country’s production volume represents around 50% of global capacity and is expected to continue growing by 8% per year, Clariant estimates.

The project represents ‘a significant investment’ for Clariant, which strengthens the group’s position in the Middle Empire and improves ‘its ability to support its customers in the country’s thriving petrochemical industry’. Clariant plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities at the site in the future and introduce other catalysis technologies.

/ ATS

.

Justice examines the appeal of the Catalan regional president

by

The Spanish Supreme Court met Thursday in Madrid to study the appeal of the Catalan independentist regional president, Quim Torra. He opposes his conviction for disobedience which, if confirmed, would lead to his dismissal.

The court did not say when it would render its decision. At the end of the hearing which was held at midday in the presence of Mr. Torra, the latter denounced an “absurd and grotesque” trial.

“The state wants to impeach a sitting president in the middle of a pandemic and a monumental crisis” for having “claimed fundamental rights with a peaceful sign”, he said.

Sentenced in December at first instance to one and a half years of ineligibility, the president of the ‘Generalitat’ has already hinted that he might not respect the sentence of the highest Spanish judicial body.

‘Yes, I disobeyed’

The case dates back to March 2019. Mr. Torra then refused to obey the orders of the electoral authority, which demanded that he remove separatist emblems from the facade of the seat of the regional government, during the campaign for legislative elections.

‘Yes, I disobeyed’, admitted Mr. Torra during his trial. ‘But that’s because it was impossible to obey an illegal order,’ he added, availing himself of freedom of expression.

A confirmation of his conviction by the Supreme Court, and the subsequent dismissal, would cause a political crisis in Catalonia, where the independence movement has been deeply divided since the failure of the 2017 secession attempt.

No date for elections

Tensions between Mr. Torra’s party, Ensemble pour la Catalogne, and Gauche Républicaine de Catalogne (ERC), his partner in the regional executive, led to the announcement of early regional elections in January, but no date has not yet been fixed due to the pandemic.

The repercussions could even extend to national politics, the Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez having been returned to power in January thanks to the support of ERC in exchange for the establishment of a dialogue on the Catalan crisis.

This dialogue, interrupted since the start of the pandemic, is expected to resume soon, Sanchez promised. If his appeal is rejected, Mr. Torra could bring the case before the Constitutional Court, but this appeal would not be suspensive and the dismissal would therefore be effective.

/ ATS

.

Sunrise did not violate the contract signed with Salt

by

Sunrise has not violated the contract signed with Salt to create a joint venture active in the deployment of optical fiber in Switzerland.

According to a press release released Thursday by Sunrise, the decision of the Zurich Commercial Court can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. Salt had initiated proceedings against Sunrise in order to prevent Freenet – Sunrise’s main shareholder – as well as the members of the board of directors and the management of Switzerland’s number two telecommunications company, from using their shares in the context of the offer. takeover bid for Liberty Global, the owner of Zurich cable operator UPC.

Salt’s request was based on an alleged violation by Sunrise of the exclusivity agreement between the two groups regarding Swiss Open Fiber. Founded in May, the joint venture was expected to connect 1.5 million homes within five to seven years. The two partners planned to inject a total of 3 billion francs into the company.

Last week, the Zurich Commercial Court rejected ‘ex parte’, or in the absence of the parties, Salt’s injunction seeking restrictions on the planned takeover of Sunrise by Liberty Global. At the beginning of September, the Vaud operator had obtained from the American courts the right to receive from Liberty Global information (documents, correspondence, declarations) relating to the transaction.

The joint venture of Swisscom’s two rivals was intended to become a counterweight to the incumbent operator, leader in the fiber optic sector. Sunrise, however, put the project on hold after the announcement of its takeover by the parent company of UPC Switzerland.

At the end of August, when Salt first mentioned the possibility of resorting to legal means, Sunrise replied that according to the agreed contractual terms, each partner was free to terminate the negotiations at any time.

The Zurich operator also assured that it had ‘at no time requested or encouraged the offer of Liberty Global’, the scenario of an unsolicited takeover bid (OPA) having been explicitly excluded in the agreement with Salt .

/ ATS

.

Weakened, the European car market fell again in August

by

The European car market, hit in the spring by the health crisis, fell again by 18.9% over one year in August, a sign of its slow and difficult recovery, according to figures released Thursday.

French groups did a little worse than average last month. The Renault group (with Dacia, Lada and Alpine) suffered a decrease of 24.7% of its registrations compared to August 2019, while PSA (Peugeot, Citroën, Opel / Vauxhall, DS) recorded a decrease of 20, 8%, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) announced in a statement.

After collapsing 55.1% in March, 76.3% in April, then 52.3% in May under the effect of the confinement of populations and the closure of car shops, the European market is recovering hardly any consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

August marks a deterioration compared to July, when it fell only 5.7% over one year, benefiting from government stimulus measures adopted in several major European countries, including Germany, France and Spain.

In the first eight months of the year, only 6.12 million new passenger cars were put on the roads of the European Union, almost 2.9 million less than last year over the same period.

Historical decline expected

The ACEA expects a historic drop of 25% in deliveries over the whole year. Before the pandemic, in January, the organization which brings together 16 manufacturers active in Europe, forecast a decline of 2% after six consecutive years of growth which had brought the market close to its highest levels.

In this very degraded context, the European automotive industry is now worried about a possible failure of negotiations on a post-Brexit agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom. She warned Monday that such a scenario would represent for her a commercial loss estimated at 110 billion euros over five years which would be added to the loss of production linked to the pandemic which she estimates at 100 billion euros.

In the list of manufacturers, the Volkswagen group (with Skoda, Audi, Seat and Porsche), still undisputed number one in Europe, saw its deliveries fall by 24.3% in August. But over eight months its market share has further increased by 0.8 point to 26.1%.

It is clearly ahead of its runner-up PSA, whose market share has fallen by 1.6 points to 15.3% since the start of the year.

The Renault group completes the European podium, but also fell more than the average between January and August, its market share falling by 0.4 point to 11.5%.

/ ATS

.

Bencic also beaten on entry to Rome

by

The 2020 edition of the Rome tournament did not smile on Swiss players. After Jil Teichmann and Stan Wawrinka, Belinda Bencic (WTA 10) was also beaten as soon as she entered the running.

Exempted from the 1st round in her capacity as seeded No. 6, Belinda Bencic lost 6-3 6-1 in the 2nd round in front of Montenegrin Danka Kovinic (WTA 86). It was true that her task was going to be difficult against a player who came out of qualifying after reaching the quarter-finals in Istanbul last week.

Belinda Bencic, who had not played on the WTA tour since February 27 and suffered a quarter-final loss in Doha, was clearly dominated in this 72 ‘long game. The 2019 US Open semi-finalist has conceded her entry four times, including three in the second set.

The St-Galloise, who had all the same played a dozen matches this summer on clay (especially during the Interclubs), missed the boat at the end of the first set. She conceded her serve in the eighth game, after missing the first break point of that game at 3-3, and was also awarded two 4-5 balls on the restart. She then collapsed.

/ ATS

.

Eliot Antonietti in Lugano, but with a “two ways” contract

by

Eliot Antonietti has been transferred to HC Lugano, announces the Resega club in a press release.

The 27-year-old defender has signed up for a year. However, he signed a ‘two ways’ contract and could therefore be brought to the Swiss League with the Ticino Rockets.

Trained in Genève-Servette, Eliot Antonietti has spent almost his entire career with the Vernets club. He left him last October after being loaned to Rapperswil-Jona. Again hampered by injuries, however, he only played five matches in the Lakers jersey.

/ ATS

.