Born and raised in Lausanne, Switzerland, the son of a Turkish immigrant father and an East German mother, Yves Béhar is certainly no stranger to confluence. He came to the U.S. in 1990 to study at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Eight years ago he founded the aptly named fuseproject, a multifaceted design enclave he helms out of San Francisco. In the past decade, Béhar has become one of the most acclaimed and sought after names in contemporary design. He wields an award winning design proficiency that spans the gamut: furniture, fashion, graphics, packaging, environments and strategy... So we imagined he's put some thought into the art of living well—that's why we asked him to list 5 innovations he couldn't live without.

For almost thirty years, Fogal, Switzerland's premier hosiery and lingerie luxury brand, has been in the habit of commissioning custom shopping bags from rising and established art world denizens, like Alan Jones of the UK, Tobias Gerber from Germany or Russian design star, Erté, making the bags themselves something of a collectors item. From pastoral to the haute urbane; light and "frou frou" to dark roving wit— we've assembled a slideshow of the naughty and the nice for your viewing pleasure... SLIDESHOW BELOW

“Energy is the most pressing issue. If you have clean abundant energy, you can solve all today's problems: You can turn the Sahara into a garden, you can desalinate salt water, you can pump it wherever you want to have it. Cheap energy can develop the world. A barrel of oil -- one hundred and fifty-nine liters — contains the physical capacity of what twelve men would have to work for over a year. It's really the key to our time." This is Basil Gelpke, and that’s the optimistic part. Here’s the flip side: Our global civilization is dependent on one particular energy source, and if we run out of it we’re in trouble. That time might be soon. It might be now.

In 1735, in the city of Konigsberg, Germany, the people faced a conundrum: a river ran through the city dividing it into four separate land masses. Seven bridges were built so that people could get from one point to another, but herein lay the puzzle; was it possible to get around the city without crossing one bridge twice? It was pondered, strategies devised— laymen, aristocrats, clergy and scholars were all stymied, all except one man, the Swiss mathematician, Leonhard Euler. Euler solved the problem mathematically by envisioning points in the land masses as vertices, the bridges as arcs, in short, converting a geographical problem into a geometric equation. This penchant for looking beyond facades and pinpointing the invisible and abstract forces at work is what makes Euler’s work still relevant today. Look around you, most of the technology you are using right now is thanks to some Euler calculation: water out of your shower, your cable TV reception…

For our open contest "When I Think of Switzerland, I Think of..." the entries keep pouring in from children of all ages and diverse nationalities. Here's what we've got so far...

Do you recall Pippi Longstocking, the fictional heroine of many beloved children’s books and films, who had the strength of ten men and crazy red antennae plaits for hair? Pippi lived with a horse and a monkey in a crazy offbeat house called Villa Villekula—or Villa Kunterbunt— if you grew up in Switzerland (in which case Pippi becomes Pippi Långstrumpf).

Ricola's popular Find The Ricola Mystery Cougher consuer promotion was again a hit this year. Visit www.mysterycougher.com to see the winners from around the US.

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Nothing says Switzerland quite like fondue, especially one enhanced with gingerbread or fruit and nuts.

1 3.5 oz. Frey limited-edition holiday flavor chocolate bar in Cinnamon Coriander, Gingerbread or Winter Fruit & Nut, broken into squares
2 tablespoons whipping cream
Optional: 1 tablespoon kirsch (for use with Chocolat Frey Winter Fruit & Nut chocolate bar), or 1 teaspoon Goldschlager¨ (for use with Chocolat Frey Cinnamon Coriander chocolate bar), or 1 teaspoon brandy (for use with Chocolat Frey Gingerbread chocolate bar)

FOR THE REST OF THIS RECIPE VISIT: WWW.CHOCOLAT-FREY.COM

THE SWISS HELVETIA FUND, INC.

THE SWISS HELVETIA FUND, INC.--TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS

THE SWISS HELVETIA FUND, INC. DECLARES CAPITAL GAINS DISTRIBUTIONS

The numbers are in, and while the U.S. is still the world's most competitive economy, Switzerland ranks second* thanks to its capacity for innovation and sophisticated business culture. Switzerland also ranks second to Japan* as the world's most innovative country--500 patents were awarded per million people between 2002-2005 in a country of 7.5 million.*

It should come as no surprise then that 26 Swiss companies were listed amongst the world's 1000 most innovative companies in 2007, with pharmaceutical giants, Novartis and Roche ranking in the Top 20.* Both companies, along with 11 other Swiss companies, including UBS, Credit Suisse, Nestle and Zurich Financial Services, are also listed in the Fortune Global 500.**.

It was a good year for Swiss industry, which, in particular, saw a record 12% jump in watch exports (reaching a value of CHF 1.685 billion) last October.* Swiss manufacturers also enjoyed a robust expansion, which played an important role in setting a national record high of employment: 4.434 million were gainfully employed by the third quarter of 2007--2.3% more than the same quarter in 2006.*

* Source: The Swiss American Chamber of Commerce Business News.
** Source: www.money.cnn.com

The Swiss Helvetia Fund is managed by Hottinger Capital Corp., 1270 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 400, New York, New York 10020. www.hottinger.com

 

MORE ABOUT THE SWISS HELVETIA FUND INC.

Unique and unparalleled: the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Switzerland are as varied as the land itself. From the Castles of Bellinzona at the foot of the Alps to the UNESCO Biosphere at Entlebuch--Switzerland will surprise you.

VISIT US HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Traveling in SWISS Business will feature more personalized service, with improvements having started and more on the way. There will be greater flexibility and greater selection with regard to breakfast and more time for inflight sleep, adjustments that reflect requests voiced by customers. Consequently, the new service is intended to make the cabin a quieter place. Focused on personalized service, passengers will be able to indicate what they would like to have for breakfast, the idea being similar to the "door knob" option available in top hotels. Further comfort enhancements include an additional hot-towel service.

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