Ethanol has many chemical and physical properties. As a result, its uses in industry are varied and numerous. In the winter, ethanol is used most notably to produce flu drugs, to keep fondue warm and to de-ice airport runways. In 2011, Alcosuisse, the profit centre of the Swiss Alcohol Board (SAB), provided Swiss industry with almost 38 000 tonnes of ethanol.

(FSO) - Last year, more new motorised vehicles were registered than ever before in Switzerland. With approximately 420,900 new vehicle permits, the previous record from 1989 was clearly beaten. In 2011 some 5.5 million motorised vehicles were registered, representing an increase of 2.2% compared with the previous year. This finding is from the Federal Statistical Office's (FSO) newly published Road Vehicle Statistics.

COMCO has received information regarding potential unlawful agreements among banks. Specifically, collusion between derivative traders might have influenced the reference rates LIBOR und TIBOR. Furthermore, market conditions regarding derivative products based on these reference rates might have been manipulated too. Hence, COMCO has opened an investigation against UBS and Credit Suisse, as well as against more than ten foreign financial institutes and other companies.