"The Swiss financial sector (is) adopting the global standards on exchange of information in tax matters," Urs Roth, CEO of Swiss Banking Association, said Thursday as he considers the future of the industry. Swiss banks have weathered the crisis well, he added.
"There's a certain risk that growth will surprise to the upside in the very short term. This is due to a normalization of inventories and the usual thing of people being too skeptical," Christian Gattiker from Julius Baer said Thursday. "The second half of next year is still rather on the bumpy side."
Compass Group beat expectations with its full-year earnings Wednesday after an extensive cost-cutting strategy helped the catering group's bottom line. "The revenue outlook is flattish … but we would expect to grow the margins again," CEO Richard Cousins told CNBC.
Recession-wary consumers are regaining their appetite for ready-meals, according Greencore. Patrick Coveney, CEO of Greencore, told CNBC the outlook for the Irish food company was improving.
Heinz profit fell 16 percent, but the company beat analyst estimates on emerging-market growth. William Johnson, chairman and CEO of Heinz, talks to CNBC.