VENTURE CAPITAL POST

European banking regulators have begun probing links between banks and tax havens in the wake of leakage of Panama Papers. Switzerland's financial watchdog FINMA has cautioned banks to crack down on money laundering. Geneva has also commenced a criminal enquiry into banks dealing with tax havens in the wake of Panama Papers.

Switzerland receives about 1000 emergency calls from hikers every year. In order to create a technology that could give a faster response and search more effectively for lost or injured hikers, a group of researchers developed a software with a combination of Artificial Intelligence. The software enable drones to autonomously navigate forest areas and direct themselves to hiking trails.

Nestle has decided to acquire the remaining stake of 36.3% in Osem and take the Israeli food company fully private. An offer of $840 million has been made to buy out the shares, and a shareholder meeting has been scheduled in March which should reveal the final decision arrived at by the company.

Europe recession looks enduring, warns the IPPR report. It said the severe unemployment and underemployment in Europe are signals of an alarming situation about the deepening recession.

Swiss-based startup BestMile announced that it will begin on-road commercial trials of its autonomous bus system next year. The on-road trial will run for two years to test how well the vehicles operate in real-life traffic.

New World Wealth (NWW), a South Africa-based market research consultancy, released the lists of wealthiest countries, ranked by using its own new method.

The United States is now third place in the list of top tax havens for foreign companies on the biannual Financial Secrecy Index by the Tax Justice Network, next to Switzerland and Hong Kong.

Switzerland is adding another factory for Nespresso, Europe's largest single-serve coffee brand. This is to manufacture capsules uniquely designed for the U.S. consumers where sales growth is bigger than its home continent according to Bloomberg.

A study conducted by Interpol and the United Nations said that only 33% of Europe's electronic wastes is correctly recycled. A large number of these electronic wastes include computers, cellphones and televisions that are dumped or traded illegally.

Nestle India Ltd will focus on growing its dairy, coffee and confectionary businesses, its new boss said, as the company battles to bring back its popular Maggi noodles that were pulled from shelves over safety concerns.

Union Bancaire Privee (UBP) has agreed to buy Royal Bank of Scotland's international private banking business Coutts International, as the Swiss private bank continues to rebuild its asset base in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

Shares of U.S.-based agribusiness Andersons Inc (ANDE.O) jumped more than 6 percent on Friday, outpacing the sector, after a Bloomberg News report speculated that Glencore PLC (GLEN.L) could be interested in acquiring the company.

Swiss company Holcim (HOLN.VX) came under pressure on Monday to secure improved terms for its shareholders in a planned merger with France's Lafarge (LAFP.PA) that would create the world's largest cement maker.

A former boss of HSBC, Stephen Green, has stepped down from his position with a financial services lobby group after allegations that the bank helped people dodge taxes.

Swiss financial titans UBS and Credit Suisse are expanding their operations in provincial Poland in a cost-saving drive made more urgent by the surge in the value of the Swiss franc.