"No official, past of present, is able to give a convincing answer on what has happened with this evidence"
- Ta Nea, a daily newspaper published in Athens
The total number of orders to the Swiss industry fell in the second quarter of 2012, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office reported on Thursday. Industry orders, an indicator which measures future industrial production, tumbled 1.1 per cent, after falling by 3.9 per cent in the first three months of 2012. At the same time, industrial production rose 4.6 per cent on a yearly basis.
"The international economic slowdown has also reached Switzerland," the State Secretariat for Economics (Seco) experts said.
"Nevertheless, it is still too early to state that the euro crisis has been resolved until there is any clear success with the reforms in the crisis countries, leading to greater stability in government finances and improved economic competitiveness," they added.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies jumped 0.41 per cent to 6,631.35. The broader Swiss Performance Index edged higher 0.34 per cent to 6,124.60.
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