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WBR: Soaring Swiss franc hurts industry 19 March 15

Thu, 19 Mar 15

As the Swiss central bank halves its economic growth forecast for this year, we look at the Swiss firms shutting down and moving to cheaper locations in Austria and Slovakia because of the soaring value of the Swiss franc. With a solar eclipse on its way, we hear about why the natural phenomenon presents a bit a of a headache for the energy industry. Voters in Spain's southern region of Andalucía go to the polls this weekend, and the BBC's Guy Hedgecoe has a report on the lead-up to the most fiercely-contested regional elections in decades. Plus, hundreds of years ago Italy was the envy of the world when it came to expensive silks, but the industry has faded in recent decades in the face of competition from cheaper Chinese production. Now, though, there are efforts to once again make Italy a centre for silk production in Europe - and it's not just the fashion industries that will benefit.