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TSB NEEDS £600M BOOST TO START UK INNOVATION AGENCY
The CBI has announced the UK is making its first steps towards an ?´innovation agency??.Commenting on changes announced by the Government to the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the CBI??s Director-General, Richard Lambert said: ?¨These changes to the TSB lay the foundations for the coherent, long-term innovation strategy the CBI has called for. The new emphasis being placed on innovation across the service sectors is particularly welcome, helping to ensure the Government??s strategy benefits the economy as a whole.
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UK STILL A HEADACHE FOR NEW START-UPS, COMPARED WITH US
US economist, Dr Irwin Stelzer, has claimed that fledgling small businesses still faced serious problems in the UK. Speaking at NESTA??s
flagship event, Dr Stelzer said that the regulatory and tax burdens faced by UK start-ups meant they were still at a considerable disadvantage to those in the US. Commenting on the need for a more entrepreneurial culture in the UK, Dr Stelzer added that the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, knew ?´the words but not the tune?? when it came to creating such an environment.
Dr Stelzer also cla
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US WANTS OPENNESS IN EUROPEAN GAS MARKET
Europe??s gas market is dysfunctional and needs alternatives to Russian monopoly Gazprom, but potential suppliers such as Azerbaijan are under a lot of pressure to keep out, a US official said recently.
Gazprom, Russia??s gas export monopoly, currently supplies a quarter of Europe??s gas needs and its market share is expected to grow in the coming decades. It is not just Europeans who are troubled by the rising dependence on Russia.
?¨Our national security is best served when energy and other markets function effici
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INDUSTRIAL ADHESIVES CROWN AGBAR TOWER IN BARCELONA
One of Barcelona's most striking architectural symbols, Torre Agbar - The Agbar Tower - has come to life with a helping hand from Araldite adhesives and the engineering adhesives team at Huntsman Advanced Materials.
Created by French architect Jean Nouvel, the Agbar Tower was officially opened in September 2005. Standing at over 142 metres, the bullet-shaped skyscraper is the third tallest building in Barcelona and a dramatic addition to the city's skyline. Located at the entrance to Barcelona's new technology and busi
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CHINA DEAL FOR 150 AIRBUS JETS
European planemaker Airbus has agreed to sell 150 of its narrow-bodied A320 family of aircraft to China and reached a final deal to make the jets in the country, its chief executive said.
The deal also involves options for 20 A350s, said Airbus President and Chief Executive Louis Gallois in Beijing, where French President Jacques Chirac was also visiting.
Gallois added that Airbus had finalised a deal to build an A320 assembly plant in Tianjin, near Beijing, its first such factory outside Europe.
China, which of
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SCIENTISTS EYE ENGINE ETHANOL
Injecting small quantities of ethanol into car engines at moments of peak demand ?± such as accelerating sharply or climbing a steep hill ?± could improve the fuel economy of gasoline engines by 20% to 30%, scientists have said.
A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working on the system, which scientists say would allow carmakers to use smaller engines in their vehicles, reducing weight and improving fuel economy at a lower cost to consumers than by adding a hybrid engine.
?¨To have
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AGEISM STILL AN OBSTACLE FOR JOBSEEKERS IN THE UK
Hard on the heels of the introduction of the new anti-ageism legislation which came into force on October 1st 2006 (See page 64), a new international workplace survey carried out by employment agency, Kelly Services has found that 40% of job seekers in the UK believe they have been discriminated against when applying for work in the last five years.
The Kelly Global Workforce Index sought the views of approximately 70,000 people in 28 countries, including almost 6,000 UK respondents.
The survey found that:
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MAKING RAIN TO EASE THE TALENT DROUGHT
Most companies expect to see a shortage of talent in the next few years, reports Susan Meisinger, president and chief executive officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
In 2005, a Deloitte survey of 1,400 human resource professionals worldwide confirmed that attracting and retaining high-calibre workers is the most critical people management issue. Compounding the problem is another important finding: three-quarters of organisations expect to suffer a shortage of talent in the next three to five year
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WORST EVER UK ENERGY PRICE HIKES PREDICTED
With two thirds of all industrial electricity contracts up for renewal between now and 1st October, Energyhelpline.com is predicting the worst ever price spike that the UK energy market has so far seen.
Companies coming to the end of 12 month contracts are being warned they face increases of up to 40 percent, and those coming out of three year contracts are likely to be quoted more than double the rates they are currently used to paying.
Industrial energy supplies are billed on 'half hourly' contracts, calculated via
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UK LAUNCHES WEEE DRAFT REGULATIONS
The Department of Trade and Industry in the UK has finally launched the Draft Regulations and Guidance regarding the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
The expected timetable for WEEE enforcement and implementation in the UK is scheduled as follows.
?Ø October 17, 2006: End of DTI consultation.
?Ø December 2006: WEEE Regulations laid.
?Ø January 31, 2007: Deadline for compliance schemes to apply for approval.
?Ø February 28, 2007: Deadline for schemes to be approved.
?Ø March 15, 2007: Deadline for produc
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Furness and West Cumbria’s West Coast is about to experience a major investment that will strengthen the tourism and industry s ...
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| National Stadium, Beijing |
At the pinnacle of its construction, the National Stadium in Beijing had 7,000 workers toiling over the infrastructure. ...
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No smoke without fire
It seems that commentators, industry heads, central bankers and, dare I say it, Industrial Focus’s own journalists have made so ...
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Innovation for the nations
Hope for the future has arisen from the turmoil of the last few months, as industrial technologies have spun out some marvels o ...
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Supposedly the construction
materials of the future, composites are increasingly seen in
applications where optimum efficiency is paramount including
aircraft construction and renewable energy. As two research
examples show in this video, composites really are the future
for efficiency.
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