Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar 29 - As Rio Tinto executives are sentenced to jail on bribery and secrets charges, analysts say China's business image may be harmed.
Anna McIntosh reports.
Monday, 29 March 2010
New Greek bond will test EU plan
Link to the article: Reuters
Mar 29 - Greece launches its first bond since the Eurozone leaders approved an aid package for the struggling country.
Anna McIntosh reports.
Mar 29 - Greece launches its first bond since the Eurozone leaders approved an aid package for the struggling country.
Anna McIntosh reports.
Sunday, 28 March 2010
China's Geely buys Volvo for $1.8bn
Link to the article: BBC News
Volvo has been sold to China's biggest privately-owned car firm, Geely, from US car giant Ford for $1.8bn (£1.2bn).
Loss-making Volvo has been on the market since 2008, when Ford put it and several other brands up for sale.
Joe Lynam reports.
Volvo has been sold to China's biggest privately-owned car firm, Geely, from US car giant Ford for $1.8bn (£1.2bn).
Loss-making Volvo has been on the market since 2008, when Ford put it and several other brands up for sale.
Joe Lynam reports.
Teenage kicks: Doc Martens turn 50
Link to the article: BBC News
Doc Marten boots, the fashion staple of musical genres from ska to grunge, are about to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
To celebrate the landmark, a new exhibition has been launched in Northampton, where the iconic boots were first made.
Ben Godfrey reports.
Doc Marten boots, the fashion staple of musical genres from ska to grunge, are about to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
To celebrate the landmark, a new exhibition has been launched in Northampton, where the iconic boots were first made.
Ben Godfrey reports.
Peru hails Western carbon offsetting programmes
Link to the article: BBC News
Nestle Waters France wants to offset emissions from its factories in the west by buying trees in a rainforest thousands of miles away.
It is not the first and it will not be the last time a multinational company publicly declares its green intentions.
But the public has become used to greeting such announcements with indifference.
There is widespread scepticism about the genuine green credentials of big firms trying to clean up their image in this way - critics say it is inefficient at best, corrupt at worst.
That may be why Nestle Waters France is betting on the credentials of France's hottest young environmentalist, Tristan Lecomte, and his carbon management company, The Pure Project, to execute its plan.
Mr Lecomte, 36, is on his way to becoming a household name in his native France.
In 1998 he founded the country's best known fair trade company, Alter Eco. Now he is turning his combination of vision and business acumen to tackling climate change.
Nestle Waters France wants to offset emissions from its factories in the west by buying trees in a rainforest thousands of miles away.
It is not the first and it will not be the last time a multinational company publicly declares its green intentions.
But the public has become used to greeting such announcements with indifference.
There is widespread scepticism about the genuine green credentials of big firms trying to clean up their image in this way - critics say it is inefficient at best, corrupt at worst.
That may be why Nestle Waters France is betting on the credentials of France's hottest young environmentalist, Tristan Lecomte, and his carbon management company, The Pure Project, to execute its plan.
Mr Lecomte, 36, is on his way to becoming a household name in his native France.
In 1998 he founded the country's best known fair trade company, Alter Eco. Now he is turning his combination of vision and business acumen to tackling climate change.
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Second BA strike begins
Link to the article: Channel 4 News
There has been more disruption to flights today as the second wave of British Airways strike began, although the airline has said that 75% of its passengers are unaffected. Andrew Thomas reports.
British Airways cabin crew set up picket lines outside airports today for the second weekend in a row as the latest industrial action began.
Chief executive Willie Walsh declined to give interviews to the media, but was seen milling about amongst passengers at Heathrow.
When one passenger asked how the airline would cope with the next few days, Walsh said: "It's going to be busy but I am hopeful that everything will go to plan. It's going really well today - and I'm glad you were able to get away on your holiday as well."
However, the airline and the union Unite continue to disagree about how badly the strike is affecting BA - not least in how many of its staff are on strike.
There has been more disruption to flights today as the second wave of British Airways strike began, although the airline has said that 75% of its passengers are unaffected. Andrew Thomas reports.
British Airways cabin crew set up picket lines outside airports today for the second weekend in a row as the latest industrial action began.
Chief executive Willie Walsh declined to give interviews to the media, but was seen milling about amongst passengers at Heathrow.
When one passenger asked how the airline would cope with the next few days, Walsh said: "It's going to be busy but I am hopeful that everything will go to plan. It's going really well today - and I'm glad you were able to get away on your holiday as well."
However, the airline and the union Unite continue to disagree about how badly the strike is affecting BA - not least in how many of its staff are on strike.
Coffee inhaler hits the market
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar. 27 - A new plastic inhaler that delivers an instant coffee hit is released onto the market.
Simon Hanna reports.
Mar. 27 - A new plastic inhaler that delivers an instant coffee hit is released onto the market.
Simon Hanna reports.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Google's rift with China is a calculated business risk
Link to the article: BBC News
Google's move into China four years ago was billed by some people as a battle between the irresistible force and the immovable object.
The inexorable expansion of the internet - epitomised by Google - would never exist happily in a command economy like China, said critics.
By taking its search engine onto Chinese soil - and thus agreeing to Beijing's censorship rules - Google was accused of trading reputation for profit.
On Monday, however, Google pulled its search facility out of mainland China, redirecting users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong.
What now for both profits and reputation? Has it shut the door on the world's biggest internet market?
The Great Firewall
China has hit back at Google, limiting its citizens' use of the search facility through web filters that are collectively known as the Great Firewall.
And some of Google's business partners are already starting to distance themselves from the company.
Google's move into China four years ago was billed by some people as a battle between the irresistible force and the immovable object.
The inexorable expansion of the internet - epitomised by Google - would never exist happily in a command economy like China, said critics.
By taking its search engine onto Chinese soil - and thus agreeing to Beijing's censorship rules - Google was accused of trading reputation for profit.
On Monday, however, Google pulled its search facility out of mainland China, redirecting users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong.
What now for both profits and reputation? Has it shut the door on the world's biggest internet market?
The Great Firewall
China has hit back at Google, limiting its citizens' use of the search facility through web filters that are collectively known as the Great Firewall.
And some of Google's business partners are already starting to distance themselves from the company.
Times websites to charge for online stories
Link to the article: Channel 4 News
Readers of the The Times and Sunday Times will have to pay to read articles on its website from June, the papers' owner News International (NI) has announced. But newspaper bosses Channel 4 News spoke to disagree over whether the plans will be a success.
The papers' articles and comment pieces are currently available to be read for free on the Times Online website.
News International said it would launch new websites in May for both papers, which would then charge for access from June. Web users will pay £1 for a day's access, and £2 to subscribe for a week.
They will be offered extra web content as an incentive to pay, the company said.
Industry analysis suggests just five per cent of the current Times Online readership of 20 million users will subscribe.
Sunday Times editor John Witherow admitted to Channel 4 News that "only a fraction will pay" to access his paper's content online.
However he believed these readers would be worth more in financial terms to NI: "The ones who are going to pay are going to be loyal readers who just love the Sunday Times and The Times," he said.
Channel 4 News revealed last August that the Sunday Times was planning to charge web users to read its content on the internet.
NI has suggested its other papers, The Sun and News of the World is likely to follow the move.
The Financial Times is currently the only national UK newspaper to charge for online access.
Newspapers across the world have been struggling to make money from the internet, and NI's move will be watched closely by its rivals.
Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, signalled last August his plans to charge to read his newspapers online.
His company's titles include the Times and Sunday Times, along with the Wall Street Journal and the Australian.
"Quality journalism is not cheap," he said.
"The digital revolution has opened many new and inexpensive distribution channels but it has not made content free. We intend to charge for all our news websites."
Mr Murdoch also threatened to prevent the Google from using News Corporation stories on its search indexes.
Critics say the decision by NI to charge for reading The Times and Sunday Times online could backfire.
Readers of the The Times and Sunday Times will have to pay to read articles on its website from June, the papers' owner News International (NI) has announced. But newspaper bosses Channel 4 News spoke to disagree over whether the plans will be a success.
The papers' articles and comment pieces are currently available to be read for free on the Times Online website.
News International said it would launch new websites in May for both papers, which would then charge for access from June. Web users will pay £1 for a day's access, and £2 to subscribe for a week.
They will be offered extra web content as an incentive to pay, the company said.
Industry analysis suggests just five per cent of the current Times Online readership of 20 million users will subscribe.
Sunday Times editor John Witherow admitted to Channel 4 News that "only a fraction will pay" to access his paper's content online.
However he believed these readers would be worth more in financial terms to NI: "The ones who are going to pay are going to be loyal readers who just love the Sunday Times and The Times," he said.
Channel 4 News revealed last August that the Sunday Times was planning to charge web users to read its content on the internet.
NI has suggested its other papers, The Sun and News of the World is likely to follow the move.
The Financial Times is currently the only national UK newspaper to charge for online access.
Newspapers across the world have been struggling to make money from the internet, and NI's move will be watched closely by its rivals.
Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, signalled last August his plans to charge to read his newspapers online.
His company's titles include the Times and Sunday Times, along with the Wall Street Journal and the Australian.
"Quality journalism is not cheap," he said.
"The digital revolution has opened many new and inexpensive distribution channels but it has not made content free. We intend to charge for all our news websites."
Mr Murdoch also threatened to prevent the Google from using News Corporation stories on its search indexes.
Critics say the decision by NI to charge for reading The Times and Sunday Times online could backfire.
Green rules block Heathrow expansion plans
Link to the article: Channel 4 News By Felicity Spector
Government plans to expand the third runway at London's Heathrow airport have been sent back to the drawing board after a judge ruled the project's climate change and economic impact must be reviewed.
A coalition of local councils, green groups and residents claimed the Government's entire Heathrow policy was now "in tatters" - and contradicted Britain's overall climate change targets.
Lord Justice Carnwath supported their argument that the government's support for a third runway, first pledged in 2003 and then again last year, must now be reviewed.
The judge ruled the government's entire aviation policy must now take into account the implications of the 2008 Climate Change Act.
The judge said objectors had shown "a powerful demonstration of the potential significance of developments in climate change policy since the 2003 Air Transport White Paper".
Anti-expansion protesters claimed victory, saing the ruling had sent government plans to expand the third runway at Heathrow back to the drawing board.
Government plans to expand the third runway at London's Heathrow airport have been sent back to the drawing board after a judge ruled the project's climate change and economic impact must be reviewed.
A coalition of local councils, green groups and residents claimed the Government's entire Heathrow policy was now "in tatters" - and contradicted Britain's overall climate change targets.
Lord Justice Carnwath supported their argument that the government's support for a third runway, first pledged in 2003 and then again last year, must now be reviewed.
The judge ruled the government's entire aviation policy must now take into account the implications of the 2008 Climate Change Act.
The judge said objectors had shown "a powerful demonstration of the potential significance of developments in climate change policy since the 2003 Air Transport White Paper".
Anti-expansion protesters claimed victory, saing the ruling had sent government plans to expand the third runway at Heathrow back to the drawing board.
New in tech: touchless computers
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar 26 - Imagine being able to send an email with the wave of a hand, or play video games with the point of a finger. The reality may not be that far off. Julie Gordon reports.
Mar 26 - Imagine being able to send an email with the wave of a hand, or play video games with the point of a finger. The reality may not be that far off. Julie Gordon reports.
Toyota warning years before recall
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar. 26 - Toyota warned dealers of crash risk in 2007 -- two full years before a recall was issued over floormats which interfered with driving pedals.
Penny Tweedie reports.
Mar. 26 - Toyota warned dealers of crash risk in 2007 -- two full years before a recall was issued over floormats which interfered with driving pedals.
Penny Tweedie reports.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Budget 2010: how it affects you
Link to the article: Channel 4 News
hannel 4 News has been looking through the chancellor's speech with personal finance expert Jasmine Birtles to see how it affects you.
First-time buyers
Good news for first time buyers. The stamp duty threshold on homes doubles, up from £125,000 to £250,000.
But personal finance expert, Jasmine Birtles, believes buyers are still struggling to get a mortgage at the moment: "Unless you have an excellent credit history, a really large deposit (at least 20 per cent) and a regular, strong income it's very difficult to get a mortgage."
This increase will funded by an increase in stamp duty on properties worth more than £1m from April 2011. "Now there is more reason for the very rich to leave the country", says Birtles. "Wealth does trickle down so that could actually harm the economy."
There is also help for unemployed home owners. They get another six months of mortgage support.
Accounting for the "un-banked"
The chancellor has given a guarantee that everyone will have access to a bank account. The aim is to fight financial exclusion.
There are 1.75m adults in the UK who do not have a traditional bank account, more than half of whom are among the poorest fifth of the population, according to the treasury.
hannel 4 News has been looking through the chancellor's speech with personal finance expert Jasmine Birtles to see how it affects you.
First-time buyers
Good news for first time buyers. The stamp duty threshold on homes doubles, up from £125,000 to £250,000.
But personal finance expert, Jasmine Birtles, believes buyers are still struggling to get a mortgage at the moment: "Unless you have an excellent credit history, a really large deposit (at least 20 per cent) and a regular, strong income it's very difficult to get a mortgage."
This increase will funded by an increase in stamp duty on properties worth more than £1m from April 2011. "Now there is more reason for the very rich to leave the country", says Birtles. "Wealth does trickle down so that could actually harm the economy."
There is also help for unemployed home owners. They get another six months of mortgage support.
Accounting for the "un-banked"
The chancellor has given a guarantee that everyone will have access to a bank account. The aim is to fight financial exclusion.
There are 1.75m adults in the UK who do not have a traditional bank account, more than half of whom are among the poorest fifth of the population, according to the treasury.
Nano dress: Fashion meets function
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar 24 - Imagine a dress that charges your iPod, changes color on a whim and will someday even monitor your vital signs. Researchers developing "smart cotton" say their nano-particle fabric will do all that and more. Ben Gruber reports.
Mar 24 - Imagine a dress that charges your iPod, changes color on a whim and will someday even monitor your vital signs. Researchers developing "smart cotton" say their nano-particle fabric will do all that and more. Ben Gruber reports.
Insider traders - banks named
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar 24 - Top banks named in insider dealing swoop.
Penny Tweedie reports.
Mar 24 - Top banks named in insider dealing swoop.
Penny Tweedie reports.
Chocolate industry comments to Panorama
Link to the article: BBC Panorama
Chocolate manufacturers and industry bodies gave the following comments to Panorama regarding the programme Chocolate: The Bitter Truth.
The programme is Wednesday, 24 March on BBC One at 9pm and available to watch again in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.
Read Fairtrade's full response to Panorama here
Chocolate manufacturers and industry bodies gave the following comments to Panorama regarding the programme Chocolate: The Bitter Truth.
The programme is Wednesday, 24 March on BBC One at 9pm and available to watch again in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.
Read Fairtrade's full response to Panorama here
Cocoa slave tastes sweet freedom
Link to the Video: Panorama (Cocoa and Child Labour)
This Easter, Britons will eat their way through 80 million chocolate eggs but would we have such a sweet tooth if we knew how it was harvested?
Sixty per cent of cocoa beans found in chocolate on UK shop shelves are sourced in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Fatao is a 12-year-old boy from Burkina Faso who Panorama discovers working on a cocoa farm in Ghana.
He is just one of thousands of trafficked children helping to feed the world's appetite for chocolate.
Panorama - Chocolate: The Bitter Truth is on BBC One, Wednesday 24 March at 2100GMT.
This Easter, Britons will eat their way through 80 million chocolate eggs but would we have such a sweet tooth if we knew how it was harvested?
Sixty per cent of cocoa beans found in chocolate on UK shop shelves are sourced in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Fatao is a 12-year-old boy from Burkina Faso who Panorama discovers working on a cocoa farm in Ghana.
He is just one of thousands of trafficked children helping to feed the world's appetite for chocolate.
Panorama - Chocolate: The Bitter Truth is on BBC One, Wednesday 24 March at 2100GMT.
Tracing the bitter truth of chocolate and child labour
Link to the article: BBC Panorama
This Easter, Britons will eat their way through 80m chocolate eggs without the slightest taste of how the essential ingredient in our favourite treat is harvested.
The truth, as BBC Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon discovered when he posed as a cocoa dealer in West Africa, leaves a bitter taste.
In an investigation into the supply chain that delivers much of the chocolate sold in the UK - more than half a million tonnes a year - the BBC found evidence of human trafficking and child slave labour.
Panorama also found that there is no guarantee, despite safeguards, even with chocolate marketed as Fair trade, that child labour - as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) - has not been involved in the supply chain.
This Easter, Britons will eat their way through 80m chocolate eggs without the slightest taste of how the essential ingredient in our favourite treat is harvested.
The truth, as BBC Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon discovered when he posed as a cocoa dealer in West Africa, leaves a bitter taste.
In an investigation into the supply chain that delivers much of the chocolate sold in the UK - more than half a million tonnes a year - the BBC found evidence of human trafficking and child slave labour.
Panorama also found that there is no guarantee, despite safeguards, even with chocolate marketed as Fair trade, that child labour - as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) - has not been involved in the supply chain.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Google's next move
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar 23 - After re-directing users to its Hong Kong website, Google faces some big decisions about its future strategy. Bobbi Rebell reports.
Mar 23 - After re-directing users to its Hong Kong website, Google faces some big decisions about its future strategy. Bobbi Rebell reports.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Broadband turns on the taps
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar 22 - As Virgin Media debuts its 200 megabits per second ultra-fast broadband, visitors to the UK Ideal Home Show get a glimpse of "embedded devices" that promise to reinvent bathtime and bedtime. Technology correspondent, Matt Cowan reports.
Mar 22 - As Virgin Media debuts its 200 megabits per second ultra-fast broadband, visitors to the UK Ideal Home Show get a glimpse of "embedded devices" that promise to reinvent bathtime and bedtime. Technology correspondent, Matt Cowan reports.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Coca-Cola tops £1bn UK sales
Link to the article: Channel 4 News
Source PA News
Coca-Cola has become the first brand to top £1 billion in annual UK grocery sales, a survey has revealed.
Sales of the drink rose £47.6 million in the past year, taking the total to £1,011.1 million, according to figures compiled for The Grocer magazine's Britain's 100 Biggest Brands annual survey.
Warburtons was the second highest-selling brand with sales of £706.1 million followed by Walkers crisps at £511.2 million.
Hovis was the biggest growing brand with sales of £458.7 million, up £53.8 million on 2008.
The brand to suffer the biggest decline in actual terms was Tropicana, down £19 million to £269.4 million.
The Grocer editor Adam Leyland said: "Coca-Cola's success is a testament to the power of branding and marketing management, not least in the mystique surrounding the secret formula, but also the consistency with which the same curly-wurly logo has adorned countless bottles, cans, paper cups and other receptacles since its UK launch in 1900.
"Amid all the talk of retro brands, no-one talks about Coca-Cola. But a retro brand implies it went out of fashion, while Coca-Cola is somehow timeless."
He added: "In much the same way that established rock acts are wheeled out for another world tour, 'golden oldies' such as Coca-Cola, Hovis, Heinz soup, John West, Rowntree's and even Twinings have skilfully exploited their familiarity in these uncertain times while new acts go undiscovered."
New entries to the top 100 include Glade, Quavers, Heinz pasta, Rowntree's, Philadelphia, Clover and Twinings.
Among those falling out of the rankings were Aero, Yeo Valley Organic, Cadbury's biscuits and Bernard Matthews cooked meat.
Source PA News
Coca-Cola has become the first brand to top £1 billion in annual UK grocery sales, a survey has revealed.
Sales of the drink rose £47.6 million in the past year, taking the total to £1,011.1 million, according to figures compiled for The Grocer magazine's Britain's 100 Biggest Brands annual survey.
Warburtons was the second highest-selling brand with sales of £706.1 million followed by Walkers crisps at £511.2 million.
Hovis was the biggest growing brand with sales of £458.7 million, up £53.8 million on 2008.
The brand to suffer the biggest decline in actual terms was Tropicana, down £19 million to £269.4 million.
The Grocer editor Adam Leyland said: "Coca-Cola's success is a testament to the power of branding and marketing management, not least in the mystique surrounding the secret formula, but also the consistency with which the same curly-wurly logo has adorned countless bottles, cans, paper cups and other receptacles since its UK launch in 1900.
"Amid all the talk of retro brands, no-one talks about Coca-Cola. But a retro brand implies it went out of fashion, while Coca-Cola is somehow timeless."
He added: "In much the same way that established rock acts are wheeled out for another world tour, 'golden oldies' such as Coca-Cola, Hovis, Heinz soup, John West, Rowntree's and even Twinings have skilfully exploited their familiarity in these uncertain times while new acts go undiscovered."
New entries to the top 100 include Glade, Quavers, Heinz pasta, Rowntree's, Philadelphia, Clover and Twinings.
Among those falling out of the rankings were Aero, Yeo Valley Organic, Cadbury's biscuits and Bernard Matthews cooked meat.
Friday, 19 March 2010
BA strike to go ahead as talks collapse
Link to the article: Channel 4 News
The prime minister condemns the "unacceptable inconvenience" of a British Airways cabin crew strike as talks to prevent the midnight walk-out collapse.
Officials from the Unite union have been locked in talks with the airline's chief executive, Willie Walsh, this week in a bid to find a breakthrough in a bitter row over cost-cutting.
Following the collapse of the talks Unite's joint leader, Tony Woodley, said he was "extremely disappointed" that the efforts to head off the strike had failed while accusing BA of wanting a "war" with the union.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh said he "deeply regretted" the breakdown of talks, adding that a new offer tabled by the airline will be withdrawn once the strike starts. He called the strikes "unjustified".
Mr Woodley emerged from five hours of talks with Mr Walsh at the TUC headquarters in London today to say that "hawks" on the BA board had won the day.
He said BA had tabled a worse offer than one withdrawn last week after the union announced this weekend's strike, and another four- day walkout from March 27.
The prime minister condemns the "unacceptable inconvenience" of a British Airways cabin crew strike as talks to prevent the midnight walk-out collapse.
Officials from the Unite union have been locked in talks with the airline's chief executive, Willie Walsh, this week in a bid to find a breakthrough in a bitter row over cost-cutting.
Following the collapse of the talks Unite's joint leader, Tony Woodley, said he was "extremely disappointed" that the efforts to head off the strike had failed while accusing BA of wanting a "war" with the union.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh said he "deeply regretted" the breakdown of talks, adding that a new offer tabled by the airline will be withdrawn once the strike starts. He called the strikes "unjustified".
Mr Woodley emerged from five hours of talks with Mr Walsh at the TUC headquarters in London today to say that "hawks" on the BA board had won the day.
He said BA had tabled a worse offer than one withdrawn last week after the union announced this weekend's strike, and another four- day walkout from March 27.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Facebook beats Google to become top US site
Link to the article: Channel 4 News
In a landmark victory for social networking Facebook overtakes internet giant Google last week to become the most visited website in the US.
Figures by Hitwise released show that last week Facebook received 7.07 per cent of all internet traffic, edging just ahead of the web's most powerful internet search engine on 7.03 per cent.
It is the first time Facebook has held onto such a lead for an entire week.
Hitwise director of research Heather Dougherty, hailed an "important milestone."
Facebook enjoyed a massive 185 percent increase in visits in the same period, compared to the same week in 2009.
Visits to search engine home Google.com increased only nine percent in the same time, although those figures don't include visits to Google property sites such as the popular Gmail email service, YouTube and Google Maps.
Facebook's membership worldwide has doubled in the last year to 400 million users, 133 million in America.
Joe Rospars, who was personal advisor to Barak Obama on digital media during his election campaign, told Channel 4 News he believed there was a change in internet utilisation.
"For a long time we've had a trend of people seeking out searched information on the internet and what we are seeing with the emergence of Facebook and sites like Twitter…is that people are looking for socialised information and news and topics in the culture and society but also information about their friends that are socialised and curated by their friends and neighbours and communities," he said.
In a landmark victory for social networking Facebook overtakes internet giant Google last week to become the most visited website in the US.
Figures by Hitwise released show that last week Facebook received 7.07 per cent of all internet traffic, edging just ahead of the web's most powerful internet search engine on 7.03 per cent.
It is the first time Facebook has held onto such a lead for an entire week.
Hitwise director of research Heather Dougherty, hailed an "important milestone."
Facebook enjoyed a massive 185 percent increase in visits in the same period, compared to the same week in 2009.
Visits to search engine home Google.com increased only nine percent in the same time, although those figures don't include visits to Google property sites such as the popular Gmail email service, YouTube and Google Maps.
Facebook's membership worldwide has doubled in the last year to 400 million users, 133 million in America.
Joe Rospars, who was personal advisor to Barak Obama on digital media during his election campaign, told Channel 4 News he believed there was a change in internet utilisation.
"For a long time we've had a trend of people seeking out searched information on the internet and what we are seeing with the emergence of Facebook and sites like Twitter…is that people are looking for socialised information and news and topics in the culture and society but also information about their friends that are socialised and curated by their friends and neighbours and communities," he said.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Ten wave and tidal power schemes get go ahead
Link to the article: Channel 4 News By Julian Rush
The dream of harnessing the power of the waves and the tides to generate electricity has passed a significant milestone, writes science correspondent Julian Rush.
Ten projects have been granted leases to install the world's first commercial-scale wave and tidal power schemes in the waters off northern Scotland.
Between them, the proposed six wave and four tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney could produce 1.2GW of electricity by 2020, enough for some three quarters of a million homes - and about the same as a new nuclear reactor.
That is nearly double the originally scheduled 700MW, which the industry body RenewableUK says "clearly demonstrates that the industry has now reached a stage where it is ready to deliver". RenewableUK is calling on the government to commit to a minimum of £220m to support wave and tidal development over the next five years.
Some of the strongest tidal currents in the world race around UK shores and there's some of the highest energy in the waves that roll in from the Atlantic. And while wave power is, to an extent, dependent on the weather, tidal power has the tremendous advantage of being totally predictable.
In spite of the fact that the UK's waters have been called the "Saudi Arabia of marine power", it is a resource that has a long and inglorious history of being ignored by successive governments until very recently.
The scandal of how, in the 1970s and 80s, Whitehall officials secretly killed off wave power by understating by a factor of 10 the power output of Professor Stephen Salter's "nodding duck" wave machine - some believe deliberately because they favoured nuclear power - cast a long shadow over the technology.
The dream of harnessing the power of the waves and the tides to generate electricity has passed a significant milestone, writes science correspondent Julian Rush.
Ten projects have been granted leases to install the world's first commercial-scale wave and tidal power schemes in the waters off northern Scotland.
Between them, the proposed six wave and four tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney could produce 1.2GW of electricity by 2020, enough for some three quarters of a million homes - and about the same as a new nuclear reactor.
That is nearly double the originally scheduled 700MW, which the industry body RenewableUK says "clearly demonstrates that the industry has now reached a stage where it is ready to deliver". RenewableUK is calling on the government to commit to a minimum of £220m to support wave and tidal development over the next five years.
Some of the strongest tidal currents in the world race around UK shores and there's some of the highest energy in the waves that roll in from the Atlantic. And while wave power is, to an extent, dependent on the weather, tidal power has the tremendous advantage of being totally predictable.
In spite of the fact that the UK's waters have been called the "Saudi Arabia of marine power", it is a resource that has a long and inglorious history of being ignored by successive governments until very recently.
The scandal of how, in the 1970s and 80s, Whitehall officials secretly killed off wave power by understating by a factor of 10 the power output of Professor Stephen Salter's "nodding duck" wave machine - some believe deliberately because they favoured nuclear power - cast a long shadow over the technology.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Mercedes unveils car of the future
Link to the article: Reuters Video
Mar 01 - Mercedes-Benz reveals a new four-door concept car with green drivetrain technology ahead of the 2010 Geneva car show which opens on Thursday.
Hayley Platt reports.
Mar 01 - Mercedes-Benz reveals a new four-door concept car with green drivetrain technology ahead of the 2010 Geneva car show which opens on Thursday.
Hayley Platt reports.
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