Logistical leaps help small companies go global

Link to the article: BBC News

Even a decade ago, it would be difficult to imagine eating fresh camel-milk chocolates in other parts of the world

Making expensive chocolates in the middle of the Arabian Desert seems foolhardy enough.

But how do you get them from there to the rest of the world without delivering a sticky mess?

Al Nassma Chocolate is based in Dubai, and makes its luxury sweets from the milk of camels, which are of course found only in some of the hottest places on Earth.

"Most of the demand for chocolate is from Europe, Asia and the US, so we are challenged getting our products to the consumer," says Martin van Almsick, general manager at Al Nassma.

"Our biggest challenge is just getting the chocolates from the factory to the airport, when the temperature is at 50C (122F)."

And these include delicate hollow chocolate camels, which are extremely difficult to transport.

But, using light aluminium packaging and layered ice-packs made by a German firm and a dedicated route to the runway devised by the shipping giant UPS, it is being done.

UPS guarantees Al Nassma that its chocolates will arrive almost anywhere in the world in perfect condition in 48 hours.

Pizza Express: come here often?

Link to the article: Reuters Video

Dec. 10 - UK restaurant chain Pizza Express has engaged a communications expert to teach staff the art of seductive conversation.Hayley Platt reports.

The Scotsman newspaper sales dip to new low

Link to the article: BBC News

Sales of The Scotsman newspaper have slipped to their lowest level in modern times, according to the latest figures.

The Scotsman's sales figure in November was 42,829 - slightly worse than the previous low in July, which is always a bad month for newspaper sales.

Its Glasgow rival, The Herald, recorded sales last month of 52,736 - its second worst figure in recent decades.

As recently as January 2007, The Herald sold 72,000 copies while The Scotsman sold more than 60,000.

The figures - provided by industry body ABC - chronicle the continuing circulation difficulties facing most Scottish and UK national newspapers.

While the Herald and Scotsman have seen their sales drop close to record lows, there will be some relief that there was only a small drop between October and November.

But the story was different at The Herald's sister title the Sunday Herald.

Its sales fell from 42,289 in October to 41,464 in November - possibly in response to a price rise from £1 to £1.30.

Wikileaks and Shell Oil

Link to the article: The Guardian

WikiLeaks: The oil giant Shell claimed it had inserted staff into all the main ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to politicians' every move in the oil-rich Niger Delta, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.

Mulberry

Link to the article: The Guardian

And Mulberry's luxury leather handbags are in big demand around the world, as the company increasingly becomes a global brand. During the six months to the end of September, it opened new stores in Hong Kong, Korea, Qatar and UAE

Hershey

Link to the article: The Guardian

And there was good news for British fans of Hershey's Kisses. The US confectionery giant is launching a sales drive to put its chocolates into the hands of more European consumers

Renault F1 team to be renamed Lotus Renault GP in 2011

Link to the 'full' article: BBC Sport


The Renault car company has sold its remaining shares in the eponymous Formula 1 team, which will be renamed Lotus Renault in 2011.

Renault was left with a 25% shareholding in the team in 2010 after selling the remainder to private investment group Genii Capital.

Those shares have been sold to Genii and will be then taken by Lotus Cars, which is owned by Proton.

The move means there will be two F1 teams in 2011 with Lotus in their name.

The team that competed as Lotus Racing in 2010 will be renamed Team Lotus after buying the historic rights to the name under which Lotus raced from the 1960s until collapsing with financial difficulties in 1994.
Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes, the owner of the Air Asia airline, is in dispute with Proton over the rights to use the Lotus name in F1.

The cars produced by Lotus Renault will still be called Renaults - changing that would need the permission of all the other F1 teams.

Cloud computing 'could give EU 763bn-euro boost'

Link to the article: BBC News

Widespread adoption of cloud computing could give the top five EU economies a 763bn-euro (£645bn; $1tn) boost over five years, a report has said.

The CEBR said it could also create 2.4m jobs. The technology gives software and computing power on demand over the net.

But experts warn that cloud computing can be very disruptive to business, and companies could end up "disillusioned".

"Nothing kills a new technology better than a poor user experience," said Damian Saunders of Citrix.

The report, by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), was commissioned by EMC, a data storage and IT solutions firm that provides cloud computing services. The company is just one of many pushing into the sector, all saying that 2011 will be the year of the cloud, when the technology will find mainstream adoption.

When a company uses cloud computing, it does not build all IT infrastructure by itself. Instead, it rents storage, computing power or software services from other companies. The services are accessed via the internet, which in network diagrams is shown as a cloud, hence the name.

Manufacturing the dream: Game changing new production

Link to the video: BBC News

Dream maker: New manufacturing techniques make designing products like the Glif, above, an accessible reality

At one time or another many of us have had a great idea for a product. So good, we can see it clearly in our heads.

Topshop Protests Over Sir Philip Green's Taxes

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

Demonstrators have taken part in UK-wide protests over Topshop boss Sir Philip Green's tax affairs. They allege that he avoided paying hundreds of millions of pounds.

Protesters forced Topshop's main UK store to close its doors today during a demonstration against alleged tax avoidance by big businesses.

The action is focusing on the shop's owner, and government adviser, Sir Philip Green. The group claims Sir Philip deliberately tried to avoid paying hundreds of millions of pounds of UK tax by channelling £1.2 billion worth of funds from his Arcadia retail empire into an offshore vehicle registered to his wife in Monaco.

The Brighton branch of Topshop, where demonstrators have glued their hands to the windows, was also been forced to close. Protests are also taking place in Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham. There have been further unscheduled demos at Vodafone shops.

One campaigner in London said: "I am a peaceful protester. A woman was being thrown out of the store and I objected so I was picked up by two private security men.

Tata Nano car sales sink by 85%

Link to the article: BBC News

Sales of Tata Motors' Nano, the world's cheapest car, plunged by 85% in November compared with a year earlier, the Indian carmaker has said.

It blamed the slump on the difficulty potential customers had in accessing loans to buy the car.

However, analysts pointed out that a series of fires in the Nano, as well as price rises, had also affected sales.

Tata said its total sales across all models in November were 54,622, a rise of 1% on a year earlier.

The carmaker also said that sales of its Jaguar Land Rover-branded models "continued their upward trend".

BA strike ballot overshadows merger

Link to the article: Reuters Video

Nov.30 - Shareholder approval of British Airways merger with Spain's Iberia is overshadowed by news of a fresh strike ballot by BA's cabin crew union Unite.Sonia Legg reports.

Sky's the limit for BA and Iberia

Link to the article: Reuters Video

Nov.30 - British Airways and Spain's Iberia officially announce a merger of the two carriers that will create the world's third-largest airline by revenue.Sonia Legg reports.

Cuts and VAT Rise Leave UK Economy Uncertain

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

The budgetary watchdog sees an "uncertain" future for the UK economy - but predicts public sector job losses will be much lower than forecast. Chancellor George Osborne says "Britain is on the mend".

Tech start-ups: Does location matter?

Link to the video: BBC News

Once a year Oxford University plays host to the Silicon Valley in Oxford event, when some of the Californian technology hotspot's leading personalities descend on the town.

But is location still important for tech start-ups? Or can you run your business from almost anywhere in the world, thanks to the power of the internet?

The BBC's Rory Cellan Jones asked entrepreneur and investor Joichi Ito, and Elizabeth Varely, founder of TechHub.