2011年11月3日星期四

Greene King ends Wrexham FC deal

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 14:24 GMT Racecourse ground at Wrexham The future of Wrexham Football Club finally agreed The Greene King brewery and pub chain has ended its sponsorship deal with Wrexham Football Club.

The announcement came two days after Wrexham Supporters' Trust (WST) agreed a deal to take over the club.

Wrexham said the two-year sponsorship deal, agreed last April, was ending because the Racecourse ground is now owned by Glyndwr University, which has its own beer sale deal.

Greene King said an amicable agreement had been reached.

After months of negotiations, WST and the club agreed a takeover deal on Monday.

On Wednesday, outgoing club chief executive, Jon Harris, said Wrexham FC could no longer honour its agreement with Greene King because ownership of the Racecourse had been transferred to Glyndwr University, which has a beer sales deal with another company.

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It's been a tough eight months because of the nature of what we have been trying to do here”

End Quote Jon Harris Wrexham FC chief executive A Greene King spokesperson said: "We originally agreed a sponsorship deal with Wrexham FC in good faith which included providing beer for the club and both stand and shirt sponsorship.

"We have met with the club to discuss how the sale of the ground has impacted on our sponsorship deal.

"It has transpired that the new owners have been left in a position where they don't have the ability to meet our original agreement as the right to sell Greene King beer was not transferred from the ground to the new owners as part of the sale.

"As a result we have reached an amicable agreement to end our sponsorship with immediate effect so the new owners are free to find new sponsors. We wish Wrexham FC and its loyal fans the very best of luck for the future."

A club spokesman expressed sadness at the end of the partnership as Greene King was a "fantastic sponsor" but it gave the new owners the chance to seek a new shirt sponsor.

Jon Harris said he expects to leave his job as caretaker managing director at the end of the week.

The former Shrewsbury Town general manager arrived at the Racecourse in January and took on the role of chief executive in May after failing with his own bid to buy the club.

He said the supporters' trust had made it clear they had their own people to run the club.

"It's been a tough eight months because of the nature of what we have been trying to do here.

"But it's a magnificent club with great potential and supporters who are second to none.

"I wish the trust well and now I'll just have to wait and see what the future holds for me. I have had a great time here and I think the majority of people have appreciated what I have tried to do."


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VIDEO: Steve Jobs: Apple's driving force

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 03:56 GMT Help

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Video: sugar Lord remember Steve jobs

Help 6 October 2011, last updated-20: 00 GMT

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Amazon unveils Kindle Fire tablet

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 16:42 GMT Amazon boss Jeff Bezos unveils the Kindle Fire

Amazon has unveiled a colour tablet computer called the Kindle Fire.

The $199 (£130) device will run a modified version of Google's Android operating system.

Until now, the company has limited itself to making black and white e-readers, designed for consuming books and magazines.

As well as targeting Apple's iPad, Amazon is likely to have its sights on rival bookseller US Barnes & Noble, which already has a colour tablet.

The Kindle Fire will enter a hugely competitive market, dominated by Apple's iPad.

Amazon will be hoping to leverage both the strength of the Kindle brand, built up over three generations of its popular e-book reader, and its ability to serve up content such as music and video.

In recent years, the company has begun offering downloadable music for sale, and also has a streaming video-on-demand service in the United States. Those, combined with its mobile application store, give it a more sophisticated content "ecosystem" than most of its rivals.

Continue reading the main story 7" IPS (in-plane switching) display1024 x 600 resolutionCustomised Google Android operating system$199 (£130)Weighs 413 grammesDual core processor8GB internal storage"It's the price and the backup services that make it really exciting," said Will Findlater, editor of Stuff magazine.

"Content is the big differentiator. It's what every other platform has been lacking, except the iPad."

Amazon's decision to opt for a 7" screen, as opposed to the larger 10" displays favoured by many rival manufacturers was a cause for concern for Ovum analyst Adam Leach.

"This screen size has undoubtedly helped them achieve a lower price point for the device but so far this form factor has not been popular with consumers, we shall see if this is related to other aspects of those devices other than its screen size. "

Digital dividend Digital content has already proved itself to be a money-spinner for Amazon.

Although the company has never released official sales figures for the Kindle, it did state - in December 2010 - that it was now selling more electronic copies of books than paper copies.

Its US rival, Barnes & Noble, has also enjoyed success with its Nook devices.

In October 2010, the company unveiled the Nook Color, which also runs a version of Android, albeit with lower hardware specs than many fully featured tablets.

While the Nook Color is largely focused on book and magazine reading, some users have managed to unlock its wider functionality and install third-party apps.

Kindle Touch Amazon has dropped the keyboard from some of its Kindles in favour of touch

The Kindle Fire's $199 (£130) price tag undercuts the Nook Color by $50 (£30) and is significantly cheaper than more powerful tablets from Apple, Samsung, Motorola and others.

It is due to go on sale on 15 November in the US, although global release dates are currently unavailable.

Price cuts

Alongside the Kindle Fire, Amazon also announced a refresh of its Kindle e-readers.

The entry level device has had its keyboard removed and will now sell for $79, down from $99. Amazon UK announced that the new version would retail at £89.

A version with limited touchscreen capability, known as the Kindle Touch, will sell for $99. Only the US pricing has been announced so far.

"These are premium products at non premium prices," said Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos. "We are going to sell millions of these."


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2011年11月2日星期三

VIDEO: Youth unemployment rise in Eurozone

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 21:07 GMT Help

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IBM's bet on data-centric computing

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT IBM's Watson computer IBM's Watson computer was a proof of concept, says Dr Menon Each week we ask high-profile technology decision-makers three questions.

This week it is Dr Jai Menon, the chief technology officer and vice-president for technical strategy for IBM's Systems and Technology Group.

He holds 52 patents and is arguably most famous for his contribution to the Raid storage technology. Computing giant IBM has more than 426,000 employees, generating an annual turnover of just under $100bn (£64.6bn) and profits of $14.8bn.

What's your biggest technology problem right now?

Technology of Business

There are always multiple problems, but one problem that we are focused on is providing our customers with IT solutions that are flexible to their needs, but easily consumable.

Our customers have many different kinds of workloads they have to run, for example transaction-based systems that have to serve thousands or millions of users at the same time, 24/7.

Or analytics systems with fewer users that require deep complex computation. The challenge is how do you satisfy all these different kinds of tasks?

The are two different approaches: You can standardise it all on one kind of computer, and use that for all their business tasks. But that doesn't really work: it's like saying 'buy just one type of car', and hope it meets the needs of a small family, and doubles up as a pick-up truck, a big van or an MPV [people carrier].

So the other approach is to realise that you have lots of different types of workload, and you buy systems that are optimised for these tasks. That's clearly preferred to the first approach. The challenge over time is that with lots of different workloads, you end up with many kinds of computers, and then there's the challenge to make that consumable.

We are working on a technical approach that will create a system that has all the pieces that make up a computer system. You build this system with different kinds of processors, and there are memory and storage and networking elements, and then you have very sophisticated software that comes with the system. And the software is able to construct the kind of computer you need.

So if you need a lot of computing power, medium-sized storage and not a lot of memory, that's what the system provides. And once the task is running, and you need more memory or computing power, then the system will make that choice for you.

And when your workload goes away, you simply deconstruct the system.

This is not just virtualisation, where you have one kind of standardised computer, with a standardised processor and a certain amount of storage and memory.

You need to be able to assign more than what a single computer can do.

This is very much customer driven. What our customers are telling us is: 'Come up with newer better computers, that take up less floorspace and are faster.'

People have amazing amount of workload, and require lots of different virtualisation environments, but they also have too many different systems.

So I've got to let customers reuse their existing assets, skills and software.

The software is key - it's a universal resource manager.

What's the next big tech thing in your industry?

The next big thing in our industry are new kinds of computers. I call them data-centric computers, because right now our computers are very processing-centric computers.

These new computers can extract and find information in data that can aid human cognition. When we created [supercomputer] Watson, it combined hardware and deep analysis software that we designed to work together.

We are moving away from computers that compute, to computers that can extract information from the huge amounts of unstructured data - because every two days we generate more data than all data from the dawn of civilisation until 2003.

Watson was just an example to prove the point. There are very interesting business problems out there, and rather than having to be programmed these computers learn as they go along.

They are data-centric rather than compute-centric.

For example, they could work as a physician's assistant, providing all the knowledge, the data about the patient itself, manage the doctor's notes.

Right now, all we do is Google a medical problem, and we get back 20 documents, and we have to go through them and rate them and find the answer.

In the future, the computer will give you an answer with a probability to go with that, and that's so much better than what we do today.

That to me is the next big technology thing. And it also applies to government. Computers could help governments find answers to tax issues, zoning laws, financial issues.

From a technology point of view, we still need a few things that to support this - more memory in the system, and solid state memory and storage, and obviously the deep software.

This is not Skynet [as described in the Terminator movies]. People always worry about new technology. When pocket calculators were introduced, people said we would forget to multiply; when computers came they said we would forget how to spell.

In reality all these computers are assistants, and they save us time so that we can focus on doing the things that only humans can do.

Pilots, for example, have always had things to helped them fly a plane. But at the end of the day I would not fly without a real human on-board.

What's the biggest technology mistake you've ever made - either at work or in your own life?

This is probably an unusual kind of answer, but the timing of innovation is really important. My experience is, as innovators, we are always frustrated if we are too late.

We say: "I had the idea first, why did product development not move fast enough?" But my biggest mistake was in pushing an innovation too early to market, and I've learned from that.

What I've learned is that you really have to prepare the market. You have to shape the market, prepare your customers, create a standard, get enough people to buy into the standard.

And if you introduce your product too early and you haven't done that, then your product doesn't do very well. You just create a vicious circle, because you don't have the profits from the product to recycle and improve and innovate the product.

And then, once the market is ready and prepared, then you will be hesitant because you tried this once before and it didn't work. Then it gets very difficult to reenter the market.

For example in the storage space, we developed this IP [internet protocol] driven storage attached to the network. We shipped it in 2001, and it didn't do so well in the market.

This is now a $3bn market - 10 years later it's a great story, but by pushing it too soon, maybe five years too soon, it soured our executives as to whether this really was a good idea.

And then it is hard to catch up later.

Timing is everything. You can be wrong on both sides, too early and too late, and both are bad.


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VIDEO: Build up a cash cushion, says Alvin Hall

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 10:22 GMT Help

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Cairn makes strike in Sri Lanka

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 08:42 GMT Pipeline Construction The discovery of natural gas is the first in Sri Lanka for decades Edinburgh explorer Cairn Energy has made its first gas strike in Sri Lanka through its Indian subsidiary.

The offshore well was the first to be drilled in the country for 30 years.

Cairn India made the discovery after drilling almost a mile down offshore in the Mannar Basin, Sri Lanka.

Simon Thomson, chief executive, Cairn Energy said: "Cairn is delighted with this frontier exploration discovery, the first well in Cairn India's three well drilling programme in Sri Lanka."

Cairn Energy is in the process of selling off 30% of its 52% stake in Cairn India to the Vedanta Resources and recently won shareholder and Indian government approval for the deal.

The company's focus has moved to Greenland since it announced it was reducing its stake in its Indian unit.

However, it has had a number of disappointments after turning up several dry wells.


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VIDEO: Germany passes eurozone vote test

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 13:55 GMT Help

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2011年11月1日星期二

VIDEO: Cargill chief executive on its success

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 08:43 GMT Help

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Tesco profits grow but UK subdued

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 07:00 GMT Tesco branch UK sales were "weak", Tesco said Supermarket group Tesco has reported a rise in half-year profits despite a fall in underlying sales in the UK.

Pre-tax profit for the 26 weeks to 27 August was £1.9bn, up 12.1% on a year earlier. Group sales rose 8.8% to £35.5bn, but like-for-like UK sales excluding VAT and petrol fell 0.5%.

The company highlighted "excellent growth" in Europe and Asia but also "subdued demand" in the UK.

Rival Sainsbury's reported slightly better like-for-like sales.

Excluding petrol but not VAT, Sainsbury's sales rose by 1.9% for the first six months of the financial year. The equivalent figure at Tesco was a rise of 0.5%.

Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King said: "We have delivered a good sales performance in a tough consumer environment."

'Weak' sales

Tesco contrasted the "challenging conditions" in developed countries, particularly the UK and the Irish Republic, with "continued strong growth in emerging economies".

The company said "weak" sales in the UK were not helped by slowing demand for non-food items, particularly in electronics and entertainment, two of its largest product groups.

It also highlighted the high price of petrol and its impact on general consumer spending.

Despite the fall in like-for-like sales, trading profits in the UK rose by 4.5% to £1.3bn.

Tesco makes about two-thirds of its sales and profits in the UK.

Like-for-like sales excluding petrol grew in regions outside the UK, with the US seeing sales growth of almost 12%. The company said its plan to break even in the country in the 2012-13 financial year was "showing promising early results".

Like-for-like sales in Europe grew by 1% and in Asia by 3.8%.


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Online traders' 'refund failings'

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 12:15 GMT By Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC News Online shopping The test purchases were part of an EU-wide campaign to check consumer rights More than half of traders failed to give full refunds to customers who pulled out of online purchases during a cooling-off period, tests have shown.

Under consumer rights law, all costs - including delivery costs - should be refunded if consumers decide to cancel the contract in the allotted time.

Test purchasing by European authorities found that in 57% of cases, traders failed to reimburse delivery costs.

A BBC investigation highlighted the issue in December.

Online shopping

When buying from the internet, unlike in a shop, customers are unable to examine the goods before they buy them.

As a result, a cooling-off period is available to people shopping online. In the UK, shoppers have seven working days to return items bought on the internet that they do not want to keep. In some European countries it is longer.

There are a few exceptions, such as unwrapped CDs and perishable goods, but otherwise the money should be credited to the buyer's account as soon as possible and within 30 days at the latest.

Continue reading the main story In the UK, there is a cooling-off period of seven working days for unwanted itemsTraders should refund within 30 days, unless previously agreed otherwiseDelivery charges should also be reimbursedSome perishable goods such as foods and flowers are exemptRights for goods that are not of satisfactory quality are the same as the High Street - a refund, replacement or repairAny refund should include delivery costs incurred by the customer.

During a mystery shopping exercise by European authorities in 2003, these delivery costs were not reimbursed in 53% of cases.

But 305 tests earlier this year, by the European Consumer Centres' Network, found that this had increased to 57%, although refunds for the items themselves were paid in 90% of cases.

"This needs to improve in order to ensure a continuous positive development in cross-border e-commerce," a spokesman for the UK European Consumer Centre said.

In 7% of all the purchases made, the trader did not inform the customer about the price of the delivery costs at all.

Changes

Some results of the test purchases do make better reading for consumers.

For example, the delivery rate for items ordered online improved significantly compared with 2003, as had the number of items delivered within 14 days. There was also an increase in the number of websites offering information in more than one language.

Many of the current consumer rules operating in EU countries pre-date the widespread use of the internet by shoppers.

So MEPs have approved plans to update the rules, including a 14-calendar-day cooling-off period for online purchases.

Governments will have two years to implement the changes.


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PM warns over eurozone break-up

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2 October 2011 Last updated at 12:27 GMT David Cameron David Cameron warns that the UK cannot shield itself from the crisis in the eurozone Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that it would be "very bad" for the UK if the eurozone was to break up.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he said the debt crisis in the eurozone was "a threat not just to itself, but also a threat to the UK economy, and a threat to the world economy".

He reiterated that eurozone leaders had to take quick and decisive action.

Mr Cameron said that, as 40% of UK exports went to the eurozone, it could not shield itself from the problem.

The prime minister said the UK government had "a very clear view" of what needed to be done, and that it was pushing this with its partners in Europe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said eurozone leaders had to strengthen the region's financial mechanisms, ensure the greater involvement of the IMF, and deal decisively with the high levels of sovereign debt.

Mr Cameron added: "Action needs to be taken in the next coming weeks to strengthen Europe's banks, to build the defences that the eurozone has, to deal with the problems of debts decisively."

He said these emergency measures were needed before any long-term plans of more economic coordination across the eurozone were introduced, such as a single tax system.

Greek fears

European stock markets again fell heavily on Friday due to concerns about the debt crisis in the eurozone.

Continue reading the main story Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms:AAA-rating GO The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower's debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is miniscule.It meant that for the three months from July to September, the main UK share index, the FTSE 100, recorded its biggest quarterly fall since 2002.

The concerns centre on Greece, the most indebted eurozone nation.

Greece needs its next 8bn euros (£6.9bn; $10.9bn) instalment of European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loans by the middle of this month to be able to continue paying its civil servants and teachers.

This tranche was delayed in September after EU, IMF and European Central Bank officials said the Greek government was not carrying out sufficient austerity measures.

The wider fear is that Greece will ultimately default on its debt payments, and of the knock-on effect this would have on banks across Europe which own Greek government bonds.

Some commentators also warn that Greece may ultimately have to leave the eurozone, plunging the region's economic and political systems into chaos.

Eurozone leaders and the IMF are now continuing to work on a solution to the debt crisis, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel due to speak again this week.


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Barclays heads UK complaints list

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 14:35 GMT Barclays There were more than 250,000 complaints to Barclays in the first six month of the year More complaints were made about Barclays than any other banking brand by UK customers in the first half of the year, figures have shown.

The bank received 251,563 complaints, with 53% of closed cases upheld in customers' favour, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) figures show.

Barclays said it had cut complaints by 14% compared with a year earlier.

Other brands high on the list included Lloyds TSB (181,907), Santander (168,888) and NatWest (147,109).

The data pulls together figures released in recent weeks by banks.

Insurance complaints

Nearly 10,000 complaints were filed every day to financial institutions, with a total of 1.85 million made in the first six months of the year.

The FSA figures showed that, among the most complained-about banking brands, Santander was the most likely of the major brands to deal with cases within eight weeks.

It closed 98% of cases within that timeframe. This compared with 74% at Royal Bank of Scotland, 77% at Lloyds TSB, 86% at NatWest, 89% at Barclays and 90% at HSBC.

Complaints were dominated by those about payment protection insurance (PPI), especially after banks lost their legal challenge on PPI rules in April.

PPI is supposed to cover borrowers' loan repayments if they fall ill, die, or lose their jobs.

But mis-selling cases led to new rules on how cases should be dealt with, and also created an extra compensation bill running into billions of pounds for the banks.

Adam Scorer, of watchdog Consumer Focus, said: "This issue continues to dog the financial sector and is a big test of its commitment to treating consumers fairly.

"All firms need to deal with outstanding cases and make sure everyone affected is treated efficiently and fairly."

Complaints about banking, rather than insurance and some other categories, fell by 22% compared with the same period a year earlier.

'Good progress'

The FSA's complaints figures are published relating to banking brands.

Barclays headed the list but said the number of complaints had fallen by 14% compared with the same period a year earlier.

"We want to get it right every time. When we do get it wrong, we apologise, try to correct it quickly and identify how to prevent it from reoccurring," said Antony Jenkins, chief executive of Barclays Retail and Business Banking.

"We have made good progress in reducing complaints with a substantial and sustainable reduction in banking complaints by nearly a third.

"However, there is much more to be done and we are working hard to further improve our service to our customers, putting them at the heart of our business and getting it right first time, every time."

The largest group - Lloyds Banking Group - had most complaints when all its brands were added together.

Some complaints that are unresolved by the banks themselves end up with the independent Financial Ombudsman Service. It recently said that the largest number of these complaints, in the first half of the year, also related to Lloyds Banking Group.

It also said that nearly two-thirds of the new complaints made in the six months to the end of June were about PPI.


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Making Olympic technology work

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 23:07 GMT Matthias Steiner of Germany competes at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Weighty task: Making the technology for the London Olympics work is a "huge responsibility" says chief integrator Michele Hyron Each week we ask high-profile technology decision-makers three questions.

Michele Hyron Michele Hyron: Viewers will be able to choose which competition, nation or athlete they want to follow

This week it is Michele Hyron of Atos,?chief integrator for the Olympic Games in London. She is responsible for leading the consortium of IT partners to design, build and operate the massive IT infrastructure that will support the London 2012 Games.

Ms Hyron leads a team that include employees from Atos and technology partners LOCOG, as well as volunteers.

She already has nearly 10 years of Olympic Games experience, serving as operations manager at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, integration manager at Athens 2004 and quality manager at the winter Games in Salt Lake City 2002.

What's your biggest technology problem right now?

As the chief integrator for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, I suppose that people would expect me to have a long list of problems. After all, if the IT doesn't work, then effectively the Games can't take place.

It is a huge responsibility, and one that everyone takes extremely seriously, but this is now my third Olympic Games and Atos's sixth.

While the technologies advance every time and we are faced with fresh problems as we integrate new applications, we have developed a robust process that ensures that we test everything in the lab over and over again.

By the time we get to the Games themselves, we have covered an extensive testing program.

In fact, our work is analogous to training pilots in aircraft simulators.

We throw every possible scenario at the IT teams - from the failure of the communications network to someone accidentally pulling out a plug - and ensure that we can recover from these without anyone at the Games or watching on TV noticing that a problem has even occurred.

The most challenging aspect of the job, though, is undoubtedly the massive increases in the amount of data which has to be organised and channelled with split-second timing.

It is estimated that between the dawn of civilisation - some four to five thousand years ago - and 2003, mankind had created about five exabyte's of data, which is 5bn gigabytes.

Across the world, we now create that amount of data every two days and the volume of business data is doubling every 18 months.

The Olympic Games is no exception. For Beijing, we produced 50% more data than we handled at the Athens Games.

The London 2012 Games will see us process significantly more information than we had at Beijing, as we meet the demands of sports fans worldwide for the latest information on their favourite events and sports stars, and deliver this information via broadcasters, internet and mobile.

Technology of Business What's the next big tech thing in your industry?

Atos is a global business with a presence in more than 42 countries and a workforce of 78,500 business technologists. In many respects our industry covers virtually every aspect of IT and every industry sector.

However, from my personal perspective it is the magic that we can now work with metadata to create a completely different TV experience for watching sport which is the most exciting.

We will have the ability to offer viewers the chance to choose exactly which competition, nation or athlete they want to follow, and enable them to follow more than one sporting event simultaneously.

This digital quality service will be offered over fixed and mobile devices, and is designed to allow sports fan to watch events that aren't even being broadcast on a regular programme.

So unlike the type of technologies people are used to today, with a personal video recorder (PVR) integrated into a set-top box allowing them to select when they view broadcasts, this new approach makes the viewer the director, selecting what they watch, when and from what angle.

Our approach incorporates face-recognition technologies, and this means that a viewer can either have automatic selection of the best shot or a recommendation that they can accept or reject.

The amount of data that has to been managed to offer this service is staggering, and by 2014 we estimate that more than 90% of all data traffic in the world will be video content.

It will be the equivalent of 32 million people streaming Avatar in 3D continuously every month.

London view What's the biggest technology mistake you've ever made - either at work or in your own life?

As a complete beginner in software development, at the start of my career, I enjoyed developing a program in Assembler.

I made it as compact as possible, playing with the stack and using other tricks. It was great fun!

What I didn't appreciate at the time was that this piece of code was completely unmaintainable.

My colleagues were still blaming me for this work years after I moved on to other things.

It was a really good lesson so early on in my career, and taught me the importance of looking ahead and appreciating the impact of what I do, not just tomorrow but years into the future.

It also taught me that while playing with software is really fun - and it is - delivering programs that are robust and practical is what counts.


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Chinese demand boosts Yum profits

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 01:37 GMT Pizza Hut outlet in Beijing Yum Brands is planning to expand its presence in China even further to cater to growing demand Fast food giant Yum Brands has reported a jump in third-quarter profit as sales at its Chinese outlets continue to grow.

Yum reported a net profit of $383m (£248m) in the three months to 3 September, up from $357m last year.

The owner of Pizza Hut and KFC said same-store sales in China rose 19% during the period.

With close to 4,200 outlets, China accounts for more than 40% of Yum's profits.

"This tremendous sales growth, combined with our expectation to open a record 600 new restaurants this year, gives us even more confidence our China business model is as strong as ever," said David Novak, chairman and chief executive officer of Yum Brands.

Domestic trouble

While it continues to grow in China and other emerging markets, Yum Brands has been struggling in the US market.

The company said like-for-like sales at its US outlets fell as much as 3% in the third-quarter, resulting in a 16% drop in profit during the period.

"We're obviously disappointed in our US performance," Mr Novak said.

Analysts said the company was still suffering the effects of the lawsuit against Taco Bell earlier this year, over allegations that it used large amounts of additives and little actual meat in its beef products.

Though the company denied the claims and the lawsuit was dropped, it damaged Yum's brand image.

"They've got a job to do PR-wise to repair that," said Jack Russo of investment firm Edward Jones.

"It looks like it's stabilising and we'll get to the point next year where they'll be bouncing up against some easier comparisons so that will help," he added.

Yum said that it was planning to launch innovation and productivity initiatives in the US in a bid to improve sales and profits.


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2011年10月31日星期一

Wasps owner decides to sell club

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Steve Hayes Hayes joined the Wasps board in 2007, before taking ownership on December 2008 Wasps owner Steve Hayes has announced he is looking to sell the club.

Hayes, who also owns Wycombe Wanderers FC - Wasps' fellow tenants at Adams Park - bought the Premiership outfit in 2008.

Hayes said a failure to receive backing for a new stadium at Wycombe Air Park had contributed towards the decision.

"The vision of planning and developing this facility was one of the key reasons I got involved in the club," he told the Wasps website.

"And being unable to bring this to fruition remains bitterly disappointing.

Continue reading the main story June 2004: Buys a 25% stake in Wycombe WanderersOctober 2007: Joins the Wasps board after buying 11.6% stake in the clubJanuary 2009: Takes full ownership of WaspsJuly 2009: Becomes owner of Wycombe, where he was previously managing directorJuly 2011: Fails in bid to create a new stadium for both clubsOctober 2011: Announces he is looking to sell Wasps

"I fully believe that a new stadium for Wasps is essential in the coming years as we have always said that Adams Park was unsustainable as a long-term option.

"I will work with any potential owners to develop the sporting village model we had already come up with at an alternative location."

In his three years at the club Hayes has started an annual St George's Day game at Twickenham and oversaw an English club's first competitive game overseas.

"Any new owner will have to show me that their aspirations are to provide London Wasps with the right level of investment and structure to ensure that they are once again a team in the hunt for titles at the end of every season," the businessman added.

Former Wasps forward Lawrence Dallaglio, who is a member of the club's board, said: "Steve's passion and vision over the past number of years has helped bring the club to new audiences around the world and any new owners will take on a club in a healthy position in terms of the direction it is heading on and off the pitch."

Hayes insisted he will remain at the helm of Wycombe, but has not ruled out a future sale of the League One side.

"I want to assure [Wycombe supporters] that I remain fully committed to Wycombe Wanderers," he explained.

"Of course, as ever, if approaches are made to me for the club then these would be considered carefully based on what is best for the club but for now my intention is to remain the owner for the foreseeable future."


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Mongolia and Rio reach stake deal

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7 October 2011 Last updated at 05:09 GMT A coal mine in Mongolia Resource-rich Mongolia has attracted many foreign investors Mongolia and mining giant Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe have reached an agreement on stakeholding of the Oyu Tolgoi project in the resource-rich country.

The Mongolian government had sought to increase its stake in the mine to 50% from 34% as previously agreed.

The mining companies had said that the government should honour an original agreement signed in 2009.

When completed, the project is expected to be one of the biggest copper mines in the world.

According to the initial agreement, Mongolia government could renegotiate its stake after a period of 30 years.

However, the authorities had wanted to bring forward the negotiation period, a move that did not go down well with the miners as well as industry analysts.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, they said "all parties have reaffirmed their continued support for the investment agreement and its implementation".

Shares of Ivanhoe rose as much as 18% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.


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AUDIO: Would you go off sick with stress?

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 15:40 GMT Help

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VIDEO: The future for in-flight movies

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Keith Wallace reports on how technology could bring about major changes to in-flight entertainment in the skies.

Airlines are looking at options to link your phone or laptop to the aircraft's entertainment system or the internet and touch-screen ordering for your drinks and snacks on board.

Get in touch with Fast Track via e-mail or Facebook.

Watch Fast Track on the BBC World News channel on Saturdays at 0430, 1230 and 1930 GMT or Sundays at 1930 GMT.


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Dot brand versus dot com

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 03:54 GMT By Fiona Graham Technology of business reporter, BBC News Funeral Death sentence?: As brands are given the opportunity to have their own domains, could the dominance of .com be at an end? Business is good. Your bathroom fittings company has replaced the conveniences in half the homes in your neighbourhood. But there's one small fly in your ointment.

You were a bit late to the game when it came to the internet.

And when you finally decided to go online, www.bloggsbogs.com was already taken. You're pretty sure this must be the reason you haven't made quite the splash you wanted in other towns.

Is there another way?

Domain dominion

Beginning in January 2012, applications open for a new class of gTLD (generic top level domain).

The people who control the use of internet domains, Icann (Internet Committee for Assigned Names and Numbers), announced in June they were extending the suffixes used for web addresses beyond the existing 22 (.com, .net, .uk, etc).

Interested parties can apply to run one, and either retain it for themselves, or set up as a registrar selling domains within groups like .car or .bank.

Icann meeting Singapore Icann voted to allow the proposals for the new domains at their meeting in Singapore in June 2011.

The suffixes don't have to be roman letters, so could for example be Chinese characters.

Some rules do apply - for instance, they must have at least three letters (Icann is holding onto the remaining two letter domains in case new countries are created).

So now companies can bid for their own gTLD for the first time. Think .hitachi, .coke, .facebook.

Could .com's dominance be coming to an end?

Time limited

If your dream of registering .bloggsbogs is going to become reality, you'd better get your skates on. The application period opens on 12 January 2012, and closes three months later on 12 April.

Miss this and you may be twiddling your thumbs till 2015 according to Tim Callan, chief marketing officer at domain experts Melbourne IT DBS.

"[Companies] have to be prepping, and they have to be getting ready and figuring out what they're doing so they're ready."

Some may be left behind, says Simon Briskman, partner and IT specialist at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse.

Tim Callan Tim Callan: "Verisign predicts there will be 1,500 applications"

"I think it's difficult for brands to take this very short period we've got - the last quarter of this year - to assess and make a full business case."

Mr Briskman says some companies have stalled, initially put off by the cost.

"I think we've now got to the point where people are going: 'Hang on a minute, this is a drop in the ocean compared with the investment we make in the brand. We really do need to properly assess the business case.'

"[Some] big brands are going to miss the window - simple as that. You can't move large organisations at this speed."

Shirt off your back

Cost may cut out all but the megabrands.

Applying will set you back $185,000, and it doesn't stop there, says Melbourne IT DBS's Tim Callan: "Your corner mom-and-pop shop, this is not right for them.

"A good estimate is it will cost between $150,000 - $200,000 a year to run [a gTLD]. So costly yes, compared to your and my wallets, but for the companies we're talking about - trivial.

"I've yet to run into anybody who I would consider a prospect for this who has a cost objection."

Rebecca Moody, head of planning at advertising agency Euro RSCG, agrees: "It's a no-brainer for John Lewis or for Coca-Cola, for example, both successful big brands who can probably afford dot brand."

Bloggs Bogs may have to settle for registering for a dot category domain - if anyone applies for .toilet that is.

Coke sign The cost of applying for your own gTLD will probably restrict it to megabrand corporations like Coca Cola

When the application period closes, Icann will decide who has a viable bid.

"They're taking the public facing internet, they're slicing chunks off and they're giving them to people to operate," says Mr Callan. "So they want to be confident people can run it correctly."

Where there are multiple qualifying bids, Icann has a set of criteria to decide who wins - in the case of dictionary words for example, open communities trump private ones.

If this process doesn't resolve the situation, then it goes to auction, with the highest bidder winning. The first gTLDs could be live by early 2013.

Return on investment

So what is pushing companies to buy their own dot brand?

Mr Callan says protecting your trademark is one motive, not only to thwart cybersquatters, but to beat other companies using the same name to it.

"Trademark law allows non-colliding trademarks to exist. If I'm operating in North America and you're operating in Europe and we don't cross over, then we can both have a trademark. But only one of us can have the TLD."

Continue reading the main story dot category: .bank, .music, .shopdot place: .london, .berlin, .nycdot brand: .canon, .hitachi, .unicef, .motorolanon-Roman scripts allowed: Arabic, Chinese etcminimum three charactersno numbers, hyphens or non-letter charactersno country namesno two words that differ slightlyno plurals if singular exists, e.g. bank not bankstrademark holders can block cybersquattersThen, he says, there's the marketing benefit.

"[Companies] think they can have a better connection between offline marketing and online traffic by having names that are shorter, more memorable, easier to pop out in a marketing campaign."

"For example, laptop.hitachi. Very crisp. Very easy to remember, very easy to communicate."

This includes the benefits a loaded url brings in terms of search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy, a process where sites are built to make them more attractive to search engines.

Security is another draw.

"There are a lot of people who won't do internet shopping because of the security, I think dot brand has a lot of potential there," says Field Fisher Waterhouse's Simon Briskman.

"[It] is going to really help as a seal of authenticity."

Perception is a big deal, according to Dr Jonathan Freeman, senior lecturer in psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London and managing director of i2 media research.

"A lot of this is consumer perception. Reassuring consumers is going to enhance the online behaviours and transactions. They'll feel a lot more happy dealing [with] it."

Despite this, he anticipates consumers will not immediately take to the new naming conventions.

Dr Jonathan Freeman Dr Freeman says finding dot brand sites without having to search could be easier on mobile devices

"What people are used to doing is going to be a big determinant in how consumers adopt and use dot brand as it rolls out.

"I'd expect it to take a while to embed in consumer behaviour, especially given the extent to which consumers rely on search engines today."

So where does this leave the brands that cannot afford to be part of the new world order?

"There will inevitably be a new brand ranking system, which in a way I find kind of concerning." says Euro RSCG's Rebecca Moody.

"Do you risk looking like a second rate brand?"

Out of the loop

Understandably, smaller brands are uneasy.

"What the small businesses and not-for-profits have been complaining about is there's a significant barrier to entry," says Field Fisher Waterhouses's Simon Briskman.

"People are selling off slices of the internet real estate, and they feel they're going to get closed out."

He says subsequent rounds may prove a little cheaper.

Continue reading the main story
It's just not possible for everyone to get the names that they want in the new dot com space”

End Quote Simon Briskman Field Fisher Waterhouse "I think people will start to aggregate the running of these day-to-day, which ought to bring down some cost. I still don't think that it will be accessible to Martha with her boutique in Marylebone."

And the ubiquitous dot com? It's probably safe for some time to come.

"I don't believe anyone is going to be shutting their dot coms in the next five years," says Tim Callan of Melbourne IT DBS.

"But does any of us think we're going to be typing dot com in a hundred years? No."

Simon Briskman is somewhat more tempered.

"The reason dot com will survive is [for example] the Times - there's the Financial Times, the New York Times. It's just not possible for everyone to get the names that they want in the new dot com space."

"If you want a good presence, but maybe not the best presence, if you want someone else to run the infrastructure, you'll probably use dot coms.

"They'll happily co-exist I just don't think they'll have the same power that the dot brand does."


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Russia bleeds cash as investors pull out

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 23:00 GMT By Natalia Golysheva BBC World Service Traditional Matryoshka doll bearing the faces of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (underneath) and President Dmitry Medvedev Political turbulence has spooked investors in Russia Five months ago the Russian stock market was among the world's top performer, peaking after a steady rise in share prices that had lasted since early 2009.

Since then, the market has taken a tumble, with Russia's Micex index of leading shares losing more than a quarter of its value and the RTS index of 50 Russian shares falling by some 40% to levels not seen since this time last year.

According to the Russian government, investors are pulling back because they have been spooked by falling oil prices and global economic turmoil.

But many observers are instead blaming internal political turmoil for the retrenchment, which last year saw capital flight to the tune of some $30bn (£19bn) - only to accelerate this year, with some $31bn leaving the country during the first six months alone.

Wheeling cash out of Russia has become a sport shared by wealthy Russians and foreign investors alike, with one Russian opposition party leader, Boris Nemtsov, predicting that capital flight could rise to $100bn this year.

The capital flight is matched by a brain drain as the country's much needed skilled and educated people head for better opportunities abroad.

A recent survey suggests more than a fifth of Russia's adult population would like to emigrate, compared with 7% in 2007.

'Pillar of stability'

This week's ousting of Russia's long-standing finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, did little to mollify neither the people nor the markets.

Former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin Mr Kudrin eventually lost his battle with Russia's leaders

So the Russian rouble, already weakened by the turmoil in the world economy, has plunged and is trading around its lowest level against the US dollar since May 2009.

Mr Kudrin's main cheerleaders, Western investors and analysts, have long applauded the way his conservative budget policies have helped restore the country's financial health in the wake of the global financial crisis.

To them, his departure is seen as a deep blow to Russia's economy.

"The surprise factor of Kudrin leaving is bigger than the nomination of Putin to be the next president," according to Roland Nash, senior partner of Verno Capital.

"Kudrin personifies fiscal stability in Russia. It was really his big success that we've had this fiscal stability now for more than 10 years - him and the oil price.

Neil Shearing, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, a private-sector think tank in London, agrees.

"It's difficult to see how Kudrin's resignation can be anything but market-negative," he says.

Economic differences

Mr Kudrin's departure after 11 years in the job could not have been announced at a worse time, coming hot on the heels of President Dmitry Medvedev announcing that that he will swap jobs with Prime Minster Vladimir Putin in March of next year.

Trader watch their screens on the Troika Dialog trading floor in Moscow September 26, 2011. Falling oil prices and risk aversion sent the Russian rouble to its weakest level since mid-August 2009 and hit stocks after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced he would return to the Russian presidency. Investors are nervous as share prices, oil prices and the rouble all fall sharply

The Russian media initially speculated that Mr Kudrin may have openly rebelled to bolster his own ambitions to become Russia's next prime minister.

Mr Kudrin has accused President Medvedev of economic mismanagement and excessive spending.

In particular, in the latest of the two politicians many disagreements over economic policy, Mr Kudrin has been vocal in his opposition to President Medvedev's efforts to raise military spending by some 2.1 trillion over three years, insisting the plan would create "additional risks for both the budget and the economy".

President Medvedev has been dismissive of Mr Kudrin's criticism, insisting Russia "cannot avoid defence spending worthy of the Russian Federation, which is not some 'banana republic' but a very large country, a permanent member of the UN Security Council that possesses nuclear weapons".

In the end, the conflict came to a head with President Medvedev telling Mr Kudrin to step down after the rebellious finance minister said he would be unwilling to work with the next prime minister.

And if investors were concerned about Mr Kudrin's departure, then they were far from mollified by the man Prime Minister Putin appointed to succeed him.

Mr Putin described the new acting finance minister, the rarely heard of former deputy Anton Siluanov, as a "good, strong specialist", which investors immediately took to mean he would tow the party line and as such be a safe bet for the Russian leaders during the upcoming election season.

Optimistic assumptions

Mr Siluanov's first challenge will come next week, when Russia's government will have to submit its 2012 budget for approval by parliament.

It will be a challenge because the budget is calculated on a rather optimistic assumption, namely that price of oil will rise to $116 (£72)per barrel next year.

According to the ousted Mr Kudrin, Russia needs oil to average $112 in 2012 to balance its budget.

However, the price of Russia's main export, Urals crude oil, has recently tumbled and is currently trading close to the $105-a-barrel level.

If the price of oil fails to bounce back, then Mr Kudrin will be proven right about the need to curb spending and plan for a future when Russia's earnings will be much lower than they have been in recent years.


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2011年10月30日星期日

London 2012 athletics track ready

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World Championship 1,500m silver medallist Hannah England tries out the new track at the Olympic Stadium

The athletics track at the London 2012 Olympic stadium has been completed.

The track is made of synthetic rubber and has been designed to help athletes run fast times. Five world records were set on a similar surface in Beijing.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: "Today marks a huge milestone for the project as the stadium comes to life."

Long jumper Chris Tomlinson, 1,500m runner Hannah England and Paralympic discus thrower Dan Greaves were the first athletes to test out the track.

They were joined on the new surface by local schoolchildren, who will benefit from the Stadium's legacy plan to be a venue for sport, athletics, community and cultural events.

The 80,000-capacity stadium is nearing completion with the latest anticipated final cost of the work being £486m.

Lord Coe and Hannah England take a run on the new track Lord Coe and Hannah England take a run on the new track

The stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as all the track and field events.

An 80m sprint straight made of the same material as the main track has been laid under one of the main stands and a 400m training track will be laid shortly.

The track will be covered to protect it from the elements while other work continues at the Stadium.

"People can get a glimpse of how it will look in less than 10 months' time when we welcome the world's athletes to London," Coe added.

"There is still a lot of work to do on the stadium but seeing some of our top British athletes on the track with local schoolchildren really underlines the stadium's potential for 2012 and beyond."

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: "This is another piece in the jigsaw for our Olympic Stadium."

Olympic Delivery Authority chairman John Armitt added: "Watching athletes and children run around the Olympic Stadium's track 10 months before the London 2012 Games highlights just how much has been achieved over the last four years."


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Battle of the knowledge superpowers

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 11:04 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Giant technology cluster, Grenoble "Knowledge clusters" are being built in France to kick start hi-tech industries Knowledge is power - economic power - and there's a scramble for that power taking place around the globe.

In the United States, Europe and in rising powers such as China, there is a growth-hungry drive to invest in hi-tech research and innovation.

They are looking for the ingredients that, like Google, will turn a university project into a corporation. They are looking for the jobs that will replace those lost in the financial crash.

Not to invest would now be "unthinkable", says Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, the European Commissioner responsible for research, innovation and science, who is trying to spur the European Union to keep pace in turning ideas into industries.

She has announced £6bn funding to kick-start projects next year - with the aim of supporting 16,000 universities, research teams and businesses. A million new research jobs will be needed to match global rivals in areas such as health, energy and the digital economy.

'Innovation emergency'

Emphasising that this is about keeping up, rather than grandstanding, she talks about Europe facing an "innovation emergency".

"In China, you see children going into school at 6.30am and being there until 8 or 9pm, concentrating on science, technology and maths. And you have to ask yourself, would European children do that?

Maire Geoghegan Quinn Maire Geoghegan-Quinn: "The knowledge economy is the economy that is going to create the jobs"

"That's the competition that's out there. We have to rise to that - and member states have to realise that the knowledge economy is the economy that is going to create the jobs in the future, it's the area they have to invest in."

But the challenge for Europe, she says, is to be able to commercialise ideas as successfully as the United States, in the manner of the iPhone or Facebook.

The commissioner says that she was made abruptly aware of the barriers facing would-be innovators at the Nobel Prize awards ceremony dinner.

Instead of basking in the reflected glory of a prize winner funded by European grants, she said she had to listen to a speech attacking the red-tape and bureaucracy - and "generally embarrassing the hell out of me".

Determined that this would never happen again, she is driving ahead with a plan to simplify access to research funding and to turn the idea of a single European research area into a reality by 2014.

With storm clouds dominating the economic outlook, she sees investing in research and hi-tech industries - under the banner of the "Innovation Union" - as of vital practical importance in the push towards creating jobs and growth.

"We have to be able to say to the man and woman in the street, suffering intensely because of the economic crisis: this is a dark tunnel, but there is light at the end and we're showing you where it is."

Global forum

There has been sharpening interest in this borderland between education and the economy.

This month the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) staged its inaugural Global Forum on the Knowledge Economy.

Continue reading the main story Giant technology cluster, Grenoble

GIANT - the Grenoble Innovation for Advanced New Technologies - is an ambitious French example of a knowledge cluster, combining academic research and commercial expertise.

The classic examples have been in California and Boston in the US, and around Cambridge in the UK. Purpose-built centres include Education City in Qatar, Science City in Zurich and Digital Media City in Seoul.

There will be 40,000 people living, studying and working on the GIANT campus. Centres of research excellence will be side-by-side with major companies who will develop the commercial applications. This includes nanotechnology, green energy and the European Synchotron Radiation Facility (pictured above). A business school, the Grenoble Ecole de Management, is also part on site.

This hi-tech version of a factory town will have its own transport links and a green environment designed to attract people to live and stay here.

This was a kind of brainstorming for governments living on a shoestring.

The UK's Universities Minister, David Willetts, called for a reduction in unnecessary regulation, which slowed down areas such as space research.

The French response has been to increase spending, launching a £30bn grand project to set up a series of "innovation clusters" - in which universities, major companies and research institutions are harnessed together to create new knowledge-based industries.

It's an attempt to replicate the digital launchpad of Silicon Valley in California. And in some ways these are the like mill towns of the digital age, clustered around science campuses and hi-tech employers.

But the knowledge economy does not always scatter its seed widely. When the US is talked about as an innovation powerhouse, much of this activity is based in narrow strips on the east and west coasts.

A map of Europe measuring the number of patent applications shows a similar pattern - with high concentrations in pockets of England, France, Germany and Finland.

There are also empty patches - innovation dust bowls - which will raise tough political questions if good jobs are increasingly concentrated around these hi-tech centres. The International Monetary Fund warned last week that governments must invest more in education to escape a "hollowing out" of jobs.

Speed of change

Jan Muehlfeit, chairman of Microsoft Europe, explained what was profoundly different about these new digital industries - that they expand at a speed and scale that would have been impossible in the traditional manufacturing industries.

Governments trying to respond to such quicksilver businesses needed to ensure that young people were well-educated, creative and adaptable, he said.

As an example of a success story, Mr Muehlfeit highlighted South Korea. A generation ago they deliberately invested heavily in raising education standards. Now, as a direct result of this upskilling, the West is importing South Korean cars and televisions, he said.

Continue reading the main story
The triangle of innovation, education and skills is of extreme importance, defining both the problem and the solution”

End Quote Jose Angel Gurria OECD secretary general Perhaps it is not a coincidence that South Korea's government has its own dedicated knowledge economy minister.

Robert Aumann, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, attending the OECD event, also emphasised this link between the classroom and the showroom. "How do you bring about innovation? Education, education, education," he said.

But this is far from a case of replacing jobs in old rusty industries with new hi-tech versions.

Gordon Day, president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the US-based professional association for technology, made the point that digital businesses might generate huge incomes but they might not employ many people. In some cases they might only have a payroll one tenth of a traditional company of a similar size.

It's an uncomfortable truth for governments looking for a recovery in the jobs market.

Degrees of employment

But standing still isn't an option.

Figures released from the OECD have shown how much the financial crisis has changed the jobs market.

Shanghai graduation ceremony Class of 2011 in Shanghai: China now has the second biggest share of the world's graduates

There were 11 million jobs lost, half of them in the United States, and with low-skilled workers and manufacturing the hardest hit. If those losses are to be recovered, it is going to be with higher-skilled jobs, many of them requiring degrees.

But graduate numbers show the shifting balance of power.

From a standing start, China now has 12% of graduates in the world's big economies - approaching the share of the UK, Germany and France put together. The incumbent superpower, the United States, still towers above with 26% of the graduates.

South Korea now has the sixth biggest share of the world's graduates, ahead of countries such as France and Italy.

It means that the US and European countries have to compete on skills with these rising Asian powers.

But the US university system remains a formidably well-funded generator of research. A league table, generated for the first time this month, looked at the global universities with research making the greatest impact - with US universities taking 40 out of the top 50 places.

Their wealth was emphasised this week with the announcement of financial figures from the two Boston university powerhouses, Harvard and MIT, which had a combined endowment of £27bn.

"The triangle of innovation, education and skills is of extreme importance, defining both the problem and the solution," said the OECD's secretary general, Jose Angel Gurria.

"It's a world of cut-throat competition. We lost so much wealth, we lost so many exports, we lost so much well-being, we lost jobs, job, jobs," he told delegates in Paris.

"We must re-boot our economies with a more intelligent type of growth."

Chart showing graduate share

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VIDEO: Dutch sceptical over debt solution

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 16:19 GMT Help

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iPad 'gains 80% of tablet market'

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27 September 2011 Last updated at 16:00 GMT Customer trying out an iPad at an Apple store in New York Apple's iPad, now in its second generation, has proven a big hit with consumers Apple's iPad captured 80% of the tablet computer market in the US and Canada in April to July, a report has said.

The iPad accounted for six million of all 7.5 million tablets shipped in North America during the second quarter of 2011, according to research group Strategy Analytics.

It described Apple as a "formidable market leader".

Yet it added that Amazon - which is expected to unveil its own tablet this week - could become a big challenger.

'Strong brand'

Stategy Analytics senior analyst Alex Spektor said: "Apple remains a long way ahead of its main rivals such as Motorola, Samsung, RIM, Asus and HTC.

"A combination of cool branding, user-friendly hardware, entertaining services and savvy retail distribution has made Apple a formidable market leader."

According to reports, online retailer Amazon could announce the release of its first tablet as early as Wednesday.

"Provided the pricing, screen size and hardware design are right, Amazon can be one of the main challengers to Apple's dominance," said Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics.

"Like Apple, Amazon has a strong brand, compelling content, sophisticated billing systems and widespread distribution.

"In effect, Amazon's new tablet product represents a good opportunity to place an Amazon shopping cart in the hands of American consumers, offering optimised access to purchasing digital content or physical goods from the Amazon online store."

The continuing popularity of Apple's iPad comes despite its incompatibility with Adobe Flash software, meaning that users cannot view a large number of online videos.

Rivals such as Samsung are quick to highlight in their advertising that their tablets are able to use Flash.

Apple and Samsung, which makes the Galaxy range of tablets, are also continuing a number of legal disputes over patents.

On Monday, Apple declined to comment on reports that it had cut orders for iPad parts from its suppliers because of falling sales.

The study by an Asian analyst of US bank JPMorgan Chase said several suppliers had indicated that Apple had reduced its orders by 25%.

The iPad was first released in April 2010, with the second version, the iPad 2, following in March of this year.


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Manager changes cost clubs £99m

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By Ian Dennis
BBC senior football reporter (Clockwise from top left) Peter Reid, Steve McClaren, Keith Millen and Blackburn fans protesting against manager Steve Kean Five managers have lost their job this season, with pressure mounting on more Premier League and Football League clubs spent almost £100m changing their manager last season.

According to figures released to the BBC by the League Managers Association (LMA), the cost of compensation, legal fees and 'double contracts' amounted to £99m.

A 'double contract' is when a sacked manager's contract is honoured until a certain point in time but his replacement also requires a salary.

October is traditionally the month when clubs begin sacking their managers. Between October 2010 and February 2011, 25 clubs opted for that course of action.

Continue reading the main story In 2010-11, managers sacked in the Championship had an average tenure of less than a year.It was 1.33 years in League 2, 1.67 years in League 1 & 2.07 years in the Premier League.

Several managers have already lost their job this season, including Peter Reid, who was sacked by League Two Plymouth Argyle last week.

Keith Millen left Bristol City on Monday with the club bottom of the Championship, while Steve McClaren departed Nottingham Forest on Sunday, resigning after only 112 days in charge.

The figure of £99m would have been higher had agents fees and the cost of sacking and replacing a manager's backroom team been taken into account.

According to the LMA, which represents managers in the Premier League and Football League, more than 100 coaches also lost their jobs last season.

Reid, who was in charge of Plymouth at a time when the club were battling to avoid administration, was on BBC Radio 5 live to discuss the issue.

He said: "Chairman and owners need to be more realistic about their expectations.

"Certainly in the Championship where they're all trying to get to the Holy Grail and that's the Premiership. There needs to be a bit of realism."

Reid was joined by LMA chief executive Richard Bevan, who believes managers are not being given enough time to prove themselves.

"We want to move away from managers being judged on their last three results," Bevan said.

Continue reading the main story The average length of time it takes a sacked manager to get another job is currently 1.63 years.Almost half of first-time managers are never appointed to a second management position.

"In fact, when results take a downturn that is when the club should support its manager even more, not jump for the quick fix."

Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been in charge of Manchester United for almost 25 years, agrees.

"It's always a problem in modern-day management," said the 69-year-old Scot. "You see time and time again that these guys are only in a position a year before the clubs are sacking them."

According to the LMA, Championship managers who were sacked in 2010-11 had an average tenure of less than a year.

The average was 1.33 years in League 2, 1.67 years in League 1 and 2.07 years in the Premier League.

The average length of time it takes a sacked manager to get another job is currently 1.63 years. Almost half of first-time managers are never appointed to a second management position.


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Nokia to cut another 3,500 jobs

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AppId is over the quota
29 September 2011 Last updated at 12:21 GMT Shopper walking past Nokia advert Nokia has been slower than rivals to take advantage of the lucrative market for smartphones Mobile phone giant Nokia is to cut 3,500 jobs and close a plant in Romania as part of its restructuring plan.

The cuts are in addition to thousands of job losses already announced by Nokia, which in April unveiled a 1bn-euro cost-cutting programme.

Nokia said it would shut its plant in Cluj, Romania, and cut jobs in its location division, whose products include maps for mobile phones.

It is also reviewing the future of plants in Finland, Hungary and Mexico.

"We must take painful, yet necessary, steps to align our workforce and operations with our path forward," said chief executive Stephen Elop.

Nokia shares have almost halved this year and opened down 1.7% on Thursday, but staged a recovery and were 1% up by midday.

"Nokia plans to close its manufacturing facilities in Cluj, Romania, by the end of 2011... and plans to close its (locations and commerce development) operations in Bonn, Germany and Malvern, US," by the end of next year, the company statement said.

Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight, said: "The scaling back of its manufacturing presence was sadly inevitable but it's clear that Elop is not afraid of taking the tough decisions to ensure Nokia's long-term survival."

Nokia's statement said the company would look to "focus its feature phone manufacturing on those locations with optimal proximity to suppliers and key markets".

Some analysts interpreted this as a signal that Nokia could shift manufacturing to Asia.

"If you think about where the markets are, the growth markets are in Asia, and it makes sense to manufacture a product close to the customer," said Pohjola Bank analyst Hannu Rauhala.

In July, the company plunged into the red as sales fell and margins were squeezed in the second quarter.

The firm made a net loss of 368m euros ($521m; £323m) in the three months to the end of June, compared with a profit of 227m euros a year earlier. Net sales fell by 7% to 9.3bn euros.

Nokia has lost ground to competitors such as Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android operating system.

Earlier this year, Nokia announced 7,000 job cuts worldwide - with 3,000 of the posts being transferred to consultancy group Accenture - as part of strategy to focus on smartphones.


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2011年10月29日星期六

Wall Street protesters released

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2 October 2011 Last updated at 15:57 GMT Protester Michael Pellagatti, New York, 2 October Protester Michael Pellagatti holds up the plastic handcuffs used to restrain him and the court summons he was issued Police in New York City have freed most of the more than 700 people arrested on Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday during a protest against corporate greed.

Fewer than 20 protesters are still held as they are yet to be identified.

Most of those freed were given citations for disorderly conduct and a criminal court summons.

The Occupy Wall Street group, camped in Manhattan's financial district for two weeks, says it will continue its demonstrations.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department told the BBC the small group still detained were expected to appear at the Manhattan criminal court on Sunday.

'Multiple warnings'

The arrests took place on Saturday after protesters carried out an impromptu walk over the East River to Brooklyn.

Some demonstrators carried slogans reading "End the Fed" and "Pepper spray Goldman Sachs".

Police said the protesters were given "multiple warnings" to keep to the pedestrian walkway but spread to the road, halting bridge traffic for several hours.

Some protesters accused the police of not issuing warnings or of tricking them on to the roadway, accusations the police denied.

Demonstrator Henry-James Ferry: "'The police moved in with orange mesh barricade". Saturday footage courtesy Robert Cammiso

Occupy Wall Street says it will continue its campaign, with meetings on Sunday in Zuccotti Park, the privately owned area of land not far from Wall Street that it has occupied since 17 September.

There will be another march on Wall Street on Wednesday afternoon.

"We are the majority. We are the 99%. And we will no longer be silent," the group said in a statement.

"We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of non-violence to maximise the safety of all participants."

The protesters have had previous run-ins with New York's police.

On Friday, about 2,000 people marched under the Occupy Wall Street banner to New York's police headquarters to protest against arrests and police behaviour.

Some 80 people were arrested during a march on 25 September, mostly for disorderly conduct and blocking traffic, but one person was charged with assaulting a police officer.

A series of other small-scale protests have also sprung up in other US cities in sympathy with the aims of Occupy Wall Street.

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Sales for Baker Greggs

October 6, 2011, last updated Greggs 09: 41 GMT Greggs has challenged the United Kingdom market downturn Greggs Baker reported an increase in sales in the third quarter despite the economic depression.

13 weeks to October 1, total sales increased 5.4%, as for like growth of 0.8%.

The company said it continued to see good growth in sales breakfast, including the launch of the all-fair coffee shops.

During weeks 39 year financial, Greggs opened shops in 66 and 13, making the net increase of 53.

Slowdown defied

Analysts believe that Greggs has defied the downturn with relatively low transaction values its in its branches.

There are shops 1,376 across United Kingdom, selling six million customers a week.

She plans to open a total of 80 new stores by the end of its financial year.

Administrative Declaration, he said: "we remain confident the chances of the group, our expectations for the year remained unchanged.

"Looking further forward until 2012, there are signs of easing inflation rate price goods in some areas, with the notable exception of energy."


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Reebok pays $25m over toning shoe

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 18:41 GMT Reebok Easy Tone trainers Reebok got into trouble in the US about alleged health benefits of using its toning shoes Sports goods maker Reebok International is to pay $25m (£16m) to settle charges that it made unsupported claims about its Easy Tone and Run Tone shoes.

Reebok, a unit of Adidas, said these toning shoes would "strengthen and tone key leg and buttock (gluteus maximus) muscles more than regular shoes".

The US Federal Trade Commission ruled these advertising claims were false.

Adidas said Reebok had settled with the commission "to avoid a protracted legal battle".

"Settling does not mean we agreed with the FTC's allegations; we do not," Adidas added.

The FTC said Reebok began making the claims in early 2009 and provided statistics about the alleged benefits.

The $25m penalty will go towards consumer refunds.

"The FTC wants national advertisers to understand that they must exercise some responsibility and ensure that their claims for fitness gear are supported by sound science," said David Vladeck, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection.

The commission said in one advert Reebok claimed that by walking in its Easy Tone shoes users were able to strengthen hamstrings and calves by up to 11%, and tone the buttocks up to 28% more than normal trainers.

UK advert

It comes three months after a Reebok advert in the UK, which featured Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, was banned.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the leaflet which said Reebok's ZigTech Apparel helped blood vessels to relax, boosting oxygen levels by up to 7%.

The ASA said the claims could not be proved and also criticised the advert for implying the trainers Hamilton wore in it featured the new technology.

Reebok said it disagreed with the ASA ruling but accepted it.


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German factory data disappoints

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6 October 2011 Last updated event A worker assembles VW's Golf at its Wolfsburg plant at 11: 29 GMT 16-Volkswagen in its release of detailed investment plan yet, despite economic concerns German factories recorded a 0.9% drop in industrial orders over the month of August, according to government data.

It is the second month in a row that demand has weakened, casting further gloom over the prospects for Europe ' s value economy.

Economists had expected no change after July's 2.6% fall.

The German economy support blamed "special factors". It said the decline was driven by a fall in domestic demand during the summer holidays.

Orders from maintains rose by 0.1% over the month.

Eurozone debt and NGO

Surveys suggest button Pack German business confidence is waning. The closely watched Ifo business climate index hit its lowest level for more than a year in 203.

Analysts say a lack of "clarity" about how the eurozone debt and NGO will be resolved is making consumers and companies cautious about spending.

"These numbers are too volatile to draw any firm conclusions." said Berenberg bank's chief economist, Holger Schmieding.

"But of course the significant fall in orders in August, following the drop in July, could be a first sign that demand is weakening."


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Warning over mobility aid scams

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 23:02 GMT By Simon Gompertz Personal finance correspondent, BBC News Pensioner with hands on stick The elderly are vulnerable to high prices quoted on the doorstep Elderly and disabled people face risks from unscrupulous traders offering stairlifts and other mobility aids on the doorstep, a watchdog is warning.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is promising to try to stamp out unfair sales practices, by removing credit licences and encouraging trading standards officers to prosecute.

The watchdog said it had received thousands of complaints.

Buyers can pay 50% more than High Street prices on the doorstep.

Some have overpaid by hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

Promises

The OFT has received thousands of complaints about sales of the equipment, which includes mobility scooters, special chairs and adjustable beds.

Some victims found the equipment they were promised failed to turn up.

May Bell, an 88-year-old from Sheffield, told BBC News how she was left £1,800 out of pocket and trapped on the ground floor of her house after a visit from a salesman.

"I thought I'd had it," she said. "I thought it was the end of my time."

May Bell said she was trapped on the ground floor of her home

She had been promised a new stairlift. But after her old one was disconnected, the replacement did not arrive.

For five weeks, she was forced to sleep in a chair and use a commode instead of her toilet.

In July, the man who visited her, Shane Johnson of Nottingham Mobility, was convicted of breaching consumer protection regulations and sentenced to a year in prison.

Ann Pope, from the OFT, promised more enforcement activity to protect consumers.

"We are issuing a warning to the industry that we will take further action where necessary," she said.

Rules

There is nothing to prevent traders knocking on doors, although there are rules on what they can do once they gain entry to a potential customer's home.

They should show identification and be honest about who they are. They should make it clear that they are selling something and not put consumers under pressure.

Some doorstep sellers have pretended to be from social services to establish trust. Others stay for hours and refuse to leave.

In Sheffield, May Bell had a new stairlift installed for free after the manufacturer heard about her plight. But she remains frightened about answering the phone or dealing with a knock on the door.

Her granddaughter, Frances Bell, is still angry about what happened.

"They are scum to do that to old age pensioners, to vulnerable people, and leave them in the situation that they left my nan in," she said.


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UBS set to make 'modest profit'

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 07:13 GMT Oswald Gruebel, chief executive of Swiss Bank UBS, in a file photo from February 2010 Oswald Gruebel UBS's former chief executive resigned over the rogue-trading loss. Swiss bank UBS said it will make a small profit in the third quarter despite losing $2.3bn (£1.5bn) through unauthorised trading.

When it first discovered the alleged fraud, it warned it might report a loss for the three months to the end of September.

But the bank has said in a statement: "UBS expects to report a modest net profit for the group."

Former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli is accused of fraud and false accounting.

The 31-year-old City of London-based trader was remanded in custody until 20 October.

The bank said it now expected a small profit even after taking into account losses from the incident, as well as 400m francs ($435m, £270m) worth of restructuring charges linked to its cost-cutting programme.

But the bank said that its strength buffer - the so-called Tier 1 capital ratio - was expected to be slightly down on the second quarter because of the losses due to the trade.

The former chief executive of Swiss bank UBS Oswald Gruebel resigned over the rogue-trading loss.

The bank is also undergoing a major shake-up which will see it shrink its investment banking division to reduce its risks.


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2011年10月28日星期五

Minimum wage up by 15p to £6.08

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT Bank notes The increase takes account of the current economic uncertainty The minimum wage has gone up, with the main rate for adults aged 21 or over rising by 15p to £6.08 an hour.

The development rate - for those aged 18 to 20 - goes up by 6p to £4.98 an hour, for 16 and 17-year-olds it rises by 4p to £3.68 an hour and the hourly apprentice rate rises by 10p to £2.60.

The TUC welcomed the rise but Unison said the rates were still too low.

The minimum wage was introduced in 1999 at £3.60 an hour for adults, and is set each year by the Low Pay Commission.

The commission recommended this year's increase in a report to the government in April.

It said the increases would balance the needs of low-paid workers and their employers facing difficulties during a period of economic uncertainty.

As levels of youth unemployment are relatively high, it recommended a lower increase for young workers than for their older counterparts, to try to encourage employers to keep them on.

The TUC it estimated the increases would benefit nearly 900,000, mainly female, workers.

The general secretary of the public sector union, Unison, said £8 an hour was needed to provide a living wage.

"The rise to £6.08 is a welcome cushion, but with the price of everyday essentials such as food, gas and electricity going up massively, it won't lift enough working people out of the poverty trap," Dave Prentis said.

As a result, he called on employers to pay more than the absolute minimum.


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VIDEO: Eurozone crisis sparks fears for Dexia

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AppId is over the quota
4 October 2011 Last updated at 22:15 GMT Help

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Growing trade ties between Indian and Pakistan

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2 October 2011 Last updated at 16:04 GMT By Shahzeb Jillani BBC News India's Trade Minister Anand Sharma and his Pakistan counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim (right) shake hands Pakistan's commerce minister (right) took a large delegation with him Business leaders from India and Pakistan say there's new optimism about the efforts their governments are making to improve trade ties. But critics warn that overcoming decades of mistrust may not be that easy.

For the first time in 35 years, a Pakistani commerce minister led a business delegation to India last week. The entourage included nearly 80 leading industrialists, traders and high-ranking officials.

Peace talks between the two nuclear-armed neighbours broke down in 2008 after the attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

Nearly three years on, as if to emphasize a sense of normalcy, the Pakistani Commerce Minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, was hosted at the city's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel - which was one of the main targets of the 2008 attacks.

There, leading Pakistani traders got a chance to mingle with their equally eager-for-business Indian counterparts.

Between them, they spoke not just of the profits their individual businesses could make if their governments removed the long standing hurdles in their way. But also of how much the people of their two countries, and indeed the wider region, stand to benefit from freer movement of goods, money and commodities.

Win-win situation Continue reading the main story
The only way I see realization of trade potential between our two countries is for India to remove its non-tariff trade barriers and for Pakistan to reciprocate by granting the MFN status to India”

End Quote Hasan Khan Former advisor to Pakistan's Ministry of Finance Vijay Kalantri, president of All India Association of Industries, said traders on both sides feel business between India and Pakistan is a win-win situation for everyone.

"Why are Indians and Pakistanis forced to trade unofficially via third countries like Dubai or Sri Lanka?" he tells the BBC from Mumbai.

"All we are asking is, let there be direct business-to-business contact between us."

After the talks in Delhi, ministers from the two sides announced their agreement to boost their annual bilateral trade from current $2.7bn (£1.7bn) to $6bn by 2015.

They also pledged to ease business travel and promote bilateral trade through the land route.

For Pakistan, a significant announcement was a pledge by India to drop its opposition to the European Union's plan to grant Pakistan tariff waiver on select commodities to help it recover from the devastation of 2010 floods.

There was hope that Pakistan might reciprocate and grant India the Most Favoured Nation status (India granted Pakistan MFN status way back in the 1990s).

Even though no such announcement came, Pakistan committed itself to a road map to implement preferential trade ties with India, as prescribed under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

Trade barriers

There are a number of explanations why Pakistan has so far withheld the MFN status from India.

Indian cargo container being prepared for export from Sanand in Gujarat At present there are a number of barriers to prevent trade between Indian and Pakistan

First is political. Pakistani leaders have often linked it to the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir.

It's a stance which has long been propagated for mainly domestic consumption.

But there is a sense in Pakistan that while the country should continue to push for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue, trade and commerce should not be held hostage to resolution of political disputes.

The second is protectionism. For years, domestic industry in Pakistan has feared it would be swamped by imports from India. But even there, the mood appears to have shifted.

Senator Haji Ghulam Ali, president of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, says there's a consensus that Pakistan should open up to Indian business.

"Everyone now recognizes it will be beneficial for both sides. It's just a matter of time before it's done," he tells the BBC from Delhi.

Cotton workers in Pakistan Business leaders say that less trade barriers would benefit firms in both countries

However, the last, and more plausible, obstacle is the issue of non-tariff barriers.

"In my experience, India has one of the most restrictive trade regimes in the region," asserts Dr Ashfaq Hasan Khan, a former advisor to Pakistan's Ministry of Finance. His view matters, given has decades of dealings with South Asian governments on trade liberalization.

He explains that despite granting Pakistan the MFN status, India has a variety of non-tariff barriers in place - such as, stringent certification codes, customs rules, security clearances and movement restrictions - which make it virtually impossible for Pakistani traders to do business in India.

"The only way I see realization of trade potential between our two countries is for India to remove its non-tariff trade barriers and for Pakistan to reciprocate by granting the MFN status to India," says Mr Khan.

He adds: "Unless there's political will to do that, everything else is just talk and photo-op."


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