Markets & Industries
Chinese Companies Team Up Solar Energy Generation and Agriculture - 10/28/2015
This year, China may overtake Germany and become the world's largest installer of solar panels. However, as companies increasingly need to expand land plots for solar farms, they have to turn to innovative solutions: everything is grown beneath solar-cell arrays - from plants to hairy crabs. This helps companies get around government restrictions on the conversion of agricultural land, enlist...
Japanese Car Producers Can be Pushed Out From Their Leading Positions - 10/27/2015
The days of "cheap and cheerful cars," such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, may be numbered. They will be replaced by unmanned vehicles developed by Google and Apple, said the Japanese car designer Ken Okuyama, who has developed looks of Ferrari F60 Enzo and Porsche Boxster. In his interview to Reuters, Okuyama believes that changing driving technology also can threaten Japan's position as...
Bitcoins Became Equivalent to Other Currencies - 10/22/2015
The European court ruled that exchange of the traditional currency for Bitcoins should be exempted from value added tax (VAT). The corresponding decision was published on 22 October at the site of the court. According to the court, Bitcoin and other transactional cryptocurrency should be treated in the same way as ordinary money. The Court considered the issue of Bitcoins exchange taxation in...
Swiss Watch Exports Fell to Its Lowest Level Since 2009 - 10/20/2015
Swiss Federal Customs Administration has recorded a record since 2009 quarterly drop in Swiss watch exports. Experts believe it is the result of several reasons: strengthening the franc, reducing demand in China and, unlikely as it may seem, competition from Apple Inc. According to the Federal Customs Administration of Switzerland (AFD)’s data, published today, Swiss watch exports fell in the...
The Youtube King and His Retinue - 10/19/2015
YouTube has long ceased to be a place with home videos and jokes with cats. Bloggers use the site to upload quality video production, which brings millions of dollars. Forbes magazine has made a rating of the richest “youtubbers”. YouTube is not just a portal, but also an entire ecosystem, a separate networked world. Not only can a member of the team, but also an independent content creator...
Oil and Gas Industry Will Have to Lead the Life of Hardship For a Long Time - 10/16/2015
Paal Kibsgaard, the head of the world's largest oilfield services company Schlumberger, reporting on the results of the third quarter, said there won’t be any recovery of the global oil and gas industry in the near future. According to him, "the situation on the market is becoming more and more difficult, and the activity on it is expected to decrease even more." On Thursday, the world's largest...
Superpower of AdBlock - 10/14/2015
John Wanamaker, the " marketing pioneer" in advertising, once said: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half”. The century of technology could have been the salvation for advertisers: with mobile and internet ads, they were able to learn more about the interests of users and target their messages better. And everything would be fine if there wasn’t...
World Gas Outlook and Forecasts - 10/13/2015
Platts independent news agency released its international analytical review of gas markets, which highlights the main trends in international gas markets. Here are the main trends of the gas market in different countries and regions of the world. Iran and a new contract for gas production September 30, the Iranian government has approved the new model contract for exploration and production...
Bright Future for Solar Energy - 10/08/2015
Wind energy has become the cheapest form of electricity for production in Germany and the UK - even without state subsidies, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF)’s analysis indicates. This was the first time in the G7, said the agency Bloomberg; the first to reach such success was Denmark in the last year. According to Bloomberg, the share of wind power in the UK accounts for 7.7% of the...
Crème de la Crème of the World Automakers: The Most Expensive Car Brands in the World - 10/07/2015
Interbrand consultancy company has published a ranking of the most valuable brands in the world. The list, which consists of the 100 largest companies, includes 14 automakers. The most expensive occurred to be Toyota - the Japanese brand was estimated at 49 billion dollars. For the first time, Mini came in the list, which, according to estimates of Interbrand’s analysts, is worth about 4.2...