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Fuel cell joint venture formed
In an effort to accelerate the development of fuel cells, two companies form a JV to target the light industrial, commercial, and residential markets in the United Kingdom and Ireland
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Resistance to a U.K. hedge fund's effort to control CSX
Ever since the 2006 Dubai Ports World’s takeover of management operations in major U.S. seaports, Congress has shown increasing irritation with attempts by foreign companies to own U.S. critical infrastructure assets; there is a growing resistance in Congress to U.K.-based TCI to take control of rail operator CSX
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Singapore embarks on water reclamation project
Singapore suffers increasing water shortages; the country’s Public Utility Board (PUB) has joined with two specialists in the field in a joint development of wastewater reclamation technologies using separation membranes
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Bosch acquires Extreme CCTV
Video surveillance is a growing market, and Bosch moves in by acquiring Canadian specialist in infrared illuminators
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Canberra shows Falcon 5000 portable radiation detector
The company has more than four decades of experience in radiation measurements of all kinds; the Falcon 5000, a portable radionuclide identifier for first responders, determines whether there is a radiation source present, the location of that source, and which isotopes are emitting the radiation
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VCs invest $3 billion in clean tech in 2007
VCs investment in clean tech in 2007 increased 43 percent over similar investments in 2006; U.S.-based companies received $2.52 billion, or 83 percent of the total, in 159 clean-tech deals
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Chevron, Weyerhaeuser to develop fuels from non-food sources
Using food crops such as corn to produce fuel may not be such a good idea after all, as the contribution to pushing up the price of corn-based fuel would likely be greater than the contribution to reduce oil dependence or clean up the environment; two companies offer a way out
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Qinetiq in £951 million test and evaluation MoD contract
Good news for Qinetiq: the Ministry of Defense signed a £951 million contract with the company, part of a contract values at £5.6 billion over 25 years; company has already been paid £964 million for the 2003-9 period
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Israeli clean-car project largest recipient of VC clean-tech funding in 2007
Israeli electric car venture raises $200 million in first round financing — the largest single recipient of VC cleantech funding in 2007; total VC 2007 investment in cleantech: More than $3 billion
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Europe's Northrop Grumman/EADS group wins $35 billion aircraft deal
A big loss for Boeing, as its European rivals win a $35 billion U.S. Air Force tanker deal; Boeing may have paid the price for the tanker contract it had in 2003, but which was annulled after revelations of procurement fraud; Boeing paid a record $615 million settlement to the government
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More than $3 billion lost in 2007 in phishing attacks
New survey shows the 3.6 million U.S. adults lost an average $886 each to phishing schemes, totaling in $3.2 billion loss; the good news: More victims were able to recover some of their losses relative to previous years; phishing and malware attacks will continue to increase through 2009 because it is still a lucrative business for the perpetrators
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Integrating smart cards with biometrics a growing market
The market for integrated smart cards and biometric products earned $249.1 million in 2007 and is expected to reach $822.2 million by 2013; market driven by growing interest in national biometric IDs; market grew in 2006 by 55.2 percent, despite many of the national ID projects not operating at full scale
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Bankrupt Pay By Touch to auction off its assets
Pay by Touch came to market with a big splash; its system was installed in more than 700 U.S. retail locations; its biometrics and personalized marketing businesses, however, lost $137 million last year on only $600,000 in revenue; it sought buyers, but there were no satisfactory offers, so it is planning to auction off its assets
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Bain's effort to acquire 3Com on verge of collapse
Bain Capital and a Chinese partner wanted to buy 3Com for $2.2 billion; 3Com’s TippingPoint unit sells security software used by U.S. government agencies, and persistent questions were raised over the national security ramifications of the deal; Bain and Huawei Technologies have now withdrawn their application to CFIUS
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Aussie company in $20 million wave energy project for Maui
Australian specialist in wave energy to build three platforms off the coast of Maui; project aims to provide up to 2.7 megawatts
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More headlines
The long view
Need for National Information Clearinghouse for Cybercrime Data, Categorization of Cybercrimes: Report
There is an acute need for the U.S. to address its lack of overall governance and coordination of cybercrime statistics. A new report recommends that relevant federal agencies create or designate a national information clearinghouse to draw information from multiple sources of cybercrime data and establish connections to assist in criminal investigations.
Trying to “Bring Back” Manufacturing Jobs Is a Fool’s Errand
Advocates of recent populist policies like to focus on the supposed demise of manufacturing that occurred after the 1970s, but that focus is misleading. The populists’ bleak economic narrative ignores the truth that the service sector has always been a major driver of America’s success, for decades, even more so than manufacturing. Trying to “bring back” manufacturing jobs, through harmful tariffs or other industrial policies, is destined to end badly for Americans. It makes about as much sense as trying to “bring back” all those farm jobs we had before the 1870s.
The Potential Impact of Seabed Mining on Critical Mineral Supply Chains and Global Geopolitics
The potential emergence of a seabed mining industry has important ramifications for the diversification of critical mineral supply chains, revenues for developing nations with substantial terrestrial mining sectors, and global geopolitics.
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”