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BY RUSSELL BERMAN

WITH the auto industry in the United States and Europe in the midst of an unprecedented downturn, the international paints and coatings sector has taken a deep hit as well and has been forced to turn to painful strategies in the hopes of riding out the recession.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF

IF there was a year when long-term textile and clothing market forecasters missed by a mile, 2008 was it. Forecasts made in 2007 were dominated by looming concerns about trade restrictions, investment in technology, a potential slow-down of production and a consolidation of business investment but no one predicted what devastating effects an unexpected recession would have on the textiles and apparel sector.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU)-funded study has confirmed the major differences between industry, governments and environmentalists over nanotechnology. This ‘mapping study on regulation and governance of nanotechnologies’ involving Britain’s Institute of nanotechnology, the Innovation Society, Switzerland, and others. It confirmed environmental and consumer groups want probes into nanosafety and a "strict precautionary approach"; industry thinks current environmental health laws are sufficient; while governments prefer more studies.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

REFORMS have been approved by the European Parliament to a revised European Union (EU)-wide ecolabel system, making it tougher for clothing and textile producers to secure regarding the use of environmentally damaging chemicals. An informal agreement with EU ministers means that parliament’s decision yesterday (April 2) will probably fast-track the changes through the EU legislative machine.…

BY KARRYN MILLER

"THE STONE Age did not end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil," said Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani in 2003, former oil minister of Saudi Arabia. Six years on Mr Yamani’s words appear to ring true more than ever before – with alternative fuels becoming a viable petroleum substitute.…

BY RUSSELL BERMAN

THE SWEEPING energy reforms being undertaken by the new administration of US President Barack Obama include billions of dollars in funding for biofuels and other clean energy sources.

America’s biofuels industry is applauding Mr Obama’s early moves, although advocates are still awaiting regulatory directives on renewable fuel standards.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, LEAH GERMAIN and MONICA DOBIE

MAYBE the best sign that renewable energies have hit the mainstream is that they now have their very own international organisation: the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Launched in Bonn, Germany, this January, with the support of 76 countries, including its host nation, Spain, Italy, France and Sweden, the roster of signatory nations has since been swollen by India and Belarus.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and EMMA JACKSON

COUNTERFEITERS often claim their crime is victimless – the only losers are rich corporations who enjoy healthy profits anyway from their brands. But tell that to the families of the 1,069 duped Moscow consumers who died after becoming intoxicated by counterfeit alcoholic beverages in the city during 2008, according to the Russian capital’s board of health.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and EMMA JACKSON

COUNTERFEITERS often claim their crime is victimless – the only losers are rich corporations who enjoy healthy profits anyway. But tell that to the families of 1,069 duped Moscow consumers who died after becoming intoxicated by counterfeit alcoholic beverages in the city during 2008, according to the city’s board of health.…

BY JAMES FULLER

WHILE the global recession is hitting profits in the oil and gas sector worldwide, the Caribbean’s key producer Trinidad & Tobago remains bullish about the industry bringing it long term financial and economic stability. Indeed, the twin-island country’s minister of energy and energy industries Conrad Enill said this month that both a fifth liquefied natural gas (LNG) train and a new oil refinery are projects which are still firmly on the table for the Caribbean energy powerhouse.…