Search Results for: Russia

BY KEITH NUTHALL, EMMA JACKSON and ALAN OSBORN

DESPITE widespread initial scepticism about its viability, the ITER project to build the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion reactor is now under way. It is employing specialists (nearly 300 staff and rising at the end of 2008); releasing Euro millions in research and procurement funding; and in November of last year moved into its headquarters, in Cadarache, southern France, which is where the first nuclear fusion reactor will be built on a 180 hectare site.…

BY WANG FANGQING

THE GLOBAL recession has forced China, whose economy relies largely on exports, to turn to boosting its domestic economy with a budget as huge as four trillion Chinese Yuan – RMB (US$ 585 billion) being unveiled last November by the central government.…

BY MARK GODFREY

THE BUREAUCRATS and engineers who run China’s booming hydropower sector will be in listening mode in April when the world descends on Beijing for the second International Conference on Hydropower Technology & Equipment. The theme of this year’s government-sponsored gathering – ‘Sustainable China Hydropower Industry’ – reflects worries about the environmental impact of recent massive hydropower projects in China.…

BY MARK ROWE

AUTO manufacturers and industry associations point to a significant dip in sales and production in Russia this year. JAMA, the Japanese Automobile Manufacturer’s Association, predicts auto sales will fall by 18%, while PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia forecasts a 25%-50% drop in Russia’s overall car sales this year, with Russian domestic car production dipping to 1.6 million vehicles from 3.2 million in 2008.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has called for the forging of a trilateral deal between the European Union (EU), Ukraine and Russia, which would "secure gas supply from Russia via Ukraine to the EU in the coming years."

A comprehensive energy strategy overwhelmingly approved by MEPs also proposed the writing of an "energy security clause" in future trade, association, partnership and cooperation agreements with any gas producer and transit countries.…

BY MARK ROWE

THE RUSSIAN food retail sector could provide a beacon of hope in a tough wider global food market in 2009. Major retailers posted high growth figures for 2008, and though all dipped in the last quarter, solid growth is anticipated this year.…

BY JULIAN RYALL

WHILE other companies are suddenly looking to cut overheads, trim the fat from their operations or find other ways to batten down the hatches to survive the global economic turmoil, Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. claims it sees the downturn as an opportunity.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

STANDFIRST

Every country has its own food and drink regulatory body or bodies: in the first place to ensure that its citizens eat safely and in the second to help safeguard its position in the rapidly-growing world food trade.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MITIGATION measures taken by European Union (EU) utilities and member states to deal with the Russia-Ukraine gas crisis were effective, the EU’s Gas Coordination Group has concluded. Consisting of gas industry representatives from the EU’s 27 countries and chaired by the European Commission, the group concluded that protective steps taken "allowed most countries to successfully manage the situation in a way which is the least disruptive for their consumers".…

BY MARK ROWE

THE RUSH to tap the oil and gas riches of the Caspian Sea has seen governments, the European Union (EU) and producers shuttling back and forth between the major players in the region, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.…