Intel announced that it had strong earnings during the first three months of 2010, calling the period the “best first quarter ever.”

According to the company’s records, the net income of the first quarter, which ended on March 27, amounted to US$2.4 billion, a 288% increase compared to the first quarter of 2009. The net income bested analysts’ estimates of $2.13 billion. The diluted earnings per share that reached $0.43 also beat analyst estimates of $0.38.

For the first quarter, Intel also recorded revenue of $10.3 billion, which is a 44% increase compared to the first quarter a year ago. The figures also beat estimates of $9.8 billion.

The remarkable boost was partly because of the increase in chipset and microprocessor revenue. In January, the company released its new Core i7, i5, and i3 chips for desktops and laptops. Then, the new Xeon server 5600 chips were launched in the middle of March. With the use the of 32-nanometer manufacturing process, Intel’s new products have become more power efficient and faster, and at the same time, have reduced manufacturing costs. In February of 2009, the company said it would improve manufacturing plants to increase production and to lessen chip manufacturing costs.

American Honda Motor Co announced on Tuesday that it will recall about 1,850 Acura ZDX models to repair problems related to their passenger side airbags. The carmaker said that the airbags of affected vehicles do not properly deploy. Honda said no incidents have been reported thus far.

The defect was unraveled during a manufacturing quality check. The car manufacturer said that some vehicles do not have the necessary laser-cut underscoring that should be found on the underside of the dashboard. The frontal airbag on the passenger side will not be released properly without this scoring.

The company will inform owners about the recall through mail. The defective dashboards of the approximately 1,850 Acura ZDX cars will be replaced.

This incident follows Honda’s recall of some 410,000 Element small trucks and Odyssey minivans. The previous recall was made to correct problems with the braking system.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp, Honda’s Japanese peer is facing a penalty of $16.375 million for knowingly hiding information about the defective gas pedals in its cars.

Toyota ordered the return of more than 8.5 million vehicles from all over the world starting last fall. Most of the recalled vehicles are in the United States. The vehicle problems included uncontrolled acceleration and brake problems in some models.

It seems like Toyota Motor Corp. is facing an endless list of troubles. After the US Transport Department levied the car manufacturing company $16.4 million for their defective car accelerators, Toyota may face yet another penalty.

This Tokyo-based manufacturer was charged a $16.4 million fine for delaying a massive recall and hiding significant information about its faulty car accelerators that some of its vehicles use. In addition, the company may be penalized again for not informing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about issues related with its problematic pedals.

NHTSA further said that there are two defects in the pedals.

Toyota started to recall their vehicles, around 2.3 million of them, in January. However, this recall happened after four months, when customers were already complaining about car defects that led to the vehicles accelerating all of a sudden.

The carmaker has been given until April 19 to respond to the first fine. And it’s not yet clear whether Toyota will accept or dispute the penalty.

The Chief Counsel of NHTSA, O. Kevin Vincent, said that Toyota has put the lives of millions in danger. “Millions of American drivers, passengers and pedestrians” have been exposed “to the dangers of driving with a sticking accelerator pedal,” Vincent added.

On March 9, 2010 in San Francisco, IBM researchers reported that they have found a way to create environmentally friendly plastic from plants that can take the place of petroleum-based products. According to IBM’s Almaden Research Center’s science and technology manager Chandrasekhar “Spike” Narayan, the findings guarantee that the eco-friendly plastics are produced by an energy efficient method.

In addition to this, the researchers at the IBM research facility and Stanford University revealed that this breakthrough can lead to an era where plastics can attain sustainability alongside the ecosystem, with the use of organic catalysts that can result to biodegradable molecules made from renewable resources.

Aside from its renewability, the plant plastics can also be turned “biocompatible,” which means that it can significantly enhance the targeting prowess of drugs in bodies; for instance, producing cancer medicines designed to kill the cancer cells while keeping the healthy ones safe.

The company is looking for new ways of applying technology in order to create a future that is focused on environmental sustainability. IBM is collaborating with scientists at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia to make sure that the breakthrough findings work for the recycling process of plastics used for beverage and food containers.

Plant plastics that are used for other materials or objects like car parts can be produced and purchased at lower costs. More details about plant plastics can be found in a paper published in the American Chemical Society journal Macromolecules.

IBM (International Business Machines) is a worldwide computer, technology and IT consulting corporation with offices in the United States, North Castle, New York, and Armonk. The company is one of several IT businesses with a long history that dates back to as early as the 19th century. IBM produces and sells computer hardware and software, and presents infrastructure, hosting and consulting services ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.

On March 8, 2010, Monday, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer talked to an audience at the University of Washington and told them that cloud computing is becoming the center of attention for every technology company. He said that the global technology industry is putting its bet on the said method.

Cloud computing is regarded as a growing trend in information technology, and Ballmer perceived this as an opportunity to reinforce Microsoft’s optimum competency in the field.

As reported by eWeek, Microsoft’s scheduled update of its Office productivity suite will have cloud computing as its main focus. Although MS Office 2010 users can make use of the software version of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access on their computers, Microsoft is preparing trimmed editions of these programs to contend with Google and its Docs suite.

Although Google Docs is hardly teeming with features, many still prefer it because of its main features: it is free of charge and it can be obtained as a link via Gmail or through Google’s homepage. Microsoft will have to persuade Office users to either go to a site in order to utilize the online editions of its programs or to purchase the software’s desktop versions.

Cloud computing is a result of the accessibility to computing sites provided by the Internet, sharing resources as a substitute for using software or storage on a local PC. The said method is a shift from the use of PCs, whereby details are extracted from the users who no longer have need of, capability in, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them.

Cloud computing usually involves the supply of dynamically scalable resources that are often virtualized as a service on the Internet.

The term “cloud” is a metaphor that is used to describe the Internet. The idea of using this metaphorical connotation came from a cloud drawing that represented the telephone network.

Alice Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton, is best known for her contributions to art in the Midwest. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas is probably known as one of her most grand initiatives. While the museum lives on and continues to grow, it can be easy to forget some of Alice’s more influential contributions in the Midwest. Despite the fact that she now lives in Texas, her work in Arkansas is unforgotten and still thriving.

According to Forbes’ latest tally, Alice Walton is the 16th richest person in the world with a net worth of $20.6 billion. Walton has used her wealth and influence by enriching Arkansas, not only with American art, but with the creation of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at Highfill. The airport opened for business in 1998 with President Bill Clinton performing the dedicating honors.

Scott Van Laningham, the executive director and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority, has described Walton’s role in the development of the airport as “critical”. She was the first chairman of the Northwest Arkansas Council. It was this particular group that went to cities and counties throughout Arkansas encouraging them to create an Airport Authority as a separate entity in charge of surveying and searching for a site where the airport could live.

In 1990, when the airport work began, Walton family members came together to raise money to start building the airport. Llama Co. of Fayetteville, an investment firm headed by Alice Walton, underwrote an almost $80 million bond to finance the airport’s construction. The bonds were sold prior to the airport even having a contract with an airline, a car rental company, or food vendors.

In 1999, Alice Walton was honored when the Airport Authority named the terminal building after her. In 2001, Walton was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.

Born as Warren Edward Buffett on August 30, 1930, Warren Buffett is an American corporate investor and philanthropist. Buffett is among the most accomplished investors throughout history, the biggest shareholder and is best known for being the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway. Just last year, he was listed as one of the wealthiest persons in the world by Forbes magazine, with an approximate net worth of $62 billion.

Warren Buffett has been labeled as the “Sage of Omaha” or the “Oracle of Omaha” and is renowned for his commitment to the value investing principle and for his penny-pinching character in spite of all his earned fortune.

Outside business matters, Warren Buffett is also a famous philanthropist who has vowed to offer 85% of his wealth to the Gates Foundation. The Grinnell College Board Trustee was honored as the leading money manager of the 20th century, according to a survey by the Carson Group, way ahead of figures like John Templeton and Peter Lynch. He was also considered among the 100 Most Influential People in the world by Time magazine.

In 2006, Warren Buffett raised money for Girls, Inc. by auctioning his 2001 Lincoln Town Car on the online marketing site eBay.com. That same year, he pronounced his proposal to give away his large fortune to charity, with 83% of his riches going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he would soon be one of the organization’s Board of directors. In June of that same year, he donated about 10 million worth of Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the organizations, which was worth an estimated 30.7 billion US dollars as of the 23rd of that month. That was by far the largest charitable contribution in history. It also made Warren Buffett one of the prominent leaders in the philanthrocapitalism reform.

Roni Deutch, widely known as The Tax Lady, celebrated the end of 2009 by holding an awards ceremony luncheon at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento. She commemorated her team by acknowledging fourteen outstanding individuals and proclaiming them as her firm’s 2009 All-Star team.

Deutch stated, “My team did an awesome job in 2009”. She went on to commend their dedication to their careers and the taxpayers they work so hard to help. Roni Deutch is extremely proud of her All-Star team, as they went above and beyond their everyday job responsibilities and possess a high level of commitment and enthusiasm.

The members of the team at Roni Deutch, A Professional Tax Corporation, were just as excited about their success. At the luncheon, Deutch announced the members of her law firm’s 2009 All-Star team. The team consists of ten staff members made up of nine employees and one manager. All team members were considered to have exceeded performance expectations in 2009. In addition to the core members of the team, Deutch announced two Most Valuable Player awards as well as one Most Improved Player award for the employee whose performance had improved considerably over the course of 2009.

The members of the All Star team were announced as: Edward Lester, Manny Perez, Shanen Fox, Cathy Nunes Furao, Brandon Funk, Diego Increta, Paul Venable, Ryan Crawford, Nicole Elton, Brandon Ross, Scott Juceam (Manager), Ben Pollack (MVP), Justin Thompson (MVP), and Matthew Garrison (Most Improved Player).

Award recipients believed they were decorated with a great honor. They were commended for their valuation of team work, performance, and going above and beyond the call of duty.

Roni Lynn Deutch has been assisting taxpayers across the nation for over 19 years. She has saved her clients tens of millions of dollars and has helped thousands of families settle their back taxes. She is truly a leader in her industry.

As one of the leading financial institutions in the world, Citi Group has continued its commitment in citing and giving special recognition to over-achieving staff from their offices all around the globe. For 2010, and as part of the company’s dedication to microfinance, especially among poor nations in the world, Citi again collaborated with the Central Bank of Nigeria in awarding their Nigerian employees who excelled in 2009 in the area of microfinance.

Last January 21, Citi handed out recognitions to their employees who showed a firm resolve in pursuing and making microfinance available to entrepreneurs from all over the country. The awards aim to encourage more locals to become entrepreneurs themselves through Citi’s micro-entrepreneurship program. The awards were divided into five major categories including Best Micro Business Model, Most Marketed Product, Most Innovative Product, Employment Generation and Best Female Entrepreneur. Microfinance institutions from all around Nigeria contributed in choosing the award recepients for each category.

An estimated $40,000 was awarded by the company to the Growing Business Foundation, so that it can push through with the awards in Nigeria. Last year, Citi Group donated a total of $1.2 million to Micro-Entrepreneurship Awards program in 20 countries where it is operating, including Nigeria.

The program has been successful, especially since it has increased awareness and curiosity among the people in middle to low-income countries regarding micro-entrepreneurship. The program aims to support micro-entrepreneurs financially so that they may be able to continue the role that they play in their local economies. The program became even more relevant last 2009 as the whole world felt the effects of the worldwide economic recession.

“Entrepreneurship is a key driver in any economy and we are proud to be supporting Nigerian entrepreneurs who are working hard to grow their businesses and local economies,” comments Emeka Emuwa of Citibank Nigeria Limited.

For the fourth month in a row, the US manufacturing sector has inevitably shown signs of growth. Although the progress is at a rather slower pace, the manufacturing sector has definitely shown signs of slight recovery from last year’s recession.

The housing market has also shown signs of improvement despite having overspent on construction in October. The Institute of Supply Management has recently made a report about its national factory activity index. For the month of October, the Institute of Supply Improvement has reported a 53.6 decrease in the index of national factory activity. Reuters has surveyed a number of economists and an average of 70 has predicted an activity index of 55.0 for November. According to these experts, an index of 50 or above indicates an expansion in the manufacturing sector while those that go below 50 indicates contraction.

According to the chairman of the ISM manufacturing business survey in Georgia, Norbert Ore, the Institute of Supply Management has been through four months of weak recovery. According to him, it would take some time before the improvement spreads to 18 manufacturing industries.

However, the report made by the ISM was rather unexpected according to Tom Sowanick, the chief investment officer for the Omnivest Group in New Jersey. He says that although the report was unexpected, the figures were still strong when added to the earlier monthly levels that went above 50. In addition to that, Tom Sowanick has added that the China ISM has also experienced an increase in its index. This, according to him, signifies a global recovery.

On the other hand, the ISM employment index for the manufacturing industry was reported to have decreased from 53.1 in October to 50.8 in November. So far, the change has been the strongest since 1996.

Roni Lynn Deutch, author of The Tax Lady’s Guide to Beating the IRS, along with debt management expert Clarky Davis and and financial guru David Bach have dispensed some vital financial tips to make your business a success.

Advice From Roni Lynn Deutch
Roni Lynn Deutch, founder of the Roni Deutch A Professional Tax Corporation, believes that allowable tax deductions are “sexy,” and business owners who understand tax deductions are “tax-sexy.” Roni Lynn Deutch offers these tips to make your business tax-sexy:
1. Dump assets that are loser stocks, then invest the cash in starting a business.
2. Use your retirement accounts as ways to borrow money.
3. Know the difference between sole proprietorships and S corporations
4. Rents are low. Take advantage of them
5. Run your business from the top down
6. Stay organized and file all receipts
7. Have a working knowledge of tax laws
8. Stay informed with at least one good tax book. (Preferably, The Tax Lady’s Guide to Beating the IRS by Roni Lynn Deutch!)
9. Hire teenagers to save money

Advice From David Bach
David Bach, author of Start Over, Finish Rich, is an expert on personal finance and how to become wealthy.
1. Pay yourself first—and that means 10 percent of each dollar earned.
2. Set up your finances on line.
3. Build wealth by using the profits from your business to buy real estate.
4. Begin with the end and have an exit strategy
5. Consider opening a franchise
6. Use the technology and the Internet.
7. Set up adequate emergency accounts

Advice From Clarky Davis
Clarky Davis, author of The Debt Diva’s Frugal and Fabulous Lifestyle Guides, is an expert on such topics as basic money management and budgeting to real-world saving tips.
1. Be prepared for the business not to make a profit for at least one year.
2. Keep overhead low and service high.
3. Be informed and know your debt options
4. If you’re married or in a relationship, make sure one partner continues to work full-time while the other starts the business.
5. Be willing to learn from others. And this includes learning from their mistakes.
6. For a last resort, borrow from your 401(k).

A Paris court issued a ruling banning Google from scanning French-published books because they were in violation of the country’s copyright laws. It said that Google’s expansion into digital books is a breach of France’s copyright laws. In addition to this, the court fined the Internet search leader with €10,000 per day until it stops showing literary previews, especially of books published on French soil. This hefty fine is equivalent to almost $14,300 a day.

Aside from this, Google was also fined an additional €300,000 in damages and interest payable to French publisher La Martiniere, which brought the case to the Paris courts in behalf of a group of publishers from France.

Google, for their part, said they would appeal the ruling. This decision in France is another obstacle to the goal Google has set out to achieve before 2015: to scan all of the world’s books into a digital library that can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection. A US legal settlement that can grant Google the digital rights to millions of books is in jeopardy because US regulators have foreseen and warned a federal judge in New York that the act can ruin competition in the growing market for electronic books. According to them, the agreement may also compromise copyrights.

The courts of France, and also that of Germany, have raised objection to this granting of digital rights to Google saying that this will overstep and violate copyrights of publishers in other countries. Google is trying to appeal its case amidst the clamor of its critics. The revised settlement submitted by the company is still under court review.

The French court ruling served as a big obstacle for Google and its ambition of getting into other markets beyond Internet search. Many critics speculate that Google is getting too powerful for the market’s good and that it will soon be eating up its competition and completely dominate the whole Internet market. Despite this, Google’s shares still gained $3.86, up to $597.80, in last December 18’s trading.

World-renowned casino operator Las Vegas Sands has announced it would finish its projects in Macau, China earlier than expected. Sands—the second largest operator in the world, with a market value of $10 billion—plans to finish them in five years, underscoring its hefty presence in the Asian gambling hub.

Five Sands properties are set to be erected along the city’s fabled Cotai strip, a reclamation area lauded as China’s answer to the Las Vegas strip. Two have already begun construction, but were suspended at the height of the worldwide recession.

“We could finish all the properties easily within five years,” Las Vegas Sands CEO and founder Sheldon Adelson reassures the press at a conference in Singapore. “It depends on how fast we get approvals from the government.”

If Adelson were to let on, his company should inaugurate the first phase of the Cotai properties by the middle of 2011. Taking advantage of funds raised from listing its Macau unit, Sands China, in November, the company will further impart $500 million to the project.

When completed, the properties will augment two existing Sands casinos in the city, one of which is the world’s biggest: the Venetian Macau. All in all, the Cotai complex will house more than 20,000 hotel rooms; two million square feet of retail space; and more than 1.6 million square feet of convention areas.

With these projects, Sands joins a host of gaming companies determined to maximize the city’s highly bankable market. Among those that have taken root in the city are MGM Mirage, Wynn Macau, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment Group and Melco Crown Entertainment.

Down south, in Singapore, Adelson expressed high hopes for his multi-billion dollar casino project in the city-state to be completed in April 2010.

It could have been Singapore’s first ever legitimate casino but scarce labor and building materials postponed a 2009 opening. Costing $5.5 billion, the project calls for a casino-resort by the city-state’s famous Marina Bay.

A music video streaming site launched Dec. 8, 2009 received high benedictions from record labels. Called Vevo, the site marks yet another effort by labels to monetize their increasingly devalued products.

Foraying where MTV has gone, Vevo contains over 30,000 studio-produced music videos from Vivendi Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music, plus content from Last.fm and various other CBS radio stations. The site is a joint venture of these recording companies with Google.

Google has pulled out professionally produced music videos from YouTube, its popular streaming site, and made Vevo its repository. In addition, Google—currently the world’s most successful advertising company—is infusing Vevo with YouTube’s technological know-how. If successful, Vevo could do for the digital era what MTV did for the 1980s.

McDonald’s Corp, AT&T Inc, Colgate-Palmolive Co, and MasterCard Inc, among 20 other companies, have struck advertising deals with Vevo. In exchange for an audience with its highly lucrative demographic, the site has pegged its ad price anywhere between $25 and $40 for every thousand page views.

Backed in part by the Abu Dhabi Media Company, Vevo somewhat replicates a business model pioneered by Hulu. The latter has become very profitable as a one-stop site to watch films and TV shows, drawing the likes of Disney.

For their part, YouTube has inked deals to legitimately use content from several film studios and television networks, e.g. Sony Pictures, MGM Studios, Lionsgate and CBS. Additionally, the site has plunged into partnerships with all four major record labels, including sole Vevo holdout Warner Music Group.

Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman was visibly absent at the Vevo launch party on Tuesday. The affair was nonetheless studded with all three music industry moguls, together with their talents.

“Vevo is a huge platform, and you know what’s best of all? It’s our platform,” said Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris at the party.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt took center stage that night, alongside Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff. They hobnobbed with such musical greats as Lady GaGa, Shania Twain, 50 Cent and Sheryl Crow. Guests were serenaded by performances from Mariah Carey and John Mayer, among others.

In sync with America’s economic hardships, McDonald’s Corp. has decided to expand its range of dollar meals with breakfasts. The world’s largest hamburger chain announced the plan Dec. 10, 2009.

Come January 2010, the Golden Arches would sell a set of breakfast items for $1. Such menu would feature the chain’s signature Sausage McMuffin, a sausage burrito, a sausage biscuit, a 12-ounce coffee and a hash brown.

McDonald’s latest promo would be accompanied by a heavy marketing blitz across the US. The company had already set aside a huge budget for advertising in 2010, in a bid to compensate for slow sales.

This move is widely seen as a natural consequence of rising unemployment and stiff price competition among fastfood chains. As more people lose jobs, less people dine in restaurants for breakfast.

“We know now, more than ever, our customers continue to look for everyday affordability wherever and whenever they choose to eat out,” said McDonald’s spokesperson Danya Proud.

McDonald’s $1 dollar breakfasts may vary across the country. For instance, some branches may sell the coffee in larger servings, since a 12-ounce coffee is already priced at 89 cents in some locations.

On top of the dollar breakfast menu, McDonald’s would also begin selling the Big Mac Snack Wrap around the same time. Part Big Mac, part chicken wrap, the item consists of a beef patty, cheese, pickles, lettuce, onions, and sauce—sans the buns.

Yet again, this should make for affordable fare; the item should be sold at $1.49. Four-hundred restaurants across the US have so far tested the item last week.

This would not be the first time McDonald’s has sold one-dollar breakfast menus. The company had launched the promo as early as August, albeit in comparatively fewer branches.

Generally, breakfast consumption in US fastfood chains dropped by 2% this summer, according to data released by research firm NPD Group.

The US unemployment rate hit an all time high in 26 years at 10.2%, as many employers are still cutting down jobs in hopes of cutting down costs as they continually traverse the business waters in this global recession. Official figures that came out last September 4, 2009 showed that many industries are still keen on cutting down jobs, with:

• The construction industry letting go of 65,000 employees;
• The manufacturing sector some 63,000;
• Financial let go around 28,000;
• 22,000 for the professional and business services sectors; government jobs at 18,000; and
• The retail industry cutting down 9,600 jobs for the month of August.

There were bright spots in this hike in unemployment, though, as health care and educational services added 52,000 employees in their workforce.

This rate rose from 9.4% of the previous month, though the job loss figure was the smallest seen in a year. This hike in the unemployment rate has exceeded analysts’ forecasts of 9.5% proving how fickle still the economy is at present. At 216,000, this figure is still slightly lower than what many analysts have expected.

Though the rates are still very high, many say that the recession is on its tail-end and the economy as a whole is starting to recover from the global recession that started in December of 2007. Despite this improvement, analysts are still expecting the unemployment rate to remain high, peaking at 10% in the first quarter of 2010.

Nigel Gault, chief US economist at HIS Global Insight, says that this rise in unemployment is not at all discouraging. He states that the unemployment rate decline of July came in as a very pleasant surprise and was too good to be true. However, it is still too early for the unemployment rates to be going down and Gault believes there will still be job losses.

Despite this, he offers that what is really worth taking note here is the fact that the rate in which the jobs are going down is steadily slowing.

The stimulus package implemented by the Obama administration is still hitting its stride; government officials say that many more improvements with regards to the whole economic picture are expected to come in the future months.

Basing on India’s current rate of economic growth, experts have predicted that the country’s $1.2 trillion economy may be one of the first few countries around the world to recover successfully from the recent global recession. According to the country’s economic data, India’s economy was able to experience a growth of 7.9% by the end of the previous quarter in the 30th of September. So far, this has been the country’s largest growth since 1996.

According to Anuj Chande, current head of the South Asia Group, these recently reported figures may serve as an indicator that the Indian economy is on its way towards recovery from the devastating 2008 recession.

Due to these figures—which were released at the end of November 2009—economists have raised their estimates for India’s full year gross domestic product growth to about 6.5%. The Indian government on the other hand, expects the country’s economy to increase by 7-8% by the end of the fiscal year in March of 2010.

The country’s $80 billion stimulus package has contributed much to the country’s economic progress. From October 2008 to March 2009, a government-sponsored life support has been implemented on India. Along with the stimulus package comes an estimated $80 billion worth of tax cuts. The stimulus package has greatly contributed to the country’s economic growth. Without it, the economic growth rate for those quarters would have not exceeded a single percent. The stimulus packaged has helped the Indian economy grow 5.8%.

Apart from the stimulus package, a percentage of the country’s economic growth may have been brought about by the country’s increased economic activity. Communication, transportation, hotels, and trade makes up one-third of the country’s economy. For the past few months, these sectors have experienced an increase of up to 7.7%, while private consumption has increased to about 5.6%.

Siemens, an engineering giant based in Germany, has been making big waves in the nautical niche. The Siemens Wind Power headquarters in the Denmark Jutland Peninsula is now in operation. The company is currently making final touches to its newly constructed warehouse. The warehouse resembles a slate gray factory and workers are currently putting up an assembly line that is designed to churn out huge 2.3 megawatt turbines. While the workers are still working on the warehouse’s finishing touches, the company’s more than 1,000 newly hired employees are being housed in nearby offices.

The Siemens unit experienced progress as a result of their niche strategy. At present, the company is focused on selling turbines and other related gears and equipment for offshore use. Owning more than half of the total sales for 2009, Siemens was able to make it to the top of the growing market. For the previous year, the company was deluged with huge orders for a number of offshore projects. Among its several projects was the $4 billion deal with Denmark’s DONG Energy for the North Sea. Siemens was to provide DONG Energy a total of 500 turbines. According to DONG’s chief executive officer, Anders Eldrup, Siemens has been the only company that supplies the number of machines they needed in order to construct wind parks.

A few other offshore orders have also helped to increase the company’s renewable energy sales by up to 55% in June. The company’s wind business has definitely shown tremendous growth since its entry in the market way back in 2004. Siemens has made its entry into the market through its acquisition of Bonus Energy, an offshore turbine maker based in Brande.

Siemens is planning to broaden its reach in order to attain its goal of becoming the number three global producer of wind turbines by 2012.

One of the world’s leading spirits providers, Bacardi, started in late November its global roll-out of a new gift pack for Bombay Sapphire gin.

The Bacardi Sapphire gift pack includes a 1liter bottle of the product and a recipe booklet.

Bombay Sapphire Reign is already available at Amsterdam Schiphol airport with Schiphol Airport Retail and was created exclusively for duty-free and travel-retail, according to Bacardi.

The new gift box also won the Best Cartonboard Packaging Award on Nov. 5, 2009 at the UK Packaging Awards.

“Our premium Bombay Sapphire Reign pack is synonymous with the exceptional cocktails produced Bombay Sapphire gin,” said Bacardi Global Travel Retail Division marketing director Trent Russell.

Geokinetics Inc. and Petroleum Geo-Services announced Dec. 3, 2009 that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Geokinetics, a leading provider of seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation services, will acquire the onshore seismic data acquisition and multi-client data library business of PGS (PGS) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $210 million, on a cash free, debt free basis, which includes net working capital of $37.5 million, according to a press release from Avista Capital Partners.

The final purchase price is subject to certain customary post-closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010 and is subject to normal closing conditions and regulatory approvals; there is no financing condition.

Following the closing of the transaction, PGS will become Geokinetics’ second-largest shareholder after affiliates of Avista Capital Partners.

Avista Capital Partners makes controlling or influential investments, primarily in U.S.-based companies in connection with various transaction structures, including leveraged buyouts, buildups and growth financings in the energy, healthcare and media sectors.

The combination of Geokinetics and PGS Onshore will create the second largest provider of onshore seismic data acquisition services in the world in terms of crew count and the largest based in the Western Hemisphere.

The combined company will have the assets and technical capabilities to support up to 38 crews and carry in excess of 207,000 equipment channels and over 150 vibroseis units; and possess in excess of 6,240 square miles of multi-client library data upon completion of current projects in progress. Empowered by a broad range of technologies that include transition zone (”TZ”), ocean bottom cable (”OBC”) and land vibroseis, the new Geokinetics will be able to compete more effectively within the entire seismic value-chain of planning, proprietary and multi-client acquisition, processing and interpretation services.

Furthermore, this acquisition will propel Geokinetics into new markets including Alaska and Mexico, as well as certain new countries in the Middle East and North Africa. As a result, Geokinetics will have a greater geographic reach overall, with a more significant presence in Africa and Asia and a leadership position in the Americas.

“We are extremely pleased to enter into this agreement with PGS as it solidifies Geokinetics’ position as the clear leader in the onshore seismic data acquisition business,” said Richard F. Miles, President and Chief Executive Officer of Geokinetics. “With the addition of PGS Onshore’s technologies; its broad international operations capable of working in diverse climate conditions; its extensive multi-client library providing multi-year potential and a focus on high-impact drilling areas or areas of high lease turnover, we will be able to expand our services, accelerate our entrance into the multi-client business and enhance our position within the seismic contractor industry.”

Following the closing of the transaction, PGS will become Geokinetics’ second-largest shareholder after Avista Capital Partners. The acquisition is expected to provide annual synergies in excess of $10 million, driven mainly by organizational streamlining and cost reductions.