Easyjet to trial "revolutionary" paint to cut costs

Easyjet are to experiment with a special type of paint which to date has only been used on US military aircraft. The paint is said to reduce drag when planes are flying and thus cut down on fuel consumption and therefore costs.

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German exports rose 18.5% in 2010

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Export help for small businesses

With new figures showing a widening gap in the UK's trade deficit in goods and services, the Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced new measures to encourage smaller companies to export more.

Mr Cable said the UK had "consumed too much and exported too little" and the four new schemes would be created to help firms get access to credit and insure against risk.

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S3 Oil Project

Preparation

• Wednesday 2 February (Library - laptops and internet access)
• Thursday 3 February (Room 2 - laptops but no internet access)
• Tuesday 8 February (Room 45 - computers and internet access)

Final Deadline

• Presentation and report on Wednesday 9 February

Team Leaders

• Seneca (Michael and Mickiel)
• Oil Based Lubricants (Fraser & Hal)
• The Divers (Hussam & Andrew)
• Discovery (Vahaab & Douglas)
• TurmOil (Tom & Hugh)

Team leaders and assistants responsible for ensuring presentation is ready for deadline day and final report allocated.

Some good links

OPEC

OPEC and the world oil industry

The world oil market

Crude oil's rollercoaster prices

Questions & Answers - Volatile Oil Prices

Oil supply cannot match demand

China's oil demand increase "astonishing"

It was worse than predicted......

The UK economy suffered a shock 0.5% contraction in the final quarter of 2010. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that although the bad weather had had an effect, growth would still have been flat if its effect had been excluded.

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Latest economic news....

Economists have warned that the rate of economic growth in the UK is likely to have slowed in the last 3 months.

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And a further study suggests that the recovery is not evenly spread across the UK - while some cities like Hull and Doncaster are doing well, Sunderland and Liverpool are struggling to recover.

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Unemployment nears 2.5 million......

One in five 16-24 year olds is now out of work.....951,000 without jobs! The highest figure since records began in 1992. Unemployment overall rose to nearly 2.5 million at the end of November.

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Inflation rises as feared from 3.3% to 3.7% in December

The feared rise in inflation became a reality when the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased from 3.3% to 3.7% in December. The Bank of England are coming under increasing pressure to raise interest rates to try and cut back on spending and reduce demand. The increase is blamed on rising costs of air transport, fuel, food and utility bills, and the recent VAT increase from 17.5% to 20% is likely to cause further rises.

1. Click here for full story
2. Who is most affected by inflation?
3. Stephanie Flanders - Inflation: Risks on both sides

Other stories

OPEC, the oil producing group, has said it is unlikely to increase output of oil despite the price of crude oil nearing $100 a barrel. A spokesman claims that supply to the market is sufficient and any output to reduce the price now looks unlikely.

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Bank of England keeps interest rates at 0.5%

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Good video with Declan Curry on why Interest Rates are important - check it out!

Food prices in Australia to rise because of floods

Food prices could rise by as much as 30% in Australia due to the floods in Queensland having a knock on effect to inflation.

Food shortages on goods like wheat, sugar, fruit and vegetables will push prices up, which could have a knock on effect globally.

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Economics stories in recent days

The terrible floods which have hit the Australian area of Queensland are likely to affect coal mines for months, which could push up the cost of electricity and steel.

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How Australian floods hit Europe

A couple of interesting articles to read.....

A range of really interesting economics stories have made the news over the last week or so. Here are just a couple which are well worth a read:

1. Rising price of sugar, cereal and oil prices drives global food prices to a record high in December - click here
2. The floods in Queensland, Australia, are likely to have an effect on the global steel industry. Three quarters of the areas coal fields are unable to operate and they usually export half the coal for use in making the metal. The price of coking coal from $225 to $253 a tonne in the last 3 weeks - click here

The VAT rise kicks in....

Today marks the day when the rate of VAT increases from 17.5% to 20%, leading to higher prices in a lot of goods and services we buy. Some goods remain exempt such as food and childrens clothes. The Coalition government argue that it will raise £12 billion which will help reduce the budget deficit whereas opponents argue that it is a regressive tax increase which punishes the poor and risks destabilising the weak recovery.

Here are some interesting articles from the BBC website which are well worth a look:

• VAT rises from 17.5% to 20%
• Is the VAT increase regressive?
• Who will pay for the rise in VAT?