Word: firms
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...giant ArcelorMittal in Belgium, for example, researchers are trying to develop thinner, stronger steel that can replace plastic in washing machines and other appliances. They're also experimenting with coatings that are eco-friendly and more effective in fighting corrosion. Dulux Trade, the paint subsidiary of Netherlands-based chemical firm AkzoNobel, this year started selling a new type of paint called Ecosure that sharply reduces the amount of embodied carbon and other so-called volatile organic compounds--and is being heavily marketed as "a new era in sustainability and performance." At the R&D center of French cement giant Lafarge...
...character. "It's because I tend to have a smile on my face, but I'm maybe a little more devilish and firmer than people realize," he says, looking very much like a grownup version of the impish comic-strip kid. "You can have a smile and be quite firm--it's tough love with a little bit of humor built...
...growth, fell 1%, to $14.3 billion, from a year ago. The strength and popularity of Google's search, Amazon's sales and the sheer number of other Web retail sites have eroded eBay's dominance, making it harder to compete with the same business model that steered the firm through its first 10 years of jaw-dropping growth. Three years ago, eBay boasted 30% more traffic than Amazon, but today its 84.5 million active users scarcely best Amazon's 81 million customers. The troubled economy and weakness in eBay's core business contributed to a 60% drop in market value...
...this makes forecasting the economic future even harder than it usually is. "It's not a science," says Kurt Karl, head of economic research for the insurance firm Swiss Re's American operation. "A lot of it comes from historical experience, and this is a time for which we don't have a lot of good historical parallels." Karl sees continued sharp economic contraction and big job losses for the first half of next year, then a recovery. That's close to the consensus view at the moment. That doesn't mean it's right...
...Vertical farming could allow food to be grown locally and sustainably," says Glen Kertz, CEO of Valcent, a tech company based in El Paso, Texas, that's trying out the process. His firm uses hydroponic greenhouse methods to grow upward rather than out. The result saves space--vital in urban areas--and allows farmers to irrigate and fertilize with far less waste...