Research In Motion faces challenges for growth in emerging markets like the Middle East with looming bans on BlackBerry email and messenger services by restrictive governments.
It’s part of doing business in these markets, analyst Matt Robison said Wednesday.
“The cure is worse than the disease for RIM,” said Robison of U.S.-based Wunderlich Securities Inc.
RIM said it has no intention of compromising security on the device, which has helped drive the company’s reputation worldwide.
“There’s much more risk in changing the policy than missing out on the growth opportunity,” Robison said from San Francisco.
Saudi Arabia plans to shut down BlackBerry services on Friday. The United Arab Emirates has announced it will shut down BlackBerry data and messaging functions in October.
Indonesia is threatening the same. China and India have similar issues with Research In Motion (TSX:RIM).
Analyst Matthew Thornton of Avian Securities said RIM would rather lose the business than compromise the security of its devices.
“I think this is limited to some of the newer relationships in countries where government tactics and government practices may be a little different,” Thornton said from Boston.
RIM’s computer servers are overseas and these governments don’t have local control or access to users’ content. In countries such as UAE, websites and some forms of media are monitored for content.
RIM said its enterprise solution, used by governments and businesses, prevents it or any third party from reading encrypted information on the devices. The Waterloo, Ont., company said it doesn’t store or have access to the encrypted data.
“Any claims that we provide, or have ever provided, something unique to the government of one country that we have not offered to the governments of all countries are unfounded,” RIM said in a statement this week.
All of this comes into the spotlight as competition heats up for RIM in North America with Apple’s iPhone and Google-powered Android smartphones. The BlackBerry maker has just introduced a new touchscreen phone with a pullout keyboard and a faster Internet browser to win over more consumers.
“There’s going to be some tough negotiations and there’s probably a lot of different points that have to be hammered out, but I have a tough time not seeing a resolution,” Thornton said.
Robison added that the BlackBerry could be banned by some governments, but RIM will continue to do business in these regions.
Analyst Anil Doradla said the Middle East is about two to three per cent of revenues and subscribers for RIM, but growing very fast.
“Specifically Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Israel are very fast growing segments,” said Doradla of William Blair & Co. in Chicago.
“The growth vectors for RIM are coming from many of these geographic regions.”
RIM is also looking for growth in Africa, Latin America and Caribbean as the North American market becomes a more saturated market.
RIM shares, which have been beaten down since April from the mid-$70 range, briefly testing a low around $50 a share in early July. They dropped about 4.5 per cent Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, falling $2.53 to close at $54.24.
Source: Winnipeg Free Press
Chart: Dollar vs. Yen
The dollar’s decline since U.S. economic data started weakening in June has taken the yen within reach of highs last seen 15 years ago. The dollar was trading at 85.5 yen early Wednesday, its highest level this year and down 8% from its peak six weeks ago.
he latest dollar dip comes as Federal Reserve officials consider another round of asset purchases to offset spending cuts by cash-strapped states. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has tumbled below 3% and the yield on the two-year note has slipped to an all-time low just above 0.5%, as investors push back their expectations for a recovery in interest rates and economic activity.
The plunge in U.S. rates has renewed talk about the carry trade moving into dollars. In the carry trade, traders borrow low-yielding currencies such as the dollar and yen, sell them and invest the proceeds in higher-yielding assets elsewhere.
The resumption of the carry trade makes betting against the dollar look like a sure thing. When traders are ready to take on more risk, by buying stocks, for instance, they fund those trades by selling the dollar. When they are looking to flee risk, they do so by buying the yen, further pressuring the dollar.
The yen’s return to levels seen in the mid-1990s has market watchers looking for a possible intervention by the Bank of Japan. The bank could buy dollars to limit the yen’s rise, easing pressure on the country’s exchange rate-sensitive export sector.
But the Japanese haven’t intervened in the foreign exchange market for years, and they might prefer to stand aside — because by intervening they could add to a massive dollar position that has been anything but profitable.
Benn Steil, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, notes in a recent op-ed piece that Japan has already paid a hefty price for the distinction of being the second-biggest foreign holder of dollars after China, with $1 trillion or so stashed away mostly in Treasurys. He says the Japanese acquired almost half that sum in their last attempt to intervene in the currency market, in 2004.
Since the financial crisis started in 2007, Japan’s dollar reserves have climbed by $100 billion or so, thanks to a persistent trade surplus with the United States. But to say the Japanese are getting diminishing returns on these holdings is an understatement.
Since June 2007, the dollar has lost nearly a third of its value against the yen — leaving the Bank of Japan sitting on a pile of dollars that are worth significantly less now than they were three years ago. Steil estimates the decline at 3.5% of Japan’s economic output.
For comparison’s sake, an equivalent paper loss at the Federal Reserve would run near $500 billion. That’s not chump change even in the age of bailouts.
What’s more, the declining value of foreign reserves adds to Japan’s already considerable debt problem, as the value of the foreign asset erodes while the local currency liabilities persist. “The local losses on Japan’s reserves since 2007 contributed more to the increase in net debt than did the government deficits in fiscal year 2007 or 2008,” Steil writes.
While the rise in the yen doesn’t seem worrisome now, Steil notes that the cost to Japan and China of holding large dollar reserves is yet another risk factor for a slowly recuperating global economy. This is the downside of dollar hegemony, he contends.
“The result is periodic crises – when countries have too few dollars, as during the Asian financial crisis, or when they suck in far too many of them, as they appear to be doing now.”
LIME Caribbean has added a new position to its corporate line up that is meant to leverage innovative thinking into new product development and sales, a job that has gone to a long-standing employee.
Emerson Hewitt has been named vice president of imagineering and product development after 14 years working with LIME in the areas of finance, marketing and sales support.
The telecoms will also welcome back David McBean to the fold on September 8. McBean who currently runs CVM Group of Companies as the media company’s chief executive officer, will join LIME as managing director of customer solutions, reporting to Milton Brady who last September gave up banking to be LIME Caribbean’s chief commercial officer.
McBean has previously worked with Cable & Wireless Jamaica, Cable & Wireless Latin America as well as Air Jamaica. His background in telecommunications and media spans 15 years.
In his new job, he will lead LIME’s product management team and will be accountable for product strategy, product planning and their regional deployment, operating from the regional headquarters in Barbados.
LIME’s new imagineering unit is meant to concentrate creative minds on the possibilities of what existing technology employed by the company can deliver in the form of new product delivery, to maintain fresh market appeal.
Imagineering is a portmanteau word, which combines the words imagination and engineering.
“Emerson’s wide and varied experience in the business has given him an almost 360 degree view of our business and the telecoms industry and gives him a unique perspective from which to deliver in his new role,” said LIME Carib-bean’s Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Dehring, in a company issued statement.
“We are very excited at the possibilities.”
Hewitt who is already ensconced in the job, leads LIME’s Imagi-neering Team, whose job is to create “solutions outside of the boundaries of ‘what is’, and engineer the applicability of those solutions that are on the leading edge of technology,” LIME said.
Hewitt for whom LIME has defined his new job as a “challenge”, will likely operate mostly from Jamaica – the largest of the regional operation’s 13 markets.
The Barbadian has had previous postings in the Cable and Wireless group in his home country, Jamaica, United States and United Kingdom.
Said Hewitt of his new job: “I am very excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am sure the skills and knowledge I have accumulated over the past 14 years will help me drive the solutions that will ensure that LIME wins against all competitors.”
GRACEKENNEDY (GK) Group’s net profit plunged 33 per cent during the three months ended June 2010 when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2009, as all its divisions except retail and trade, under which Harware and Lumber operates, saw a decline in profit.
The conglomerate reported net profit of $540 million in the review quarter compared to $801 million in the comparative period in 2009.
The biggest decliner was the insurance arm, under which Jamaica International Insurance Company (JIIC) and Allied Insurance Brokers (AIB) operate, with a 71 per cent decline in pre-tax profit from $120 million in the June quarter of 2009 to just under $35 million during the review quarter.
Group chairman and CEO Douglas Orane said in a statement to shareholders that GK’s “insurance segment continued to be affected by reduced investment income”, which likely resulted from lower interest rates following the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX).
The JDX saw the Government of Jamaica exchange its high interest bearing instruments for those with lower yields and longer maturities. Financial institutions, including GK subsidiaries participated fully in the exchange which saw their net interest income reduced. The JDX was completed in February this year.
“The performance of the GraceKennedy Financial Group was impacted by continued weak consumer demand, lower interest rates following the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) and the rapid appreciation of the Jamaican dollar,” said Orane.
GK’s banking and investment segment also saw a 13 per cent reduction in pre-tax profit from $357 million in the June 2009 quarter to $312 million in the review quarter, while rapid appreciation of the Jamaica dollar resulted in the group’s money services operations, under which Western Union operates, seeing an 18 per cent drop in profit before tax to $272 million.
“GK Foods saw a decline in business in the second quarter in the face of reduced sales in most markets due to continuing worldwide recessionary conditions,” added Orane. “The Jamaican and Belizean markets were the most seriously impacted by the economic downturn while our North American markets experienced good growth in revenues and profits. Grace Foods UK Limited continues to reflect signs of recovery due primarily to its efforts at cost reduction and revenue growth in a very sluggish UK food market.”
GK’s food and trading segment’s revenue fell four per cent in the review period when compared to year-earlier levels, while pre-tax profit declined by five per cent.
Looking forward, the launch of new products, such as FX Trader’s loyalty card, the acquisition of a major pension fund client by FGFS, the opening of a new distribution centre to stock inventories and the implementation of a new banking and investment management system are expected to contribute to improved performance and efficiency gains. Orane noted that the information system by Oracle will provide a platform for business growth while meeting customers’ requirements for fast and efficient service.
Much has been said over the last few months in the Jamaican media by Red Stripe and/or its parent company, the English drinks giant Diageo, in which they seek to attribute the falling sales volumes in Jamaica of their brewed products – including the world-famous Red Stripe beer, Heineken lager and Guinness stout – to the tax regime imposed by the Jamaican Government several years ago.
The regime is viewed by Government as being critical to the well-being of the tourist industry.
Red Stripe attempts to pin its now declining sales and potentially unpopular corporate decisions, such as redundancy exercises and hiring freezes, on the taxation regime which, it claims, favours tonic wines; most recently, in an article published in the Wednesday Business section of The Gleaner on July 21, entitled ‘Tax, tonic wines challenge Red Stripe sales’.
Given the increasing clamour by Red Stripe, which has in the very recent past been the sole recipient of generous income-tax concessions, it would be useful to demonstrate to the public that the taxation regime in respect of wines now in place has little to do with their brands’ performance, and suggest that there are other possible factors which Red Stripe might usefully consider as contributory to the downturn it reports in its corporate fortunes.
Tax reviewed
Several years ago, the Govern-ment of Jamaica (GOJ) responded to pleas from tourism-sector stakeholders to review the taxation regime applied to wines.
Many in the tourist industry felt that the then tax regime applicable to wines was hampering the growth of the industry and, in fact, harming its image.
The GOJ solicited the cooperation of several purveyors of wine in order to arrive at a workable taxation regime which would meet its stated objectives and respect all the stakeholders.
Much research was undertaken, including a detailed examination of the basis of taxation of wines in other tourist destinations. Arising from the consultation with the various stakeholders and from the research, the GOJ formulated a new proposed taxation regime for wine.
The major purveyors of wines, including J. Wray & Nephew Limited, Diageo/Red Stripe and Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited were consulted, and all accepted this new regime.
Coincidentally and unexpectedly, at the same time the GOJ also raised the rate of additional stamp duty on imported beers by 50 per cent, a measure not requested by the tourism sector.
Red Stripe consequently agreed to the new taxation regime on wines, and consolidated its advantage in the beer market. The raising of the rate of additional stamp duty clearly resulted in the beers produced by Red Stripe/Diageo securing a virtual monopoly in the beer market in Jamaica.
Major advantage
There were, at that time, many smaller businesses attempting to gain a foothold in the beer market by importing overseas brands so as to respond to the consumers’ apparent preference for choice.
The imported beer market was effectively rendered uncompetitive and, as brewing is a capital intensive activity, it is unlikely that there will be any serious contenders to Red Stripe in the foreseeable future.
This major advantage was handed to Diageo/Red Stripe not long after the expiry of the five-year holiday from income tax which had been granted to Red Stripe. It should be noted that no other local player in the alcoholic beverages industry was granted any such concession – neither any competitive advantage for its products.
The alcoholic beverages market, as Red Stripe and Diageo well know, is dynamic, competitive and consumer-led.
Tonic and fortified wines have been growing in popularity in Jamaica over many years, which has led many companies much smaller than Red Stripe/Diageo and J. Wray & Nephew Limited to develop and launch new brands to meet this demand, as wine production is not a capital intensive activity.
All brands must be carefully positioned in terms of price and image in order to gain traction in their target market.
Diageo/Red Stripe, in the Wednesday Business article, states that consumers are switching from Red Stripe to tonic wine.
It is difficult to believe that price alone has led consumers to move from beer to tonic wine, especially since Red Stripe sales have fallen off only relatively recently, despite the growth over many years of tonic wines.
Magnum, for example, the largest player in the tonic wine sector, sells at a higher price than Red Stripe in all channels. This strongly suggests that market acceptance and preference play a large part in consumers’ decisions.
Many analysts believe, rightly or wrongly, that Red Stripe hurt its brand equity in Jamaica when it announced that it was blacklisting certain popular dancehall artistes and events and would, accordingly, not offer them any further sponsorship.
Perhaps Diageo, as an English company, felt that this move would inure to its benefit internationally. However, any international gain may have led to a local loss.
Diageo has used its international clout to gain many tax concessions and advantages for itself here in Jamaica over the years, even before it purchased control of Desnoes and Geddes and took stewardship of the iconic Red Stripe brand.
It is indeed unfortunate that it chooses now to cry foul at taxation measures to which it agreed at the time and which were viewed as critical to the well-being of the tourist industry.
It is unacceptable and lamentable that a large business with an international reputation could perform so brazen an about turn, condemning a regime in its own self-interest, which it previously endorsed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The J .Wray and Nephew Group is also in the beer market as producers of Kingston 62 Beer.
Source: Gleaner
Trading activity yesterday saw 108,912 shares valued at $3,677,581.38 crossing the floor of the stock exchange.
ANSA McAL Ltd was the volume leader with a volume of 54,021 shares and value of $2,484,966.00, followed by National Enterprises Ltd with a volume of 26,241 shares being traded for $255,849.75, while Scotiabank T&T Ltd contributed 19,233 shares with a value of $653,914.80 and ANSA Merchant Bank Ltd contributed 2,939 shares valued at $92,578.50.
Overall market activity resulted from trading in ten stocks, of which zero advanced, one declined and nine traded firm. The Composite Index declined by 2.03 points (0.25 per cent) to close at 816.79. The All T&T Index declined by 4.25 points (0.37 per cent) to close at 1,157.73. The Cross Listed Index remained at 59.23.
Source: Guardian
MIAMI, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Brightstar Corp., a global leader in services and solutions for the wireless industry announced today the appointment of former Motorola executive Oscar Rojas as president of the company’s Latin America region.
Prior to joining Brightstar, Rojas had been with Motorola for more than 17 years. Most recently, he was the Corporate Vice President of Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions for the Latin American region including Central America, the Caribbean and the Andean countries. In this role, he had general management responsibility for all of Motorola’s radio communications, wireless networking solutions, mobile computing, RFID and services solutions for the region.
Prior to this, he held various roles at Motorola including Vice President and GM of their Government & Commercial Markets Division for the Latin America and Caribbean region; Director & General Manager of their Mobile Devices business; and Business Director for Motorola’s Personal Communications Sector for the Andean, Caribbean and Paraguay/Uruguay regions. Rojas has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela, and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Marcelo Claure, chairman, president & CEO of Brightstar said, “Oscar brings to us his extensive knowledge and strong relationships in the Latin America and the Caribbean region due to his tenure with Motorola. I have personally worked with him for a number of years, and am very excited that he will bring his business expertise to our operations throughout the Latin America region.”
Brightstar, which was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Miami, initially began its operations with its first subsidiaries in Latin America in 1998, and is now serving more than 20 countries within the region. Since that time, the company has expanded across six continents. Brightstar works with the world’s leading wireless manufacturers, operators and retailers and provides innovative services and solutions that help improve companies’ bottom lines.
About Brightstar Corp.
Brightstar is a global services company providing solutions to Manufacturers, Operators, Retailers, and Enterprises serving the telecommunications industry. With sales and distribution facilities on six continents, Brightstar offers its customers the largest global reach, enabling the right product to be in the right place, at the right time. For more information on Brightstar, please visit www.brightstarcorp.com.
Dollar index dips to fresh 3-month low .DXY
* Euro breaks key technical level, up nearly 1 percent
* Solid Chinese data, strong European earnings help risk
* Sluggish U.S. growth weighing on greenback
(Adds comments, details. Changes byline)
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) – The dollar fell to a three-month low on Monday against a basket of currencies on fears the U.S. recovery is faltering.
Strong European earnings meanwhile pushed sterling to a six-month high against the greenback.
The euro neared $1.32 for the first time since early May, with its rally picking up steam after the currency broke above $1.3125, a key technical level. The Australian dollar hit a three-month peak after data showed Chinese manufacturing expanded for a 17th straight month. [ID:nTOE66Q06K]
Signs of weaker U.S. growth have weighed on the dollar in recent weeks. Data on Friday showed growth slowed to a 2.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday said the economy is still far from achieving full recovery. [ID:nWAL2JE6F7]
Currency traders paid little attention to U.S. data on Monday showing stronger than expected manufacturing growth.
However, the Chinese data and recent solid reports from Europe have investors hopeful the world economy can grow even if U.S. recovery sputters. That has boosted appetite for higher risk currencies and pushed them through technical levels.
Analysts said the euro’s rally accelerated after it broke $1.3125 EUR=. That marked a three-month high and the 38.2 percent retracement of a decline that began in November and took the euro to $1.1876 in June, its lowest since 2006. It was last up 1 percent at $1.3181.
A close around these levels, analysts said, would be a bullish sign, with $1.3510, the 50 percent retracement of the November-to-June move, a potential target. But traders said barriers around $1.3200, $1.3250 and beyond could make it a slow and difficult climb.
“It’s a broad dollar-weakness story right now,” said Sebastien Galy, senior strategist at BNP Paribas in New York.
“If we close above key technical levels on the euro, we may be in for a sharp acceleration.”
An index of the dollar .DXY against six major currencies fell 0.8 percent and was nearing its 200-day moving average, another important technical level that, if breached, could suggest further losses ahead, analysts said.
Sterling hit a six-month high versus the dollar GBP=D4 of $1.5897 and hit a four-week high against the euro EURGBP=D4.
Robust results from HSBC (HSBA.L)(0005.HK) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) helped risk sentiment and boosted European shares .FTEU3.
Some analysts said more than the increase in profitability, some of the European bank earnings report showed that quarterly provisions to sustain losses had been cut in half.
“This helped ease concerns regarding the broader European banking community and has propelled the euro higher,” said Dan Cook, a senior market analyst at IG Markets Inc. in Chicago.
Cook added that despite today’s rally, the next major area of resistance may not come into play until $1.3270 and $1.3290.
US STOCKS ALSO RALLY
U.S. stocks gained as equities investors ignored the GDP numbers to focus on strong earnings and data that showed the U.S. manufacturing sector slowed only moderately in July. See [ID:nN02269350]
“What’s happening is the rest of the world doesn’t look so bad and the U.S., while sluggish, doesn’t look dire yet,” said Joseph Trevisani, chief analyst at FX Solutions in Saddle River, New Jersey. As long as China doesn’t fall off a cliff, the easy currency play is to keep buying risk, particularly the Australian and Canadian dollars.”
The dollar also fell against the Australian and Canadian dollars, with the Aussie hitting a three-month peak earlier at $0.9147 AUD=D4.
Published: 3 Aug 2010
Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has announced Cabinet’s approval of the Tourism Industry Refurbishment Programme (TIRP), as part of efforts to boost the sector and grow revenues.
Under the new incentive programme, tourism entities licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), which are tax compliant, will be allowed a concessionary import duty rate of ten per cent on a specified list of items for the refurbishing of their properties. Bartlett said entities which opt to purchase locally will be given a 15 per cent tax credit on the total value of local purchases.
Speaking during a press briefing at his office, Bartlett said the TIRP is expected to improve the operations and competitiveness of tourism entities. “The Caribbean and Jamaica, in particular, have over time had products that are mature products and, in our business, the growth in tourism and the constant improvement has been so rapid that unless you are continuously improving and refreshing your products, you’re likely to be left behind,†he argued.
He said that his ministry fully recognised that hotel property has to be “perpetually fresh and crisp†to be competitive in today’s market. With tourism being one of the island’s leading growth sectors, the introduction of the TIRP is expected to encourage establishments to refurbish their properties more often, creating more employment and revenues for the government. It will also enhance the linkages between the industry and the local manufacturing and furnishing sector.
Bartlett said this is an important improvement because it brings small properties, in particular, into the mix of beneficiaries. “This is also an incentive to grow, to expand, to produce more and we have already on the cards, some US$151 million of expansion programmes to be implemented,†he said. (Caribbean360.com)
By: Michelle Cave
With the BP oil spill much too close for comfort, many people in this region have the consumption, exploration utility of gas and oil not too far from the front of their minds. And until we can get our hands on solar powered vehicles, oil, gas and their products will have to fuel us. With this in the background over the past few months, I began some investigations of how this gauge of gas that we are slave to really works, and sent some friends out through the region on a mini survey to actually find out.
So how much is a litre of gas here?
This was extremely difficult to find. It was not posted at gas stations, like everywhere else in the world. But a hunt to most energy divisions would find that the price of gasoline revolves around US$2.41 per litre, diesel: $1.98 per litre and kerosene: $1.17 per litre. And just so we have an idea of some average prices in the rest of the world. These prices are reflected in gallons.
There are approximately four litres in a gallon: $3.50 a gallon in southern California; Britain $5.64; Hong Kong $5.62; Germany $5.29; Denmark $5.08; Norway $5.07; Italy $4.86; Turkey $4.85; Portugal $4.80; Korea $4.71; Switzerland $4.56; Korea $4.53; Austria $4.50; Croatia $4.32; Japan $3.84; Australia $2.63; Cambodia $2.57; Taiwan $2.47; Georgia $2.31; Laos $1.66; Thailand $1.60; China $1.54; Russia $1.45; Kazakhstan $1.36; Tajikistan $1.32; Azerbaijan $1.15 and Venezuela $0.14.
And who fixes the prices?
Most cabinets in the region do.
And why are they not posted at each gas station for consumers to choose where they want to buy gas?
Though I searched far and wide, I could not find an appropriate answer to this question. The most frequent answers were variations of: “Why would you want to knowâ€, or “What business is it of the consumers, they have to buy it anyway.â€
And what is actually in the gas we put into our cars?
The gas attendants when asked what grade gasoline was being bought looked as though the question was coming from outer space. High octane, unleaded ultra high octane . . . who knew? This question led to some intriguing conversations. The upshot being a hodge podge of refined products that actually are the real costs in gas, as their importation and the amounts added to gasoline are quite hefty.
What if any is the etiquette in gas/petrol stations in the region?
In most countries, when you pull into a petrol station, an attendant will wave you towards a particular pump. You will wind down your window and tell him or her what value of fuel you want. She/he will then refuel the car for you and usually someone else will clean the windscreen for you. When it’s finished and you give the attendant the money in cash, some people offer a tip of a few dollars. You don’t normally get out of the car at all unless you need to visit the increasingly in-house shop.
And is there any hope for more economical, environmental products we can use to fuel our vehicles . . . in the near future?
Apparently there is quite a voracious appetite globally for alternatives to petroleum that will use naturally occurring bacteria to produce hydrocarbons, pretty much mimicking the natural production of petroleum. One such is a company founded by geneticist George Church http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dms/bbs/fac/church.html, of Harvard Medical School, and plant biologist Chris Somerville http://www-ciwdpb.stanford.edu/research/research_csomerville.php, of Stanford University.
They are working on a product called “renewable petroleum – a genetically engineered bacteria, which custom produces hydrocarbon chainsâ€.
This synthetic biology is modifying the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids.
This is how organisms store energy. Fatty acids are chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms strung together in a particular arrangement, with a carboxylic acid group made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen attached at one end. Take away the acid, and what you’re left with is a hydrocarbon that can be made into fuel, says Church, noting that any country can use synthetic biology and systems biology to engineer hydrocarbon-producing bacteria. It is an innovation that will work if countries are interested in working together for the consumers benefit. It is at the economical and ecological “cutting edgeâ€.
• Michelle Cave has done her thesis on the regional integration movement.
Source: Nation News
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