Geographic Location
Cities and Green Growth : Mayors and Ministers Roundtable
May 18, 2010 4:23 pm | by OECD | News | CommentsMayors from many of the world’s most influential cities, with Ministers and senior business executives, will exchange ideas about how cities and regions can grow their economies and create jobs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing high quality urban services for their citizens.
Tax : Average tax burden on workers’ earnings fell in most OECD countries last year
May 11, 2010 6:30 pm | by OECD | News | CommentsAverage tax and social security burdens on employment incomes fell slightly in 24 out of 30 OECD countries last year as governments struggled to shore up faltering economies amid the worst recession in decades. But whether this trend will continue this year is uncertain given the...
Luxembourg : Labour market, pension reforms needed
May 11, 2010 5:30 pm | by OECD | News | CommentsThe future growth path in Luxembourg is likely to be weaker than in the past. Pension reform, together with fiscal consolidation, is required to put the public finances on a sustainable footing, while adaptability of the labour market needs to be improved to avoid long-term unemployment...
Statistics : Unemployment rate remains broadly stable at 8.7% in March
May 11, 2010 5:30 pm | by OECD | News | CommentsThe unemployment rate for the OECD area was broadly stable in March 2010 at 8.7%; a rise of 0.1 percentage point compared with February.
Economics : OECD Forum and Ministerial meeting to focus on innovation, growth
May 7, 2010 12:28 pm | by OECD | News | CommentsNew OECD forecasts for economic growth and strategies to boost innovation will be at the heart of discussions at the OECD’s annual Forum and Ministerial meeting in Paris on 26-28 May 2010. The OECD’s latest Economic Outlook will be released by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría with...
Artificial nose gives as good as it gets
May 3, 2010 2:23 pm | by European Commission | News | CommentsIs smell a personal sense, one that is specific to culture? No, says an Israeli team of scientists who have successfully 'trained' an electronic system capable of predicting the pleasantness of new odours. Their study, presented in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS)...
Envisat monitoring changes in oil spill
May 3, 2010 6:53 am | News | CommentsESA’s Envisat has captured the changes in direction of the rapidly-growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as strong winds over the weekend pushed it around and hampered clean-up efforts. In these latest images, the oil spill is visible due east of the Delta National Wildlife Refuge extending into the Gulf.
Economy: innovation and pro-green policies offer new sources of growth
April 29, 2010 10:27 am | by OECD | News | CommentsFaced with unprecedented levels of unemployment, unsustainable fiscal deficits and public debt and low economic growth, governments need to focus on innovation and pro-green policies as potential new sources of growth, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría told a meeting of heads of...
Eurotech Demos Latest Microsoft Windows Embedded Technology at ESC Silicon Valley
April 27, 2010 9:13 am | News | CommentsEurotech will demonstrate the Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard 7 operating system on the Catalyst FX development system at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) Silicon Valley in San Jose, CA.
Planck highlights the complexity of star formation
April 26, 2010 6:44 am | News | CommentsNew images from ESA’s Planck space observatory reveal the forces driving star formation and give astronomers a way to understand the complex physics that shape the dust and gas in our Galaxy. Star formation takes place hidden behind veils of dust but that doesn’t mean we can’t see through them.
New way to guide a car: With your eyes, not hands
April 26, 2010 6:40 am | News | CommentsTired of spinning that steering wheel? Try this: German researchers have developed a new technology that lets drivers steer cars using only their eyes. Raul Rojas, an artificial intelligence researcher at Berlin's Free University, said Friday that the technology tracks a driver's eye movement and, in turn, steers the car in whatever direction they're looking.
Vodafone to sell Google phone in UK from April 30
April 26, 2010 6:27 am | News | CommentsVodafone will be Europe's first carrier to sell Google's Nexus One phone, starting in Britain on April 30, in a boost for the operator beaten to Apple's iPhone by O2. Vodafone said on Monday it would give away Google's first own-branded phone for free to customers who take out a two-year, 35 pounds ($54)-per-month contract.
Pirates rewrite script for Apple's China iPad launch
April 26, 2010 5:34 am | News | CommentsJust three weeks after the global launch, bootleg versions of Apple Inc's hot-selling iPad tablet PCs have begun showing up on the shelves of online and real-world shops in piracy-prone China. Apple recently delayed the iPad's international launch after huge demand in the United States caught the maker of trendy iPhones and MacBooks off guard.
Biggest study on cellphone health effects launched
April 22, 2010 9:02 am | News | CommentsThe biggest study to date into the effects of mobile-phone usage on long-term health was launched on Thursday, aiming to track at least a quarter of a million of people in five European countries for up to 30 years.
SKorea targets Internet addicts; 2 million hooked
April 22, 2010 8:52 am | News | CommentsDay and night, Lee Mi-hwa's son stays on his computer, slaying dragons in his online fantasy world while his dinner and homework sit untouched. Lee says the 15-year-old fights her attempts to get him to log off, screaming and physically lashing out at her entreaties.
Queen’s Award Presented to DuPont for Increasing Efficiency of Solar Cells
April 22, 2010 6:26 am | News | CommentsHer Majesty the Queen, head of state of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, has awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category to DuPont for the continuous development of DuPont Solamet photovoltaic metallization paste.
Startup ALGO claims trading software nears speed of light
April 19, 2010 10:27 am | News | CommentsNew software by startup company ALGO Technologies offers to cut trade execution time to levels close to the speed of light, giving exchange clients an edge in the high-frequency trading arms race. The system takes 16 microseconds, or millionths of a second, per round-trip for a trade from outside an exchange's firewall, compared with 250 microseconds on Nasdaq OMX...
Governments must tackle rising youth unemployment urgently
April 16, 2010 8:25 am | by OECD | News | CommentsReleased in advance of the G20 Labour Ministerial in Washington D.C. (20-21 April), which OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría will attend, this report looks at the impact of the crisis on young people. With youth unemployment set to keep rising in the months ahead, it says that more...
3 finalists in prize for technology breakthroughs
April 14, 2010 10:33 am | News | CommentsThree European inventors who helped create illuminated wallpapers, tiny fast processors in mobile phones, and cheap, high-performance cells used in solar panels are finalists in the euro1.1 million ($1.5 million) international Millennium Technology Prize.
Aid : Development aid rose in 2009 and most donors will meet 2010 aid targets
April 14, 2010 1:24 am | by OECD | News | CommentsNew OECD figures show continuing growth in development aid in 2009, despite the financial crisis. Total net official development assistance (ODA) from the donors in the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) rose 0.7% in real terms, but the rise was 6.8% once debt relief, a...
Statistics - Unemployment rate broadly stable at 8.6% in February
April 13, 2010 2:24 am | by OECD | News | CommentsThe unemployment rate for the OECD area was broadly stable in February 2010 compared with January. The headline rate fell 0.1 percentage point but this reflected the partial unwinding of effects that led to a temporary increase in Korea's January rate.
New technical hitch delays Ariane rocket launch
April 12, 2010 10:32 am | News | Comments(Reuters) A new technical problem has delayed for the second time the launch of an Ariane rocket scheduled to launch two satellites from French Guiana late on Friday, the Arianespace company said. "We have had to stop the launch countdown
Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' in Twitter twist
April 12, 2010 10:30 am | News | CommentsOne of Shakespeare's most famous plays gets a 21st century makeover in a new version of "Romeo and Juliet" which will unfold through Twitter messages and on the Youtube video website. Entitled "Such Tweet Sorrow," the experiment is a collaboration between the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Mudlark, which produces entertainment on mobile telephones.
Statistics : Composite leading indicators point to continued expansion
April 12, 2010 3:23 am | by OECD | News | CommentsOECD composite leading indicators (CLIs) for February 2010 continue to point to economic expansion, albeit at a different pace across countries and regions.
Facebook joins drive to get UK voters to polls
April 9, 2010 9:19 am | News | CommentsBritish election officials will for the first time use Facebook to encourage more people to register to vote on May 6 after turnout fell to historic lows in the last two ballots, a watchdog said on Friday. The Electoral Commission said every visitor to the social networking site on Saturday will be asked if they have already signed up to vote.
