London, 25 November 2009 – United Planet (www.unitedplanet.com), one of the leading developers of Enterprise Portal software in Europe, has announced the launch of ‘Intrexx Invoice Audit’, the first out-of-the-box automated invoice checking and processing application for Enterprise Portals. Designed to reduce processing errors associated with traditional labour intensive paper-based procedures, the new application will help companies to significantly increase the speed with which invoices can be processed.

Commenting on the launch, Axel Wessendorf, managing director at United Planet, said: “Many companies are frustrated by traditional methods for processing incoming invoices and are looking to introduce a faster and more transparent approach for this business critical activity.

“Oil down to $80!”

A year ago, that headline was impressive, because crude futures had been hanging out around $144 a barrel, and were on their way to $48. Talk about blood on the trading floor! Now that’s the sort of rich stuff a columnist can sink his teeth into.

The recent $3 hiccough is merely a 4% cyclic dip within a larger rising trend that has seen crude futures rise some 71% over the past nine months. Quite frankly, the oil price could drop to the bottom of the rising trend at $75, and I still wouldn’t be impressed. Heck, I halfway expect it.

Core Facts Come and meet the president and chief technology officer of SunPower Corporation, Richard Swanson, as he accepts an award at The Economist’s Innovation Awards Ceremony in London on October 29th.

- The Economist is pleased to announce that Richard Swanson is the winner of The Economist’s Energy and Environment Innovation Award 2009 for his contribution to the development of highly efficient solar-cell technology. Solar power has grown by an average of 40% per year since the beginning of the decade, with global solar installations expanding from 600 MW in 2003 to nearly 3,000 MW in 2008, and Swanson has been instrumental in its development. His company SunPower researched methods of increasing the efficiency of solar cells whilst reducing the need for polycrystalline silicon, which is in short supply. As a result solar panels have a 19.3% conversion efficiency, the highest for a commercially available mass-produced solar panel. The technology is a great step towards achieving the US Department of Energy’s goal of growing conversion efficiency to 20% by 2020.

Bracknell, UK, 23rd September 2009 - 3M, the diversified technology company, has announced the UK launch of 3M ACCR (Aluminium Conductor Composite Reinforced), a breakthrough in overhead power transmission. 3M ACCR is designed as a ‘drop-in’ replacement for existing electrical conductors and can as much as double the transmission capacity of the line. This could help the UK power industry to meet the government’s renewable energy targets and overcome some of the issues of connecting offshore wind farms to the onshore grid, in particular delays caused by planning objections.