New partners from Germany and France have been signed up to the South Stream gas pipeline project, it has been announced.

Germany’s Wintershall Holding and France’s EDF have each acquired a 15 per cent stake in the offshore section of the South Stream project through a 30 per cent reduction of Italian Eni's stake.

South Stream is a project conceived by Russia’s Gazprom to construct a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to South European and Central European countries, for the purpose of diversifying natural gas export routes.

Alcoa intends to expand its Davenport, Iowa rolled products plant to meet rising demand from the automotive market.

Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are switching from steel to aluminum in their drive to increase the fuel efficiency, safety, durability and performance of their vehicles.

Kingfisher, Europe's leading home improvement retailer, has announced it will create over 1,200 new jobs across the UK this year as it expands its B&Q and Screwfix stores.

The expansion plans will bring Kingfisher's total investment in the UK this year to £130 million, with a combined total of over 80 new Screwfix and B&Q stores being opened during 2011.

With the expansion of the Panama Canal due for completion in 2015, the Port Authority of Jamaica is planning an ambitious program of improvements to ensure the Kingston Container Terminal remains the premier container port of the Caribbean.

Honeywell Electronic Materials announced today it will more than double its refining and casting capacity for high-purity copper and tin at its Spokane, Washington facility in response to rising demand in the semiconductor industry.

Demand for the copper material has been steadily growing as new advanced chip designs continue to require high-purity copper. Additional industry growth has come as memory manufacturers transition from aluminum to copper. The use of copper and tin for advanced chip packaging applications is similarly on the rise.

Rockhopper Exploration has announced further significant oil finds in the North Falkland Basin in the South Atlantic.

The company has encountered more oil during drilling of a fifth well to a total depth of 2,696 metres within its Sea Lion prospect.

Canadian Solar Inc has opened a new warehouse facility in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey to provide additional photovoltaic module storage capacity for the growing business.

The first shipment of modules is expected to arrive in mid-September 2011. The warehouse itself utilizes solar energy from its PV rooftop mounted system.

UK transport group National Express has announced its acquisition of one the largest student transport service providers in the US.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Petermann Partners Inc is the fifth largest provider of student transport services in the US, with operations across 10 states in the Midwest, West and Southwest.

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc, has announced a 9 percent increase in mineral reserves from 286.2 million to 312.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum at its Endako molybdenum mine located near Fraser Lake, British Columbia, extending its mine life by 20 months through 2028.

Ireland’s Kerry Group has announced its acquisition of the German sweet ingredients and flavours producer SuCrest.

The Co. Kerry-based company said the move would significantly expand its sweet ingredients and flavours business in the EMEA region.

SuCrest has production and product development facilities located in Hochheim, Germany and Vitebsk, Belarus, as well as a sales representative office in Moscow. The company is a leading provider of sweet ingredients to the bakery, ice cream, confectionery, cereal and snack sectors in European markets.