UK bank Barclays has launched a £100 million fund for UK farmers investing in renewable energy.

Developed with sector specialists, the fund is available for solar, wind, and hydro projects in the UK, with Barclays including projected feed-in-tariffs when assessing each loan.

The bank said that new figures show that over one third of the UK’s 200,000 farmers are expecting to invest in renewable energy, with the majority doing so within the next year. It added that farmers expect the investment to generate returns averaging £25,000 per year.

A reputation for reliability and a track record for delivering on time and on budget has helped to turn one Saudi Arabian business into an international giant.

Saudi Arabia has an impressive programme of converting its oil dollars into other forms of essential infrastructure. Billions are being spent on water desalination plants and even more on ever increasing electricity capacity (although it has to be said that not all projects have yet received their financial green light).

Bull Brand is the largest company in JSE-listed KAP International’s consumer division. It has its niche in South Africa’s canned meat market but does not intend to rest on its laurels.

Boeing celebrated a historic occasion on Friday 26 August when the 787 Dreamliner was officially certified fit to fly.

In a ceremony at Boeing’s assembly plant in Everett, Washington state, officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) presented certificates to verify that the 787 has been tested and found to be in compliance with all US and European regulations.

Scottish entrepreneur Jim McColl is to sell Clyde Union Pumps, the business he joined as an apprentice, to American Fortune 500 company SPX Corporation.

Glasgow-headquartered Clyde Union Pumps will continue to be run as a standalone business under the leadership of the same management team.

The Timken Company has announced an open-innovation agreement with the University of Akron, Ohio, to accelerate technology development.

The Timken Company will fund and equip a new Timken Engineered Surfaces Laboratory currently under construction on the UA campus, one of five laboratories to be housed in the new engineering research building where the two organizations plan to combine their expertise in materials and surface engineering.

Tullow Oil has announced that a long-awaited deal in Uganda is to be completed next month.

The news, which sent the company’s shares rocketing yesterday, was made as the company released its results for the first half of 2011.

Tullow has been waiting since last year to finalise a deal that will bring in new partners, France's Total and China's CNOOC, to commence a €7 billion oil development project in Uganda. The company now expects to complete the deal in September, at which time it will receive approximately €2 billion from the two companies.

Members of Norwich & Peterborough Building Society (N&P) have voted in favour of a merger with Yorkshire Building Society (YBS), the UK’s second largest building society.

Of those who voted, 89.61 per cent of savers and 87.22 per cent of borrowers voted in favour of N&P to merge with YBS.

The newly merged society will have three million members, approximately £34 billion of assets and a national network of 224 branches and 89 agency offices.

Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation are to collaborate on the development of an advanced new hybrid system for light truck and SUV customers.

The world’s two leading manufacturers of hybrid vehicles have signed a memorandum of understanding on the product development collaboration, with the formal agreement expected by next year.