French power utility EDF has announced plans to construct a 900 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant on the Rybnik site in Poland.

The project, worth around €1.8 billion, will involve the replacement of the four oldest units at the Rybnik plant with a single, more efficient one.

EDF said the advantage of the supercritical technology is its capacity to achieve the highest net efficiency in the market—equivalent to 45 per cent.

According to Department of Labor data released yesterday, the retail industry added nearly 50,000 jobs in November, the second highest increase since September 2007.

However, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) warned that new regulations could impede the continued pace of job growth.

The Department of Labor figures show that the retail industry added 49,800 jobs in November, raising the total of US retail jobs to 14.7 million. The retail industry has added nearly 200,000 new jobs this year alone, averaging 14,000 new jobs each month.

DS Waters of America, Inc., one of the country's largest providers of bottled water products, is to acquire the Colorado assets of Deep Rock Water Co.

Deep Rock has been in business since 1896. In addition to its bottled water products, it also provides coffee services and water filtration to its customers.

Investec has agreed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to establish a €100 million renewable energy funding facility to promote clean energy generation and energy efficiency initiatives in South Africa.

Investec and the EIB are to be equal partners in the programme, with each contributing €50 million.

The Credit Managers’ Index remained largely unchanged for the third consecutive month, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Credit Management.

The index did drop slightly, from 53.7 in October to 53.5 in November, which would not ordinarily be great news, but as September’s data was particularly strong, it is no bad thing that October and November remained pretty much the same.

Extract Resources has announced that Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has issued it with a mining licence for the Husab Uranium Project.

Extract Resources is a uranium exploration and development company with a primary focus on Namibia. The company’s 100 per cent-owned Husab Uranium Projecthosts the largest and highest grade granite-hosted uranium deposit in the country.

To expand into global markets, you must develop your competitive edge to create the differences that make all the difference, says Mona Pearl.

Companies expect a significant rise in commodity prices and offshore labor rates, while more than 60 percent say they cannot successfully mitigate inflation, according to research from The Hackett Group, presented here by Michel Janssen and Pierre Mitchel.

Thomas R. Cutler makes the case for electric hand trucks, which pay for themselves in saving lost work time and compensation claims.

The back is the most injury-prone part of the body. Almost everyone will suffer back pain at some time in his or her life, yet preventing back injury is much easier than healing a back injury.

If you are serious about building a customer-facing culture, to make it effective you must involve every department in your company, says George F. Brown, Jr.