November 10, 2010
The Telegraph:
One of China’s leading credit rating agencies has downgraded United States of America government debt in response to what it sees as deliberate devaluation of the dollar by quantitative easing and other means.
If China, now the second biggest economy in the world, stops buying US government bonds this could have a very negative effect on the global recovery. The Dagong Global Credit Rating Company analysis is highly critical of American attempts to borrow their way out of debt. It criticises competitive currency devaluation and predicts a “long-term recession”.
Dagong Global Credit says: “In order to rescue the national crisis, the US government resorted to the extreme economic policy of depreciating the U.S. dollar at all costs and this fully exposes the deep-rooted problem in the development and the management model of national economy.
The analysis concludes: “The potential overall crisis in the world resulting from the US dollar depreciation will increase the uncertainty of the U.S. economic recovery. Under the circumstances that none of the economic factors influencing the U.S. economy has turned better explicitly it is possible that the US will continue to expand the use of its loose monetary policy, damaging the interests the creditors.
“Therefore, given the current situation, the United States may face much unpredictable risks in solvency in the coming one to two years. Accordingly, Dagong assigns negative outlook on both local and foreign currency sovereign credit ratings of the United States.”
Max King, global investment strategist at Investec Asset Management, said: “Dagong is well respected as an independent credit rating agency which takes a more conservative view than better-known American credit rating agencies.
“It is interesting to see what people with money outside the American sphere of influence think. Until recently, the US had been regarded as beyond reproach but now independent analysts say the position is deteriorating and likely to deteriorate further.
Meanwhile Xinhua reports the trade figures for October:
China’s exports rose 22.9 percent in October from a year earlier to 135.98 billion U.S. dollars, while imports increased 25.3 percent to 108.83 billion U.S. dollars, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Wednesday.
China’s trade surplus expanded sharply to 27.15 billion U.S. dollars last month from 16.88 billion U.S. dollars in September, making the October figure the second highest this year after July’s 28.73 billion U.S. dollars.
The higher-than-expected trade surplus would add pressure for the yuan’s appreciation and exacerbate the already grave inflation problem in China, said ANZ Bank economist Liu Ligang.
In the first 10 months, China’s trade surplus totaled 147.77 billion U.S. dollars, down 6.7 percent compared with the same period last year.
Foreign trade with the European Union, China’s largest trade partner, grew 32.9 percent year on year to 388.42 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months.
Trade with the United States climbed 29.8 percent to 310.71 billion U.S. dollars during the January-October period. China-Japan trade totaled 239.28 billion U.S. dollars, up 31.3 percent year on year.
Tags: China, Currency wars, Trade surplus, US, US bonds
Posted in China, Currency, Economy, International Trade, US | Comments Off on China downgrades US bonds as trade surplus expands
November 10, 2010
It seems that Rolls Royce are facing issues with three different engines; the Trent 900 for the A380s, the RB211-524s having Trent features and the Trent 1000.
Singapore Airlines are grounding three of their A380s for engine change-outs as a precautionary measure.
AFP:
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Wednesday it had grounded three Airbus A380 planes to carry out “precautionary” engine changes following a mid-air engine failure on a Qantas-operated superjumbo. “Based on further analysis of inspection findings as the investigation into last week’s incident involving another operator’s Airbus A380 is progressing, Singapore Airlines will be carrying out precautionary engine changes on three A380s,” the carrier said in a statement.
An SIA spokeswoman told AFP that Rolls Royce had advised the carrier to change the engines after tests showed oil stains on them. “We were advised by Rolls-Royce in particular that these three engines had signs of oil stains,” she said, stressing the issue was different from the problem that affected the Qantas A380 plane last week.
The three planes are now in London, Sydney and Melbourne pending the engine changes, and SIA could not confirm the duration of their grounding nor the cost of replacing the engines.
My simplistic view of what is certainly a very complicated picture is that there are certain operating conditions at which the Trent 900 is subject to oil leaks (possibly because some oil carrying pipes are susceptible to vibration based cracks). These operating conditions are probably when the Trent 900 is being “pushed” close to maximum thrust conditions and Qantas’ method of operation has these engines operating at these conditions for more of the time than other airlines. This mode of operation probably occurs more often at or soon after take-off.
Even though Rolls Royce has said that the issues with the Trent 1000 are entirely different and have been fixed, there remains the issue of whether the Trent based improvements when introduced into the RB211-524 engine also creates a “dangerous” operating zone.
It seems to me that Rolls Royce is wrestling with at least 3 different engine issues:
- with the Trent 900 for the A 380’s, especially at high-thrust conditions which Qantas uses more than other airlines,
- with the RB211-524 (xT) where the (T) represents the use of Trent features and used mainly in Boeing 747-400’s, and
- with the Trent 1000 for the Boeing Dreamliner where some issues have been fixed but where delays are still in the air.
I have no doubt that they are going to get fixed but the direct cost will be high and my guess is that Rolls Royce will have to bear the brunt of the cost with some costs incurred by Qantas for their own fleet. It will need the sale of many Trent 900s before Rolls Royce can amortise all the development and “teething” costs for this engine. It is of some small comfort that the number of engines to be “fixed in the field” is relatively small. The costs for Airbus will be mainly indirect for the loss of reputation and for some lost opportunities. But the A 380’s ability to land safely even after one wing was heavily damaged is not unimpressive.
Tags: Airbus, Airbus A380, Qantas, RB 211, Rolls Royce, Singapore Airlines, Trent 1000, Trent 900
Posted in Aviation, Engineering, Technology | Comments Off on Rolls Royce faces 3 different engine issues as Singapore Airlines changes engines on 3 A 380s
November 9, 2010
Bloomberg:
Air France-KLM Group and British Airways Plc were among 11 carriers fined a total of 799.4 million euros ($1.1 billion) by European Union regulators for coordinating fuel and security fees following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Air France and its units got the biggest fine of 339.6 million euros. British Airways was fined 104 million euros and SAS Group AB got a 70.2 million-euros penalty, the European Commission said. Cargolux Airlines International SA, Europe’s third-biggest air-freight carrier, was fined 79.9 million euros.
“It is deplorable that so many major airlines coordinated their pricing,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almuniasaid. The extra costs in the aftermath of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, weren’t “an acceptable reason to stop competing,” Almunia told reporters.
U.S. authorities have already fined 18 airlines at least $1.6 billion and filed criminal charges against 14 executives for price-fixing.
Under EU rules, companies can be fined 10 percent of annual sales for antitrust violations. The commission typically opts for a penalty of from 2 percent to 3 percent of sales in cartel cases. Companies may appeal to EU courts.
The Journal of Commerce:
Air France KLM and British Airways, which were fined $350 million and $300 million respectively in the U.S., are among airlines facing substantial fines from the EU. Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Alitalia and All Nippon Airways have earlier confirmed they have been investigated.
Lufthansa, Europe’s largest cargo carrier, is not facing a fine as it informed the Commission about the cartel’s activities.
The Commission’s decision will have an impact on several pending legal actions by shippers seeking damages they suffered due to the cartel’s activities. Several hundred European shippers, led by Swedish telecoms group Ericsson and Dutch electronics giant Philips, are suing Air France-KLM and its Martinair subsidiary for $560 million.
Tags: cartel, European Commissioner for Competition, European Union, freight, Price fixing
Posted in Aviation, Business, European Union, Fraud | Comments Off on EU Fines 11 Airlines for running a freight cartel
November 9, 2010
The Australian:
New suggestions have emerged that a spectacular engine failure near Singapore last week caused more damage to the plane involved than first thought. The No 2 engine’s violent disintegration ripped a hole through the Airbus A380’s left wing, destroying wiring that prevented the pilots from turning off the No 1 engine and causing a fuel leak. Suggestions have now emerged that there was also significant damage to hydraulic systems that prevented spoilers, panels on the wing that create drag to slow the plane down, from deploying.
The wrecked engine after the plane landed in Singapore.
The suggestions came as the Australian Transport Safety Bureau yesterday interviewed the flight crew of the stricken A380 and performed the first boroscope inspection of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine. Investigators are continuing their search for the rest of a turbine disc that broke up in the incident and have set up a schedule for examining a recovered piece that has been sent to Britain for forensic tests.
Inspections of the grounded planes continued yesterday amid suggestions European regulators were poised to issue an airworthiness directive on the checks.
With this amount of damage to the wing it is a tribute to the pilots and to the Airbus A380 aircraft that the landing in Singapore was as smooth as it was and with no injuries at all.
Rolls Royce has said that the issues are specific to the Trent 900 and there are further indications that the issues may be specific to the engines as used by Qantas.
Meanwhile
Rolls-Royce says that the uncontained engine failure on a Qantas Airbus A380 en route from Singapore to Sydney on November 4 “is specific to the Trent 900. We can be certain that the separate Trent 1000 event which occurred in August 2010 on a test bed in Derby is unconnected,” Rolls-Royce said in a statement yesterday. “This incident happened during a development program with an engine operating outside normal parameters. We understand the cause and a solution has been implemented.”
The engine maker added that it would provide a further update on the investigation with its interim management statement on November 12.
Tags: Airbus A380, Qantas, Trent 1000, Trent 900, Trent 900 failures, Uncontained failure
Posted in Australia, Aviation, Engineering, Technology | 1 Comment »
November 9, 2010
From Asahi News:
Japanese companies posted huge increases in sales and profits in the first half of fiscal 2010, but the “China risks” coupled with the strong yen threaten to pummel performances in the second half.
Toyota Motor Executive Vice President Satoshi Ozawa releases business results in Tokyo on Friday. (The Asahi Shimbun)
Aggregate sales rose 11.6 percent from a year ago, while pretax profits increased 131.7 percent and net profits soared 179.8 percent, according to Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.’s survey of 650 companies listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange that had released their half-year results by Thursday.
But the companies say the business turnaround could be short-lived depending on what happens in China. Chinese exports of rare earth minerals, vital ingredients in high-tech production, were stalled in September when Beijing demanded the release of a Chinese captain whose fishing boat rammed Japan Coast Guard vessels near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The de facto ban on rare earth exports to Japan came on top of China’s increasingly tight export quotas on the materials.
Chinese imports account for more than 80 percent of clothes sold in supermarkets and other stores operated by Aeon.
Many manufacturers say they have secured rare earth supplies for the short term, but a prolonged delay in delivery would inevitably hit them hard.
Japan is pursuing alternative supply sources in India and elsewhere to reduce Japan’s reliance on China, which accounts for 97 percent of the world’s supply. But such development will take time.
While trading firm Toyota Tsusho Corp. is developing rare earth mines in Vietnam, Executive Vice President Kenji Takanashi said the work “will take at least two to three years.”
Meanwhile, export-oriented companies say their efforts to fend off the impact from the yen’s appreciation are reaching their limits. Toyota Motor Corp., for example, expects currency exchange losses to total 320 billion yen ($3.94 billion) for the year ending in March, which will more than offset its estimated profit rise from sales increases totaling 280 billion yen.
Tags: China risks, Chinese rare earth supply, half year results, Japan, strong yen, Tokyo Stock Exchange
Posted in Business, Economy, Japan, Management, Materials | Comments Off on In spite of strong yen, Japan Inc’s sales and profits soar
November 9, 2010
A new paper by the Graphene Nobel winners in the Journal Small:
Fluorographene: A Two-Dimensional Counterpart of Teflon, by Rahul R. Nair, Wencai Ren, Rashid Jalil, Ibtsam Riaz, Vasyl G. Kravets, Liam Britnell, Peter Blake, Fredrik Schedin, Alexander S. Mayorov, Shengjun Yuan, Mikhail I. Katsnelson, Hui-Ming Cheng, Wlodek Strupinski, Lyubov G. Bulusheva, Alexander V. Okotrub, Irina V. Grigorieva, Alexander N. Grigorenko, Kostya S. Novoselov, Andre K. Geim. Article first published online: 4 NOV 2010, DOI: 10.1002/smll.201001555
Abstract
A stoichiometric derivative of graphene with a fluorine atom attached to each carbon is reported. Raman, optical, structural, micromechanical, and transport studies show that the material is qualitatively different from the known graphene-based nonstoichiometric derivatives. Fluorographene is a high-quality insulator (resistivity >1012Ω) with an optical gap of 3 eV. It inherits the mechanical strength of graphene, exhibiting a Young’s modulus of 100 N m−1 and sustaining strains of 15%. Fluorographene is inert and stable up to 400 °C even in air, similar to Teflon.
Graphane crystal. This novel two-dimensional material is obtained from graphene (a monolayer of carbon atoms) by attaching hydrogen atoms (red) to each carbon atoms (blue) in the crystal. (Credit: Mesoscopic Physics Group, Prof. Geim - University of Manchester)
Science Daily. University of Manchester scientists have created a new material which could replace or compete with Teflon in thousands of everyday applications. Professor Andre Geim, who along with his colleague Professor Kostya Novoselov won the 2010 Nobel Prize for graphene — the world’s thinnest material, has now modified it to make fluorographene — a one-molecule-thick material chemically similar to Teflon.
Fluorographene is fully-fluorinated graphene and is basically a two-dimensional version of Teflon, showing similar properties including chemical inertness and thermal stability. Teflon is a fully-fluorinated chain of carbon atoms. These long molecules bound together make the polymer material that is used in a variety of applications including non-sticky cooking pans. The Manchester team managed to attach fluorine to each carbon atom of graphene. To get fluorographene, the Manchester researchers first obtained graphene as individual crystals and then fluorinated it by using atomic fluorine. To demonstrate that it is possible to obtain fluorographene in industrial quantities, the researchers also fluorinated graphene powder and obtained fluorographene paper.
Fluorographene turned out to be a high-quality insulator which does not react with other chemicals and can sustain high temperatures even in air.
Industrial scale production of fluorographene is not seen as a problem as it would involve following the same steps as mass production of graphene. The Manchester researchers believe that the next important step is to make proof-of-concept devices and demonstrate various applications of fluorographene. Professor Geim added: “There is no point in using it just as a substitute for Teflon. The mix of the incredible properties of graphene and Teflon is so inviting that you do not need to stretch your imagination to think of applications for the two-dimensional Teflon. The challenge is to exploit this uniqueness.”
Tags: Andre Geim, Fluorographene, Graphene, Teflon substitute
Posted in Chemistry, Materials, Nobel Prize, Physics | 1 Comment »
November 9, 2010
Retraction Watch reports on the retraction of a paper at Nature by the authors but where, once again, the lead author does not sign the retraction.
In this case the paper is:
The large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+channel is essential for innate immunity by Jatinder Ahluwalia, Andrew Tinker, Lucie H. Clapp, Michael R. Duchen, Andrey Y. Abramov, Simon Pope, Muriel Nobles & Anthony W. Segal, Nature 427, 853-858 (26 February 2004), doi:10.1038/nature02356; Received 18 July 2003; Accepted 20 January 2004.
The Retraction Notice reads
The authors wish to retract this Letter after the report of an inability to reproduce their results, later confirmed by another. The studies the authors then conducted led to an internal investigation by University College London, please see the accompanying Supplementary Information for details. The retraction has not been signed by Jatinder Ahluwalia.
The lead author is usually the researcher and the last name is usually that of the senior author. There have been a number of such cases recently where the authors retract a paper but where the lead author does not sign the retraction. The inference is that there has been some misconduct or alleged misconduct by the researcher which has been “discovered” by the other authors but where the alleged misconduct is not acknowledged by the lead author. (See the cases of Shane R Mayack and Hung-Shu Chang for example). Just the fact that some data can not be reproduced does not mean that misconduct has occurred. Experimental data can never be perfect. In addition to measurement errors and procedural errors, data may also be subject to errors of interpretation and analysis. In fact the scientific method requires the publication of such data – warts and all – which can then be tested by others and retraction would not be necessary or correct merely if different results were obtained later. Erroneous data does not have to be – and should not be – deleted from the record. A retraction – and especially by a multiplicity of contributing authors but not the lead author – carries a strong inference of misconduct.
This raises once again the question of roles and responsibilities between the different contributing authors, the reviewers and the journal editor for a published paper. Perhaps the number of retractions is at an “acceptable” level, but I am sure that the number of retractions must follow the “Iceberg Principle” and what is finally made visible can only be the tip of what must be there. The senior author must bear some responsibility and have some accountability for such events.
It seems to me that senior authors (as supervisors of the research reported) get away too lightly and merely pass the responsibility onto the researcher’s failings or his misconduct. They abdicate their responsibility for quality and integrity rather too easily. I would like to see a statement by the senior author whenever such a retraction is made “at the request of the authors”.
Tags: lead author responsibilities, Paper retractions, Science, scientific method, Scientific misconduct
Posted in Behaviour, Ethics, Science, scientific misconduct | 1 Comment »
November 9, 2010
Wattsupwiththat has the story.
The American Geophysical Union has issued a press release backing away from “a broad campaign to push back against congressional conservatives who have threatened prominent researchers with investigations and vowed to kill regulations to rein in man-made greenhouse gases” which was widely reported yesterday: See “Warriors of the Faith”: Global warming zealots declare jehad”
The Press Release is available at http://www.agu.org/news/press/pr_archives/2010/2010-37.shtml.
AGU Logo
Inaccurate news reports misrepresent a climate-science initiative of the American Geophysical Union
WASHINGTON—An article appearing in the Los Angeles Times, and then picked up by media outlets far and wide, misrepresents the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and a climate science project the AGU is about to relaunch. The project, called Climate Q&A Service, aims simply to provide accurate scientific answers to questions from journalists about climate science.
“In contrast to what has been reported in the LA Times and elsewhere, there is no campaign by AGU against climate skeptics or congressional conservatives,” says Christine McEntee, Executive Director and CEO of the American Geophysical Union. “AGU will continue to provide accurate scientific information on Earth and space topics to inform the general public and to support sound public policy development.”..
“AGU is a scientific society, not an advocacy organization,” says climate scientist and AGU President Michael J. McPhaden. “The organization is committed to promoting scientific discovery and to disseminating to the scientific community, policy makers, the media, and the public, peer-reviewed scientific findings across a broad range of Earth and space sciences.”…….
The Army of the Warriors of the Faith has gone from 700 to 39 to zero in one day.
Tags: Alarmism, American Geophysical Union, ethics, Los Angeles Times, science fraud
Posted in Alarmism, Behaviour, Climate, Science, Scientific Fraud | Comments Off on American Geophysical Union backs away from the “Warriors of the faith”
November 9, 2010
It would seem that while there may well be a fundamental issue with the Trent 900 as used by Qantas, the manner in which Qantas operates the engines may be a significant contributing factor. Sources indicate that Qantas run their engines “harder” than the other Trent 900 users (Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa) primarily, it seems, for economic reasons. Competitive pressures on airlines as well as those on the engine makers may be coming into play.
Reuters:
Qantas cracking the whip too hard? (image:aerospaceweb.org)
Qantas Airways is reviewing the way it operates its A380 planes after last week’s engine blowout, a source said on Tuesday, amid reports that it worked its Rolls-Royce engines harder than other airlines.
Qantas operates its A380 engines at higher thrust levels, which could result in resonating vibrations that cause oil lines to crack, The Australian newspaper said. The higher maximum thrust setting is used on some Qantas A380 take-offs on long-haul routes between Los Angeles, Sydney and Melbourne than other operators such as Singapore Airlines, the daily said, quoting unnamed engineers. However, the extra thrust setting of 72,000 pounds remained 3,000 pounds below the engine’s design limits and within operating guidelines, it added.
Chief Executive Alan Joyce said on Monday that its engines had a “slightly higher level of power” than those used in Singapore Airlines or Lufthansa planes, but they were certified to operate at those levels. The way Qantas operated the engines was part of a wider review, said an airline source, who was not authorised to talk publicly about the matter. “The operations are one of the things Qantas are reviewing along with the components,” said the source.
Qantas, which declined to comment on the report, said on Friday it suspected a material failure or a design issue may have caused last Thursday’s engine failure over Indonesia which forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Singapore.
Tags: Lufthansa, Qantas, Rolls Royce engine failures, Rolls-Royce plc, Singapore Airlines, Trent 900
Posted in Aviation, Engineering, Technology, Travel | 3 Comments »
November 9, 2010
Anak Krakatau: Image via Wikipedia
Yogyakarta’s Adi Sutjipto domestic and international airport has been closed until at least next Monday Nov. 15, at which time another decision would be made. Despite the ban on civilian and commercial flights in and out of Yogyakarta, the Indonesian Air Force was still operating Hercules flights to deliver aid to the internally displaced.
More than 300,000 people are believed to be housed in government shelters.
Indonesian rescue workers resumed efforts to retrieve bodies of victims from an eruption of Mount Merapi in central Java on Nov. 5, after surface temperatures forced a halt to the search on Monday. More than 320,000 people are housed at evacuation centers outside the 20-kilometer safety zone in four regencies in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, the National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement on its Web site today. Evacuees reached 280,000 people yesterday.
“Volcanic activity is relatively stable this morning compared with yesterday,” said Oka Hamid, a spokesman at Red Cross Indonesia’s Yogyakarta branch. “We recovered two remains in one village but we have to leave another four as the field is hard to reach and they’re all covered with thick ash.”
Meanwhile –
The crater of Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait has expanded to a diameter of 25-26 meters, an Indonesian volcanologist says. The news comes as the frequency of eruptions of the volcano, once misidentified as Krakatoa, increases: On Friday there were 615 eruptions, on Saturday 623 eruptions, and on Sunday 668.
Anton S Pambudi, a official from Banten province monitoring the eruptions, said the eruptions over the past two weeks had changed the shape of the crater. Authorities have warned that several other volcanoes in Indonesia are showing increased signs of activity. These include Mount Karangetang on Siau Island in North Sulawesi and Mount Ibu on Halmahera Island in North Maluku.
Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah said she believed that Anak Krakatau did not pose a threat and that the eruptions, which can be seen from the western tip of Java Island, were interesting to observe.
Philippine Airlines Inc., Emirates, Eva Airways Corp. and Valuair Ltd. resumed flights to Jakarta on Monday after suspending them for two days, PT Angkasa Pura, the Soekarno-Hatta international airport operator said on its Web site. Singapore Airlines Ltd., Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Japan Airlines Corp. restarted services on Sunday.
President Obama arrives in a few hours in Jakarta.
Tags: Anak Krakatau, Indonesia, Mount Merapi, President's Obama's visit to Indonesia
Posted in Environment, Indonesia, International Trade, Investing, Natural Disasters, US, Volcanos | Comments Off on Mount Merapi rumbles on while Anak Krakatau crater expands and Obama flies in to Jakarta
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