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Barbours moving out of Miss. Governor's Mansion

ncoming Gov. Phil Bryant, says there was no word yet on when Bryant and his wife, Deborah, will move into the mansion in the center of downtown Jackson.

Miss. lawmakers approve 3 job-creation proposals

Gov. Phil Bryant,

"The reason we're coming here, and I'm going to be frank, is the Mississippi farm boys and the farm girls," Correnti said. "I wouldn't trade a Mississippi farm boy or farm girl for any Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, South American."

The Chinese government has directed its Anshan Iron and Steel Group to directly invest in the United States. On May 17, 2010, the company announced a joint venture with Steel Development Co. of Amory, Miss., to build up to five new steel plants in the United States. "Anshan's investment in SDC is the direct result of China's industrial policies," notes Wiley Rein. The 100-percent state-owned enterprise became China's fourth largest steel producer "through government mandated mergers and the receipt of massive government subsidies." China's 2009 "Revitalization Plan," "explicitly identifies Anshan as a recipient of extensive government support in order to strengthen its international competitiveness and to assist Anshan in acquiring strategic resources and establishing operations abroad. . . Anshan is now investing in the U.S. steel market, with the full force and encouragement of the Chinese government." China is stepping up its global strategy. China's government said it invested $43.3 billion overseas in 2009. Through June 2010, overseas investment had reached $55.2 billion. The OECD says these figures are "substantially" underestimated. Chinese foreign mergers and acquisitions have increased by more than 50 percent in the first half of 2010, according to report from China Daily Online. "Chinese investment into the United States jumped 360 percent in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period last year," according to the Wiley Rein report. "In 2009, Chinese enterprises announced new direct investment in the United States of approximately $5 billion, up from $500 million in 2008, and despite a significant global downturn in such investments. Moreover, Chinese firms acquired or announced that they were starting more than 50 U.S. companies in 2009."

uthorizing the bonds clears the way for HCL ClearTech, an Israeli company, to establish its U.S. headquarters in Olive Branch.

HCL ClearTech expects to invest $1 billion to create 800 jobs at an average salary of $67,000 a year.

HCL ClearTech's manufacturing process converts biomass to sugars that are used in industry. The company uses pine trees, among other things, to obtain cellulosic sugars which can be used in producing animal nutrition, cosmetics, lubricants and fuel, among other things. "We were drawn to Mississippi because the wood stocks are substantial," Cuneo said.

Interesting article but, let me shed some light with a few points of fact that nobody in the company will offer. One, at the time this article was posted, Eran was no longer CEO. Eran was deposed and a new CEO was hired in June of 2011. Two, the pilot in Durham was no longer operational (they’re trying to move it elsewhere) and proved nothing along the lines of this process being commercially viable. In actuality, far more was proven to the contrary. Three, the company is woefully behind on researching and proving their proprietary solvent extraction process which is the lynchpin to their success. The reality is they haven’t proven they can reliably make ANY sugar from wood on a pilot level, much less extract the acid THEN recover the acid and solvent. Bottom line, if you’re expecting sugars to be made from wood in Grenada in 2012, and most likely ever, don’t hold your breath. Unfortunately for Khosla, the DOE and the state of Mississippi, they will be forced to realize this in due time.

No problem, Karin. Happy to bring a touch of veritas to the table. Additionally, you could check the HCL CleanTech company website to verify the legitimate CEO is Philippe Lavielle and contact him for comment. You could also reach out to Steve Piccot, Director at Southern Research Institute in Durham, NC, and ask him who authored a certain $9 million DOE grant proposal.