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BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Abu Dhabi investment agency Mubadala Development Co said on Tuesday they have entered into an $8 billion joint venture with an initial focus on providing commercial finance in the Middle East and Africa.The two companies also plan to work together in the clean energy and water, aviation, and oil and gas sectors, they said."This partnership is consistent with our global growth initiatives and builds on our long-term relationships in a high-growth region like the Middle East," said Jeff Immelt, chief executive of GE, the second-largest U.S. company by market value.The companies said Mubadala "plans over time" to become one of the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company's ten largest shareholders, by acquiring shares in the open market.They also aim to establish a clean energy technology center in Masdar City, a new city in Abu Dhabi that aims to be carbon neutral. GE plans to commit up to $50 million for Masdar's second clean-tech fund.Growth in the Middle East has been a major thrust for GE in recent years. Last year the company generated $5 billion in revenue in the region, up 50 percent from the prior year.

The London Stock Exchange listed Indian company, Vedanta, will build a US$15M (Dh55M) continuous copper rod plant with annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes in Fujairah, UAE, which will be operational by December to capture the strong demand from regional infrastructure projects. Copper rods manufactured by the plant will be used in cables for power grids for the region and the company is expecting more demand coming from not only the UAE and the GCC but the whole Middle East.

Cosmetics major Coty has selected Middle East-based online retailer Jollychic to enhance its online presence and shopping experience for customers.

A new era for commodities Cheap resources underpinned economic growth for much of the 20th century. The 21st will be different. NOVEMBER 2011 * Richard Dobbs, Jeremy Oppenheim, and Fraser Thompson Source: McKinsey Global Institute, Sustainability & Resource Productivity Practice In This Article Exhibit: In little more than a decade, soaring commodity prices have erased a century of steady declines. About the authors Comments (2) Has the global economy entered an era of persistently high, volatile commodity prices? Our research shows that during the past eight years alone, they have undone the decline of the previous century, rising to levels not seen since the early 1900s (exhibit). In addition, volatility is now greater than at any time since the oil-shocked 1970s because commodity prices increasingly move in lockstep. Our analysis suggests that they will remain high and volatile for at least the next 20 years if current trends hold-barring a major macroeconomic shock-as global resource markets oscillate in response to surging global demand and inelastic supplies. Back to top Demand for energy, food, metals, and water should rise inexorably as three billion new middle-class consumers emerge in the next two decades.1 The global car fleet, for example, is expected almost to double, to 1.7 billion, by 2030. In India, we expect calorie intake per person to rise by 20 percent during that period, while per capita meat consumption in China could increase by 60 percent, to 80 kilograms (176 pounds) a year. Demand for urban infrastructure also will soar. China, for example, could annually add floor space totaling 2.5 times the entire residential and commercial square footage of the city of Chicago, while India could add floor space equal to another Chicago every year. Such dramatic growth in demand for commodities actually isn't unusual. Similar factors were at play throughout the 20th century as the planet's population tripled and demand for various resource

Superior Essex has announced it is to close its magnet wire plant in Chauny, France at a cost of €12 million ($18.8 million). The plant, which dates back to 1922, was bought by Superior last year and operates under the company's Essex SAS subsidiary. The closure of the plant will bring production capacity in line with demand the company said. Just under $16 million of the charges related to the closure is for employee severance costs with the rest for equipment relocation and disposal. A review of the plant began three months ago before the sale of Superior Essex to LS Cable was agreed. Meanwhile LS Cable said its first half operating profit increased by over 50% with the Middle East and China leading global demand through the development of utilities and phone lines to meet power needs and internet usage. The chief executive of LS Cable, Christopher Koo, said orders from the Middle East are likely to increase by 80% this year to $450 million. Mr Koo said he expects global cable demand to increase by 4% a year to 2011, with China increasing by 8% annually.

US speciality brass mill Ansonia Copper and Brass Inc. has announced that it will lay off 85 of the 102 employees at its Liberty Street, Ansonia, factory in Connecticut. The plant manufactures copper alloy rod and wires. Company President Raymond McGee said "it's a very, very difficult situation". He blamed the redundancies, on top of 76 employees laid off in April 2007, on the company's struggle with escalating costs. Since 2002 electricity costs have soared 239%, natural gas 200%, fuel oil 125%, and copper and nickel 500% apiece. Ansonia's other facility in Waterbury, CT, which manufacturers copper alloy tube is unaffected by the announcement.

Further evidence of the impact of the North American economic slowdown on copper demand has recently been published by the ABMS and government statistical bodies. North American copper wirerod production plummeted 9.6% year-on-year to 174,000 tonnes in April. Output had been on a downward trend but the magnitude of the deterioration in April has still come as something of a surprise. A year-on-year increase of 2.0% in North American output January had been followed a 1.0% fall in February and a 2.7% drop in March. In April Canadian output was flat year-on-year due to improving export sales to the US, while US production fell 9.8% year-on-year and Mexican shipments slumped by 17.5%. On a year-to-date basis North American wirerod production was 2.9% lower in the four months to April 2008. Weakening demand from the automotive industry, coupled with a resurgance in copper prices and the return of Russian wirerod imports has clearly led to a deteriorating market situation for domestic mills.

Mueller Industries second quarter results highlight the tough times that the US brass mill industry is facing, but that companies can still operate profitably in a challenging market environment. The company's plumbing and refrigeration segment saw sales fall 11% to US$404m, while its operating profits dropped 32% to US$35m. The company blamed lower shipment volumes and lower spreads for the weaker performance. Sales at the company's OEM division, which includes its brass rod activities, rose 10% year-on-year to US$354m, while its operating profits rose 5% to US$19m. The improvement here is due to acquisition of Extruded Metals. Commenting on the results Harvey Karp, Chairman of Mueller Industries said "Mueller's earnings for the first half of 2008 were achieved despite the continuing decline in the housing industry, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, the turbulence in the financial markets, rising metal costs, sky-high energy prices and a slowing national economy. Considering these adverse circumstances, we are pleased with the results."

Another advance on the solar energy front. The article itself summarises the importance of this article "while we do not pretend to understand the nitty gritty of dye usage and other such nonsense, we do know that such a system could eventually attain 15% or so efficiency, providing a nice and clean way to gather power for that fuel cell car of the future".

According to a recent report published by Global Industry Analysts, the global copper tube and pipe market will exceed 3.6 million tonnes by 2015. While mature regions such as North America, Western Europe and Japan exhibit flat or negative growth, emerging economies in Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe and the Middle East will generate significant prospects for the copper tube and pipe industry. The fastest growth will be realised in China because of its ongoing industrialisation and urbanisation activity.

Amid the global economic crisis, one sector that has not contracted but has actually expanded is the utilities infrastructure in the Middle East. The government of Dubai announced in January that it will spend AED 37.7 billion (US$10.3 billion) as part of its 2009 budget. A considerable part will be spent on infrastructure projects and power networks will be a significant portion of this plan. According to data provided by Dow Wire and Cable, the regional demand for medium and high voltage cables amounts to 270,000 km and this is expected to rise in the next 2-3 years. While there is still growing demand for medium and high voltage cables, there is currently shrinking demand for smaller products such as building wire.

LS Cable may see a 5% y-o-y fall in its copper consumption in the current year. This will be the second consecutive year that copper consumption dropped, as the company already experienced a 5% y-o-y plunge in 2008 to 270,000t. Copper accounts for about 30% of the company's production costs. LS Cable has announced that it is focusing on higher value added products such as underground and extra high-voltage cables in developing regions including the Middle East, China and other Asian countries.

"Globally, Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects $7.7 trillion to be invested in new generating capacity by 2030, with 66% of that going on renewable technologies including hydro. Out of the $5.1 trillion to be spent on renewables, Asia-Pacific will account for $2.5 trillion, the Americas $816bn, Europe $967bn and the rest of the world including Middle East and Africa $818bn. Fossil fuels will retain the biggest share of power generation by 2030 at 44%, albeit down from 64% in 2013. Some 1,073GW of new coal, gas and oil capacity worldwide will be added over the next 16 years, excluding replacement plant."

"China has regained its title as the world's biggest economy, overtaking the US in purchasing power terms for the first time in 125 years, but this growing suburb provides a stark example of the mounting problems the country faces. The restoration of its pre-eminent position comes just as China steps into the so-called "middle-income trap" and as serious stresses built up over the past few years threaten to come to a head."

"2014 was marked by strong volatility in both economic and political terms: South America and Australia saw worsening conditions in the cable market. In Europe, the market for commodity products contracted whereas the industrial applications market improved. North America began to pick up. Markets in the Middle East and Russia were weighed down by political tensions."