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"This is a seasonally slow time of year and the Olympics have had a big effect," said Michael Widmer, analyst at Lehman Brothers. "Demand for copper should pick up as we go into September, we may see some restocking in China."

The trendspotters at JWT are predicting: - The mobile device as everything hub: Mobile rules. If you're a marketer, take note, made-for-PC sites don't make the cut for a mobile experience. - Customizable mobile: Apple's iPhone made mobile applications all the rage and other smartphone makers are having to follow suit. JWT says watch for more open mobile systems and an "onslaught" of mobile apps. - Decline of email: If you've tried emailing a teen lately you may have noticed that's considered only slightly less old-school than two tin cans and a string when it comes to communications. Text messaging, social networks like Facebook and Twitter are increasingly preferred by email recipients who are ready to cry uncle under the weight of their inboxes. According to JWT, after a decade of dominance, email will gradually be eclipsed by more efficient, manageable solutions. Hear, hear. - Cloud Computing: Software, storage -- everything we needed in our desktop computers or carried around in our laptops is now in the 'cloud.' Wikipedia calls the cloud a metaphor for the Internet, an explanation that is difficult to convey to new users. I found myself trying to explain this to a friend as I was helping her set up a netbook she received as a Christmas present. She wanted to know: Was it on the computer? On a disk? On a USB drive? I just waved my hands in the air and said 'it's all on the Internet now.' That, plus the appearance of 600 of her holiday photos on an online photo site seemed to convince her. - Social networking for jobseekers: With companies handing out more pink slips than Christmas bonuses in the past month or so, jobseekers who know how to maximize the benefits of such sites as LinkedIn and others will find those social networking skills could come in handy. - Web/TV convergence: This prediction has been paraded out in one form or another for quite a while and no telling if 2009 will be its year. The convergence of entertainment media on one viewing device

The aim of this project, known as Sormen, is to develop a technology for the separation of scrap metal from electronic waste based on a multispectral vision system and incorporate it into a recycling plant. This new machine overcomes the limitations of current, essentially manual, methods that are labour-intensive and time-consuming, and which are unable to separate metals whose characteristics of colour, shape and weight are similar.

Renewable energy needs to become a lot more renewable - a theme that emerged at the Financial Times Energy Conference in London this week.

The first superconductor transmission cable in a commercial power grid was installed on Long Island last year-and the next stop is New York City. Project Hydra (the code name for the Manhattan grid upgrade scheduled to start in 2010) will use American Superconductor's liquid-nitrogen-cooled Secure Super Grid cables, which can transfer 10 times more power than conventional copper cable, with lower impedance.

Dave has vowed to par down his belongings and live with just 100 things by November 12, 2008 and carry on this way for a year. This is an awesome and inspiring project- and based on the internet buzz, including coverage in Time Magazine , hundreds of people agree. It seems this guy, Dave has become a bit of a hero.

The price rises have added to explosives companies' profits but for miners it is an added cost, along with higher diesel, energy and labor expenses, narrowing their margins at a time when metals and coal are in big demand.

New Scientist recently reported that a UK company is developing a microscope on a chip four times more powerful than the best scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) available today.

The Financial Times is delighted to be running our 2008 seasonal appeal, launched this week in support of WaterAid, which helps some of the world's poorest people get access to safe water and sanitation.\n\nIn recent weeks, FT reporters and photographers have taken a close look at WaterAid's operations on the ground in some of the least developed parts of Africa and Asia. They will report on the many aspects of its work over the next month in both the Weekend FT and the weekday paper.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics is considering cutting its business investment next year to cope with the global slowdown, the Korea Times reported on Thursday.

WASHINGTON: Scientists at the University at Buffalo Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs), which are thousands of times stronger than metals, may one day replace metals in millions of electronic applications.

Unable to retrench like their unregulated counterparts, utilities are investing more than they were just a few years ago while paying record spreads over risk-free rates for financing. At the same time, revenues are under pressure due to softening power prices and an economically driven drop in demand. The past three months have seen a 1.8 per cent drop in US power usage versus the same period a year ago, according to the Edison Electric Institute. Adding insult to injury, Macquarie Research reckons regulators might become less generous when setting rates since compressed Treasury note yields may be used to justify a lower regulated return on equity.

Mr Obama's stimulus includes calls for $38bn in direct government spending and $18bn in tax breaks for clean energy spread over the next 10 years, according to Dewey & LeBoeuf, the law firm. Owners of solar, wind, and other clean energy facilities will be able to claim tax credits against the cost of new equipment, helping attract big institutional investors who have been put off investing in clean energy because of uncertainty about taxes. But the short timeframe - credits can only be claimed for projects that are up and running within the next three to four years - means projects still on the drawing board may not be ready in time to qualify.

If you don't know what an OLED is by now, we're here to help, because it's time you informed yourself. It stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode, and it's one of the biggest up and coming technologies. You may also have heard it refered to as a Light Emitting Polymer (LEP) or Organic Electro-Luminescence (OEL).

From the end of this month, BT will start upgrading its exchange to provide broadband connections running at up to 24 megabits per second - three times the present limit of 8Mbps - thanks to a technology called ADSL2+, which transmits the data signal down the line on a carrier frequency twice as high as the present ADSL2.

Europe's focus on bulk chemical manufacture may have faded in recent times, but 2009 is proving to be the year of new advanced materials launches - particularly where high-performance and specialist qualities are demanded by customers. Sean Ottewell reports.

BOSTON - There's gold in the sea floor. Silver, copper, zinc and lead, too. The problem is, it's a mile or two underwater and encased in massive mineral deposits that layer a dark, mysterious world. But new technology and worldwide demand have combined to make mining for these metals economically feasible for the first time. A breakthrough project is moving forward in New Guinea, and new rules to govern deep ocean mining will be set by an international authority this spring.