Research-based pharmaceutical industry announced donations of $14 billion treatments this decade to support the elimination or control of nine key neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Averaging 1.4 billion treatments annually, the donations build upon companies’ existing medicines donation programmes which already reach millions of people around the world. Today’s announcement comes in conjunction with an NTD collaboration comprised of pharmaceutical companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US and UKgovernments, international organisations, and endemic countries’ national governments.

At least one billion people worldwide – one person in seven – suffer from NTDs. Each year NTDs disproportionately kill or disable millions of poor people primarily in tropical and subtropical areas.

These donations follow a World Health Organisation (WHO) announcement of new targets for NTDs whose elimination or control is achievable with adequate supply and distribution of the relevant medicines. For maximum impact, these donations focus on those nine NTDs that represent more than 90 percent of the global NTD burden.

“For decades individual pharmaceutical companies have researched, developed, and donated medicines to fight disease and improve patients’ lives,” said Eduardo Pisani, Director-General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA). “Today the research-based pharmaceutical industry jointly pledges a further 14 billion treatments to help end these debilitating diseases. This is our commitment as partners to help end NTDs and improve patient health.”

In addition to medicine donations, the research-based pharmaceutical industry supports the fight against NTDs with capacity-building efforts in developing countries and medical innovation. The research-based pharmaceutical industry was the second largest funder of R&D for neglected diseases in 2010, reaching more than USD 500 million.

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Corvil, a provider of latency management systems for global financial markets has announced significant updates to its CorvilNet platform that will bring the benefits of latency management to multiple trading businesses and support teams in the same organization. This is in response to demand from customers looking to update and consolidate multiple disparate infrastructures into one common low-latency trading infrastructure that can be shared cost effectively across all businesses.

The new release extends the reach of the CorvilNet latency management platform into multiple asset classes and departments. A single CorvilNet installation can now serve multiple departments with the relevant analysis and metrics for their business needs.

Executives, trading desks, trade support teams and infrastructure teams will now have one-click access to CorvilNet with real-time and historical views, tailored to their specific requirements. These views also include the option to restrict access to specific order flow. For example, multiple trading desks across asset classes can share a single CorvilNet deployment with the assurance that other trading desks cannot access their order flow analysis.

Donal O’Sullivan, VP Product Management Corvil said, “By replacing several outdated monitoring systems with a single latency management platform, which is flexible enough to meet the needs of the entire organisation, our customers are achieving considerable cost savings.”

One of the users is Deutsche Borse, which is refreshing its global latency monitoring system and adding new capabilities for its recent 10G co-location service with the latest version of the CorvilNet platform.

“CorvilNet provides both our customers and us with a complete and comprehensive latency insight of Deutsche Borse Group‘s markets. With the upgrade to the new CorvilNet system we renew our commitment to offer the best services to our customers,” said Matthias Kluber, Executive Vice President Deutsche Borse, responsible for Networks and Infrastructure.

Other highlights in the release include the CorvilNet Latency Feed; which allows real-time multicast distribution of CorvilNet latency data; distributed multi-hop analysis; time of day alerting and zero traffic alerts, e.g. when market data or trading sessions fail.

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IMAX and SPI Cinemas Private Limited (SPI) have announced an agreement to install four digital IMAX theatre systems in new SPI Cinemas complexes across India.

The deal brings the total number of commercial IMAX theatres open or contracted to open in India to 13.

The local Indian film market currently ranks number one in the world for attendance and film production with over 1,000 films produced a year and approximately 90 per cent of revenues derived from non-English language movies.  Recent reports project the country’s film industry to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $5 billion by 2014.

“We are pleased to expand our relationship with SPI in India,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond.  ”Not only is SPI Cinemas’ commitment to offering cutting-edge entertainment experiences perfectly aligned with the IMAX brand, but this agreement puts us in position to consider the local release of Bollywood films, which will be key to the success and growth of IMAX in this strategically important region of world.”

“SPI is a leading player in the Indian exhibition industry, with multiplexes that have some of the highest attendance rates.  Today’s agreement will bring IMAX theatres into their new multiplexes, which will be located in high-growth areas,” said Don Savant, IMAX’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific. “Our unparalleled technology, worldwide brand and exciting film slate coupled with SPI’s state-of-the art multiplexes are sure to thrill audiences across India and we are pleased to join forces with them once again.”

IMAX’s digital projection system delivers The IMAX Experience and helps drive profitability for studios, exhibitors and IMAX theatres by eliminating the need for film prints, increasing program flexibility and ultimately increasing the number of movies shown on IMAX screens.

SPI Cinemas is a leading player in the Indian entertainment industry offering services such as exhibition, distribution and production.  It is also one of the key distributors of films in Tamil Nadu and has forayed into the music business with Think Music to distribute Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film sound tracks via digital media and Purplenote to distribute non-film contemporary music.

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“THE WORLD HAS CHANGED” emphasized TigerSwan CEO and former Delta Force Officer, James Reese, to a large gathering of corporate executives.  ”From data privacy breaches to cyber espionage, corporations combat crises on a daily basis,” said Reese. “As a result, detecting, mitigating and managing these threats are a necessity.”

As companies expand internationally, more CEO’s and Corporate Risk Boards seek vulnerability management services to protect their businesses from global threats. Vulnerabilityidentification and management helps companies protect valuable information, including intellectual property, trade secrets and customer data.

TigerSwan’s Vulnerability Management Service, NIFE-VM evaluates both internal and external threats from an asymmetric, holistic approach rather than the traditional linear audit approach. The comprehensive service evaluates company systems across the spectrum of business operations, including computer and enterprise networks, SCADA, social media, human resources, legal policy compliance, executive and employee protection, facility security, and personal electronics and phones.

Its executives have extensive military experience.  As special operations officers, they were involved in defeating major threat networks around the world, such as terrorist organizations, drug cartels, insurgent groups, and international war criminals.

Due to the high demand for these services, TigerSwan and its joint venture partners, Kaizen Technologies and Santa Monica Financial have formed TigerSwan Vulnerability Management Services Private LTD, based in Mumbai. This new Indian registered company offers the full spectrum of vulnerability management services, as well as law enforcement and military training.

TigerSwan is a global leader in vulnerability management, employing more than 350 multi-cultural specialists worldwide with offices in the U.S., Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Japan and India.  Through incorporation of cutting edge technology, techniques, and personnel, TigerSwan provides its clients with a comprehensive approach to combat a wide-range of threats.

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Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Limited, the country’s largest dedicated polyester manufacturer and Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), Thailand‘s largest Polyester producer, signed a MoU to construct a world-class, state-of-the-art and integrated facility in India containing PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid), PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) and PSF (Polyester Staple Fiber) plants on January 25, 2012.

The MoU signed in the presence of Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra during her official visit, is the single largest Thai investment in India.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. O. P. Lohia Chairman & Managing Director, Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Limited said, “The PET and PSF market in India is poised for growth with global consumer goods companies aggressively looking Asian markets for growth. India is currently in short supply and a net importer of PTA. This plant will help us serve our customer locally and expand our markets globally. This plant will be strategic to our company’s growth over the next decade. We will soon identify suitable place and commence operations.”

“India today is a fast-growing market that is demanding attention from the world’s fast moving consumer goods companies, who are our customers. It is imperative that we are there to serve these customers and the emerging local producers who will be consuming more and more PET and PSF over the next decade. We are looking at the long term double digit growth in demand for such products and feel this is the right time to move into the market,”  Aloke Lohia, Group CEO and founder of Indorama Ventures said.

PET is commonly used in food and drinks packaging and is familiar to all as the bottles from which people consumer water and soft drinks. PSF is a polyester alternative to natural fibers and allows the manufacturers of clothing and other soft products to produce low-cost items ideally suited to a large and growing population. PTA is the major raw material used in the production of both PET and PSF.

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Obzerv Technologies Inc. has received a contract from Bharat Electronics Ltd. to supply 46 ARGC-2400 cameras. Obzerv’s electro-optic cameras will be integrated by Bangalore-based defense Public Sector Company Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) in a multi sensors Coastal Surveillance System.

a ARGC-2400 cameras

Each system to be supplied to Indian Coastguard will include: the ARGC-2400, a thermal imager, a radar station and meteorological sensors, all of which will be mounted on lighthouses and towers.

While the radars and thermal imagers will be dedicated to the detection and location of intrusions from the sea, the ARGC-2400 cameras will be used to classify and identify those targets to provide situational awareness and the ability to counter a threat.

Ever since the 2008 Mumbai attack, the Indian Coast Guard’s mandate was to find the best surveillance solution including a camera system operating day and night to identify any suspect vessel at long distances.

The Coast Guard selected BEL to provide such turnkey surveillance solution, which in turn selected an Electro Optic System based on Obzerv ARGC-2400 camera after an international competition lasting many months.

To reach the high level of suitable operational capability, a surveillance system must free operators from major environmental constraints and overcome the limitations of current sensors such has standard CCD, ICCD and thermal imagers.

Among many features, the main advantage of the long-range night vision cameras developed by Obzerv is their capabilities to perform long-range identification using Obzerv’s unique Patent Pending pulse laser source.

Compared to thermal cameras, Obzerv cameras collect the reflection of the laser pulse from the target, which allows any registration mark to be read as well as scene or targets to be observed regardless of their body temperature. A range-gated camera becomes particularly efficient during overcast nights and in degraded weather conditions frequently encountered in coastal surveillance application.

This program is the first phase of the Indian coastal surveillance project designed to cover the entire coast.

“Nowadays, long-range identification of a potential threat is of the utmost importance and the ARGC-2400 is up for the challenge. This contract confirms again the unique capabilities and versatilities of our cameras” Alain Laflamme, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing of Obzerv Technologies said.

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FxPro Financial Services Ltd (‘FxPro’), a global forex broker has said that the business for 2011 and Q4 2011 specifically has recorded a grwoth of 11 per cent with volumes reaching $1.18 trillion as against $1.07 trillion in 2010. This was the second consecutive year of double digit growth.

In 2011, FxPro’s business from Asia contributed 51.2% to total trading volumes up from 43.8% in 2010. European trading volumes accounted for 33.6% down from 39.4% in 2010. Middle East and Africa contributed for 12%, with the remaining 3.2% coming from the rest of the world.

Revenue per million traded in 2011 was $71.4 slightly lower than 2010 during which FxPro registered $75 per million traded. Volume traded in Q4 2011 was $298 billion, down by 1.32% from Q3 2011 and 17.79% higher than the corresponding quarter in 2010, FxPro release said.

“As a leading global forex broker, FxPro had another record year in 2011. The scale of the volatility in the market offered traders great opportunities but it was more important than ever to provide them with all the tools and resources they need to trade successfully. In 2011 we had a number of new business initiatives, including our unique ECN solution – FxPro cTrader – which allows direct market access, we expanded our operations with the opening of an office in Sydney, Australia and we launched our institutional services, aiming to service and support a number of financial institutions in the forex market. In 2012 we will continue to enhance our offering in order to achieve our goal of being the world’s preferred forex broker,” Denis Sukhotin, Founder of FxPro said.

The most traded currency pair was EUR/USD with accounted for 50% of volumes, with GBP/USD representing only 17% and AUD/USD 8.8%. AUD/USD continues to show increased activity in Q3 it only contributed 5% of total volumes (an increase of 76%).

In Q4 clients from Asia continued to account for 50% of total volumes traded, the same as Q3. European client contribution decreased from 34% to 32% in Q4. Trading volumes from clients in the Middle East & Africa and the rest of the world increased to 13% and 5% from 12% and 4% respectively.

At the end of Q4 FxPro had 18,337 tradable accounts up from 17,932 at the end of Q3 2011.

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China Sunergy Co, a specialized solar cell and module manufacturer has announced that a solar PV project in Guajarat, India including China Sunergy’s solar panels was successfully connected to the grid.

The 25 MW Project, of which 13 MW of high quality solar modules were supplied by China Sunergy, was completed in partnership with Visual Percept Solar Projects Pvt. Ltd (“Visual Percept”).

China Sunergy entered into its strategic partnership with Visual Percept, one of the leading solar project developers in India, last year. The CSUN solar modules deployed in the newly commissioned Project were supplied to Visual Percept in August 2011.

Stephen Cai, China Sunergy’s CEO commented, “The Indian solar industry has huge potential, and the country is keen to expand its alternative energy usage.  We are very committed to this market, and are very pleased that this project is now up and running, which is a testament to our reliable product quality. China Sunergy is not only further diversifying its geographic focus but also endeavoring to create better life for people all across the globe with our value-added products.”

“China Sunergy’s high performance products and dedicated service strongly impressed us. We look forward to working with China Sunergy on future projects to realize India’s National Solar Mission,” Akash Bhanshali, Director of Visual Percept’s parent company said.

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Indian users can now make free calls from their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android phones to others across the world and also use their premium service to make very cheap calls to all fixed and mobile phones.

Sweden based company freephoo launched their free mobile VoIP application in India that enables users to make free calls from their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android phones free of cost using the WiFi or 3G network.

On downloading freephoo the user can access his existing mobile number and phonebook to make free calls to other freephoo users. And using freephoo premium services, the user can make low priced calls t­­­o both fixed and mobile phones.

Freephoo uses the fast growing technology; mobile VoIP. Freephoo offers superHD sound quality that allows users to make very high audio quality calls and now also supports free calls to Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections.

Pandelis Eliopoulos, Co-founder at freephoo said, “We are very happy to launch our application in India as it is an important market for us. We hope our Indian users are delighted by our easy-to-use app, its superior sound quality and social features. We understand that people are building and maintaining relationships through their social networks, so the phonebook is no longer the only source for contacts. We are very pleased to give our users the opportunity to call their Facebook and LinkedIn contacts too.”

Founded in 2008, by entrepreneurs from the telecom and Internet industry in Sweden, freephoo has a very strong connection to India as the company investors include co-founders of Nevales Networks – Kaushik Thakkar, a seasoned entrepreneur, Sunija Rishi, a marketing specialist and Ravishankar, an experienced banker.

Freephoo has been launched successfully in many markets. In the Apple App Store, freephoo reached No 1 on the Top Free Apps list, No 1 on the Top Social App list and was the No 1 Top Grossing app, listed as “New and Noteworthy” and “What’s Hot” In 15 markets. Freephoo was also appointed “App of the Day” by Macworld Sweden.

“We are very pleased with the market response and plan to continue adding new countries with a fast pace since the demand for our service is high”, Pandelis added.

Freephoo is one of the first applications on App Store that enables the user to purchase premium minutes through Apple’s own payment system (In-App-Purchase). It gives the user the possibility to make low cost calls to billions of mobile and fixed phones in a great range of countries.

It is currently available in: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brunei, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, FYR Macedonia, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

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ABB, the global power and automation technology group, has won an order worth around $160 million from Svenska Kraftnät, the national grid operator, to provide a new high-voltage underground cable system for the South-West Link power transmission project in southern Sweden.

When completed in 2014, this will be the longest and most powerful underground cable link in the world. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The main objective of the new transmission system is to enhance capacity and strengthen the reliability of the national power grid. It will help boost transmission capacity in the south of the country and between Sweden and Norway. The link will also facilitate the future integration of large-scale wind power into the Swedish power network.

ABB’s underground HVDC cable system will have the capacity to transport 2 x 660 megawatts (MW) of electric power at a voltage level of 300 kilovolts (kV) across a distance of about 200 kilometers between Barkaryd and Hurva in southern Sweden. ABB is responsible for the design, engineering, manufacture, supply and installation of the entire cable system, including terminations, joints and other accessories.

“This cable solution will boost power capacity, facilitate power exchange and help integrate more renewable energy,” said Peter Leupp, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. “It will also reduce the impact of power system disturbances and contribute to the stability and reliability of the grid. ABB continues to build on its legacy of pioneering technology and setting global benchmarks.”

ABB recently announced investments of $90 million and $400 million in the US and Sweden to increase production capacity of land and subsea cables respectively.

To issue CHF 350 mn bond

It has announced a new issuance of CHF350 million 1.50 per cent notes due in 2018.  The net proceeds of the issue will be used for general corporate purposes.

The Notes will be issued by ABB Ltd, which is incorporated in Switzerland and is the ultimate holding company of the ABB Group.

Issuance will take place on or around January 23, 2012, which is the expected settlement date of the Notes.

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