Financial Times, Jan 25 (II)

choi

(1) Chris Bryant, Slowdown in Chinese Orders Hits Siemens; General Industrials; Firsrt-quarter net profit down 17%; Chief expects 'mild' recession' in Europe.

(a) In the window of print: E1.6bn  Conglomerate's operating profit from its main sectors

(b) Quote (the only mention of China in the report): "The order slowdown is most severe in China, where new orders dropped by 16 per cent, attributed to a lull in short-cycle businesses, particularly industrial automation.

(c) Note:
(i) industrial (n; First Known Use 1865):
"1a : one that is employed in industry
b : a company engaged in industrial production or service
2: a stock or bond issued by an industrial corporation or enterprise"
www.m-w.com
(ii) Siemens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemens
(was founded by Werner von Siemens in 1847; Headquarters  Munich)

(2) Haig Simonian, Swiss and German Group Power Ahead in Transmission Technology; News analysis; ABB and Siemens are producing systems that offer less power loss.

(a) In the window of print: Siemens forecasr the market will be worth E6bn-E8bn a year in the bext five years

(b) Quote:

"The Swiss and German groups are world leaders in high-voltage direct current (HVDC), the technology for transmitting power at higher voltages and currents over long distances.

"HVDC offers minimal loss of power compared with conventional [AC] transmission, explaining its attraction. ABB developed thec first lines decades ago. But direct curent (DC) transmission fell into disuse because of the ease of alternating current (A)--the power used in our homes.

"Although AC power involves higher transmission losses than DC, this factor was given little importance in industrilised Europe and the US, where power stations are usually close to urban centres and big users, keeping transmission lines short and power losses limited.

"But in China, India, Brazil and other industriliasing countries, it is another story. Surging growth has prompted demand for electricity. However, end users tend to be far from power sources, such as remote river systems and dams.

"Prompted by China and others, the world market for transmission technology, especially HVDC, is growing fast.

"ABB and Siemens [] hold about 80 per cent of the HVDC market

(c) Note:
(i) ABB Group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABB_Group
(a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, and best known for its robotics; ABB resulted from the 1988 merger of the Swedish corporation Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and the Swiss company Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC))
(ii) HVDC Transmission System. Siemens, undated.
http://www.energy.siemens.com/us/en/power-transmission/hvdc/

At least watch the video in the right lower corner titled "The world's first UHV DC transmission" starring China.

(iii) direct current
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_current

Two consecutive paragraphs:

"The first commercial electric power transmission (developed by Thomas Edison in the late nineteenth century) used direct current. Because of the significant advantages of alternating current over direct current in transforming and transmission, electric power distribution is nearly all alternating current today. In the mid 1950s, HVDC transmission was developed, and is now an option instead of long-distance high voltage alternating current systems. For applications requiring direct current, such as third rail power systems, alternating current is distributed to a substation, which utilizes a rectifier to convert the power to direct current. See War of Currents.

"Direct current is used to charge batteries, and in nearly all electronic systems, as the power supply. Very large quantities of direct-current power are used in production of aluminum and other electrochemical processes. Direct current is used for some railway propulsion, especially in urban areas.