There was mixed news on the economic outlook this week, with higher than expected growth in the US service sector in August, but also an unexpected rise in new applications for unemployment benefits.┬á  Figures released by the Institute for Supply Management showed its non-manufacturing index at 50.6 in August, up from 49.5 in July. A figure above 50 signifies growth. ┬á┬á But the Labor Department said new applications for unemployment insurance rose by 15,000 from the previous week, against expectations of a fourth week of falls.

Boeing has secured a 48-hour moratorium to try to fend off a damaging strike by 27,000 assembly workers in Washington, Oregon and Kansas.  ┬á The employees, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, voted Wednesday to reject BoeingÔÇÖs latest pay and benefits package. ┬á┬á Boeing offered its workers an 11 percent pay deal over three years, increasing average pay and benefits by $34,000, but the offer was overwhelmingly rejected.

Coca-Cola, the world's biggest beverage company, is set to acquire China Huiyan Juice Group for $2.5 billion to expand its operations in one of the world's fastest growing markets.  The drinks giant has offered 12.20 Hong Kong dollars per share ($1.56)ÔÇöabout three times HuiyanÔÇÖs closing price last FridayÔÇöin a deal which values the Beijing-based juice producer at around HK$17.9 billion ($2.3 billion).┬á┬á Coca-Cola has also offered to pay for all outstanding convertible bonds and options, bringing the total amount of the deal to as much as $2.5 billion.

The price of crude oil, gold, copper and other commodities has fallen on world markets as hurricane Gustav spared the US Gulf states from the devastation caused by Katrina and Rita in 2005.   ┬á Crude oil for October delivery fell as low as $105.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, 8.7 percent less than on 29 August. Today's trading is combined with yesterday's for settlement purposes because of the Labor Day holiday in the US.

Oak Ridge National LaboratoryKeith Regan learns that the interdisciplinary approach may hold the key to unlocking biofuels that do not compete with food crops. In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels in the transportation realm, biofuels are considered the most viable short-term alternative. However, traditional biofuels made from food stocks such as corn and soy pose their own inherent problem: they create competition for prime farmland and force growers to choose between producing crops for fuel or food.

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center The director of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center tells Keith Regan that itÔÇÖs only a matter of time before the key is found to creating transportation biofuels out of grasses and trees. The current crop of biofuels generates more than its share of heated debate. Created from the sugars in corn and soy, the existing version of ethanol puts transportation needs in competition with food supplies.

Microsoft Corp., the worldÔÇÖs largest software maker, agreed to buy Greenfield Online Inc. for $486 million in a move that will strengthen its search and e-commerce services in Europe. ┬á The acquisition will boost Microsoft into the European market for shopping comparison Web sites that sell computers, cameras and other retail products. ┬á MicrosoftÔÇÖs failed bid for Yahoo! Inc. earlier this year left the software giant searching for ways to catch Google Inc. and boost its Internet business.

A welcoming look at the cityThereÔÇÖs a new rapid transit line coming to ease the congestion of traveling between Vancouver, Richmond and the international airport that serves them, Jane Bird explains to Gary Toushek. The transportation corridor between downtown Vancouver (British Columbia) in the north and downtown Richmond to the south is one of the most congested in the Greater Vancouver area, in both directions.┬áWith its dense neighborhoods, the area encompasses one-third of the regionÔÇÖs jobs and 20 percent of its population.

Getting to the root of biofuelsKeith Regan learns that the interdisciplinary approach may hold the key to unlocking biofuels that do not compete with food crops. In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels in the transportation realm, biofuels are considered the most viable short-term alternative. However, traditional biofuels made from food stocks such as corn and soy pose their own inherent problem: they create competition for prime farmland and force growers to choose between producing crops for fuel or food.