Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/551192
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 AUGUST 2015 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way Obama unveils Clean Power Plan US President Barack Obama has unveiled what he called "the big- gest, most important step we have ever taken" in tackling climate change. The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources. However, opponents in the energy industry have vowed to fight the plan. "I'm convinced no challenge provides a greater threat to the future of the planet," Obama said. "There is such a thing as being too late." The opponents say Obama has declared "a war on coal". Power plants fired by coal provide more than a third of the US electricity supply. The revised plan will aim to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 32% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. "We are the first generation to feel the impacts of climate change, and the last generation to be able to do something about it," Obama said. He likened the plan to taking 166 million cars off the road in terms of environmental impact. He called taking a stand against climate change a "moral obligation". Obama brushed off the notion that the plan is a "War on Coal" that will kill jobs and said he is reinvesting in areas of the US known as "coal country". "'Scaremonging' tactics will not work to stop the proposal," he said. "If we don't do it nobody will. America leads the way forward... that's what this plan is about. This is our moment to get something right and get something right for our kids," he said. Decline in volume of fi sh landings over last year During the second quarter this year, the volume and wholesale value of fi sh landings declined by 24.6 and 18.5 per cent respectively over the comparative period in 2014. Fish landings in the second quarter amounted to 187,078 kilograms, down by 24.6 per cent over the comparative period in 2014. This was due to drops in almost all the landings except for stone bass, which registered an increase of 17.9 per cent. Similarly, the wholesale value of landings declined by 18.5 per cent to €1.5 million. Maltese fishermen landed 169,780 kilograms, a decrease of 22.5 per cent over 2014. Landings of Maltese fishermen accounted for 90.8 per cent of total landings. The two main species landed, swordfish and blue fin tuna, decreased by 14.8 and 45.5 per cent respectively. The wholesale value of fresh fish landings by Maltese fishermen amounted to €1.4 million, a decrease of 16.1 per cent over the same quarter last year. Fish landings by Gozitan fishermen declined by 40.4 per cent over the comparative period a year earlier. This was mainly brought about by drops in blue fin tuna (84.5 per cent) and swordfish (59.5 per cent), as well as in most other species. In contrast, increases of 53.4 and 47.8 per cent were registered for stone bass and bogue respectively. In terms of volume, landings by Gozitan fishermen comprised 9.2 per cent of total landings. Wholesale value amounted to €105,336, a drop of 41.6 per cent over the second quarter of 2014. The quarterly 'All Items' fresh fish price index for the second quarter stood at 149.48 points, an increase of 12.88 points (9.4 per cent) over 2014. The decrease in the supply of fresh fish was reflected in the quarterly 'All Items' fresh fish volume index, which stood at 57.41 points, down by 18.72 points, or 24.6 per cent less over the second quarter last year. Winners of €100,000 TAKEOFF Seed Fund Award 2015 announced The University of Malta and the Ministry for the Economy, Invest- ment and Small Business partnered up to fund technology commercial- isation and start-up growth through the TAKEOFF Seed Fund Award. The Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business has allocated €100,000 in seed funding, to groups of innovators and entrepreneurs, that will help them move their promising ideas forward toward commercialization and creation of high-growth businesses in Malta. The two categories were Proof of Concept and Seed Fund. The beneficiaries of Proof of Concept funding were the commercialisation of a flight optimisation tool, estimated to allow airlines savings of up to 75 kg of fuel, which was awarded €19,500; Micro – CHP (€20,000) a heating system that increases the overall energy efficiency of a generator from about 35% to more than 85%; and for Fluorescent Molecular Probes for sensing pH and pE in Living Cells (€6,000). The following were awarded funding under the Seed Fund category - Thought3D (€15,500) for commercialising their Magigoo product, which helps printing compound adhere to base plates of 3D printers, Studio Fondue (€7,000) for their choice-based, pay-to-play adventure game The Adventures of Scottie, and lift- sharing app Bum a Lift, who are supported by Transport Malta, got €10,000. Other winners were Wormiculture with their sustainable and commercially viable vermicompost process (€15,000) and LawSwot. com (€7,000) service, which helps legal firms to find, nurture and hire law students with outstanding talent. Beneficiaries under both categories were given guidelines as to how the funds are to be utilised, and their progress will be monitored by TAKEOFF and the ministry. "The TAKEOFF Seed Fund 2015 saw 49 applicants and the quality of entries is such that we are seeking further funds to be able to assist budding entrepreneurs. The support we have received from the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses has assisted greatly in providing up-coming innovators and entrepreneurs with the opportunity to reach their next step change and get closer to market or investment " said Andy Linnas, TAKEOFF manager. MtGox CEO arrested in connection with loss of almost $4 million in bitcoin Japanese police have arrested the CEO of the failed company Mt- Gox, which was once the world's biggest ex- change of the virtual currency, bitcoin. Mark Karpeles, 30, is being held in connection with the loss of bitcoins worth $387 million last February. He is suspected of having accessed the exchange's computer system to falsify data on its outstanding balance. MtGox claimed it was caused by a bug but it later filed for bankruptcy. Japan's Kyodo News said a lawyer acting on Karpeles' behalf denied his client had done anything illegal. Karpeles, who was born in France, is suspected of benefiting to the tune of $1 million, the agency said. In March 2014, a month after filing for bankruptcy, MtGox said it had found 200,000 lost bitcoins. The firm said it found the bitcoins – worth around $116 million – in an old digital wallet from 2011. That brings the total number of bitcoins the firm lost down to 650,000 from 850,000. That total amounts to about 7% of all the bitcoins in existence. Bitcoin is a virtual currency built around a complicated cryptographic protocol and a global network of computers that oversees and verifies which coins have been spent by whom. Mark Karpeles President Obama – 'There is such a thing as being too late.'