In the News...

DAIMLER CUTTING MAYBACH CARS

German industrial group Daimler is preparing to disband its ultra-luxurious Maybach car marque.

The decision follows almost a decade of trying to make Maybach a profitable rival to Rolls Royce and Bentley.

Maybach will be replaced by new and more luxurious models from the Mercedes brand, which is also made by Daimler.

Daimler is said to have invested more than 1bn euros in the Maybach brand, which was revived nine years ago after more than 60 years out of production.


COMPUTING IS THE NEW LATIN

The campaign to boost the teaching of computer skills - particularly coding - in schools is gathering force.

Today the likes of Google, Microsoft and other leading technology names will lend their support to the case made to the government earlier this year in a report called Next Gen. It argued that the UK could be a global hub for the video games and special effects industries - but only if its education system got its act together.

The statistics on the numbers going to university to study computing make sobering reading. In 2003 around 16,500 students applied to UCAS for places on computer science courses.

By 2007 that had fallen to just 10,600, and although it's recovered a little to 13,600 last year, that's at a time in major growth in overall applications, so the percentage of students looking to study the subject has fallen from 5% to 3%. What's more, computing science's reputation as a geeky male subject has been reinforced, with the percentage of male applicants rising over the period from 84% to 87%.

But the problem, according to those campaigning for change, begins at school with ICT - a subject seen by its detractors as teaching clerical skills rather than any real understanding of computing.

And it seems school children are getting that message too because the numbers studying the subject are on the decline. The answer, according to the firms and organisations calling for change, is to put proper computer science in the form of coding on the curriculum

HEALTH AND SAFETY RED TAPE TO BE AXED

The government is launching a consultation on the abolition of "large numbers" of health and safety rules following an independent review.

It says it wants to have removed the first regulations from the statute book within a few months.

Following the Lofstedt review, a "challenge panel" is also being created for businesses unhappy with health and safety rulings made against them.

The employment minister said the moves would "root out needless bureaucracy".

The government says there are currently about 200 health and safety regulations, but this will be reduced by more than half over the next three years.


THANKSGIVING BOOSTS SALES IN THE USA

US retail sales figures in the critical Thanksgiving weekend rose 16% versus a year ago to $52.4bn, the National Retail Federation (NRF) has said.

The figures include Black Friday, the first day after the Thanksgiving holiday, when stores reopen.

NRF estimated that 86 million customers shopped online and in-store on Black Friday - the day traders traditionally leave the red and make a profit.

Thanksgiving Day itself saw 29 million shoppers.

According to research by ShopperTrak, provider of retail and mall foot-traffic counting services, Black Friday sales increased 6.6% over the same day last year.

This is equal to $11.4bn in retail purchases, and the biggest dollar amount ever spent during the day.

Retail foot-traffic rose accordingly, by 5.1% over Black Friday 2010.

Analysts are awaiting the results of Monday's trading, known as Cyber Monday, which online retailers including Amazon cite as their biggest business day of the year.