| Experian offers credit freeze facility from November 1
Consumer credit reporting bureau Experian has announced that it will be offering its customers in 50 states and the District of Columbia, the chance to freeze their credit histories starting November 1. Experian is the second firm after TransUnion to offer consumers the option of freezing their credit histories. By freezing histories, consumers can block access to their reports by new creditors. The company said that it would be charging $10 every time a consumer wants to freeze his/her history temporarily or permanently. "It will be one option among a broad range of fraud-assistance tools we already provide to consumers so that they may make the choice best suited to their situation," said Kerry Williams, group president of credit services and decision analytics business at Experian. "Now that a national model for file freezing has emerged, Experian is offering this option to help prevent consumer confusion." TransUnion was the first company to offer this option, which will come into effect starting October 15.
Hydrogen study fuels possibilities
One of the latest advances comes from the lab of Bruce Logan, who is also director of the Penn State center. An energetic, bearded fellow who drives a Toyota Prius hybrid but who usually walks more than a mile from home to school, Logan studies how to "make" hydrogen. It's the most plentiful element in the universe, but it is generally bonded to other elements such as carbon and (in the case of water) oxygen. So these molecules must be broken apart - a process that requires a fair amount of energy, especially in the case of splitting water. Not so good when the end goal is to make energy. For now, hydrogen is most often produced by using steam to "reform" natural gas - which consists mainly of methane, a hydrocarbon. But that's a fossil fuel, and the process releases heat-trapping greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming.
Woolies makes top 25 global retailer list
THE nation's number one retailer, Woolworths, is the first Australian company to break into the top 25 global retailers list, according to a report. The Deloitte 2008 Global Powers of Retailing report, which identified the 250 largest retailers globally for 2006/07, noted Woolworths jumped from 29th place to 25th place in the year, while its competitor, Coles Group, slipped one spot to 31st place. Both Australian retail giants remained in third and fourth places, respectively, in the Asia-Pacific top 10, the report showed. Woolworths had compound annual sales rates for the past five years at 11.8 per cent while Coles Group, which has just been bought by Wesfarmers, was at 7.5 per cent. Deloitte Australia's consumer business leader Andrew Griffiths said both retailers were punching above their weight given the size of the Australian market.
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