The cool valleys of Darjeeling produce some of the best teas in the world, delicate little leaves so delicious that some call them the "champagne of teas." But you don't need to taste them to know how much they are valued. At Happy Valley tea estate, perched at 6,800 ft. (2,100 m) where the Himalayas snake into India between Nepal and Bhutan, workers harvest the autumn flush, plucking each tip of dwi paat suiro--two leaves and a bud--as if it were worth its weight in gold. As the sun sets on the looming Mount Kanchenjunga and a lazy mist begins to settle, pickers carefully empty their bamboo baskets and take in their loads to be weighed. One man swiftly but keenly examines the leaves before each worker signs in her day's pickings.

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ArcelorMittal , the world’s largest steel maker , raised its stake in the China Oriental Group to more than 73 percent, becoming the first foreign company to take control of a Chinese steel maker.

Arcelor raised its interest in China Oriental from 28.03 percent, according to the stock exchange filing, but no financial terms were released.

 The world's largest steel firm, ArcelorMittal , has seen quarterly profits jump thanks to high steel prices and demand from new markets.

Although Asia is still a major region where ArcelorMittal does not have a large presence, and they need to increase their exposure in this fast-growing region

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Twenty-five years after the compact disc was launched, there is something of a buzz about the format it was supposed to replace – the humble vinyl disc . Sales of 7in vinyl singles have risen fivefold since 2001, according to the BPI, the record industry’s trade body, buoyed by trendy bands issuing collectable vinyl products and the continued high prices of CD singles, a nonsense in the era of the download.

After years of running his own business, Paolo Vitelli has decided to commission his own yacht.
"I want to create my own monument," the 60-year-old Italian entrepreneur says as he gazes across the sprawling engineering ship building yard, where a massive crane is getting ready to lower yet another multi-storey motor yacht into the harbour's choppy waters.

Mr Vitelli has chosen a relatively modest yacht; a 103 feet long Azimut sports yacht, with a list price of 7m euros ($10m £5m).

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Samsung says it's work force has declined, for the first time in 5 years, though it's not due to restructuring

The number of engineers and employees at Samsung Electronics has fallen for the first time in five years, the company said Monday, though it emphasized the reductions were not part of any broader restructuring.

Samsung had 1,630 fewer workers as of Sept. 30 compared with the total six months earlier, Samsung spokeswoman Lee Eun-hee said, citing figures reported last week to South Korea's financial regulator. She emphasized, however, that the work force reduction was natural and not part of a larger restructuring as suggested by South Korean media reports.

"It has nothing to do with downsizing," she said, adding that those who left did so voluntarily.

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Gap has begun an effort to rebuild its reputation after a child-labor scandal in India , announcing a package of measures on Thursday intended to tighten its commitment to eradicating the exploitation of children in the manufacture of its goods.

Embarrassed by reports that some GapKids clothes had been hand-embroidered by child workers in Delhi, Gap said it would refine its procedures to ensure that items made in textile workshops in India were not being produced by children.

It also announced a grant of $200,000 to improve working conditions and said it would hold an international conference next year to come up with improved engineering and solutions for issues related to child labor.

China's automakers aren't fooling around when it comes to aggressive growth.  While you don't hear much enthusiasm from European or North American automakers about the market on the African continent, There's already at least two Chinese carmakers who've set up engineering and assembly there,  as a way to expand beyond the borders of their home country. Holland Car is the first car assembly plant in Ethiopia , and it's kicking out a renamed Lifan 520.

Deals have been done to lift the tax currently levied on car parts intended to be used for assembly 

 First the planes and then the engines to make them fly

 LONDON -- U.K. engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Group on Monday said the aircraft leasing arm of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has placed an order for Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines to power a new fleet of 30 Airbus A350 XWB

The world still trusts the good quality of China's products despite a string of recalls in recent months, a senior Chinese official said Monday.

Although recent months have seen a string of quality issues. 

 Smart Manufacturing,  Smart Engineering - more than one way to skin a cat --

 When the sleeping giant stirs !! - Lets hope that Engineering and Manufacturing  feature strongly --

 The number of new jobs created in the US leapt dramatically in October with employers adding 166,000 posts, twice the expected number.

 OVER the past two years, North America's three biggest car companies promised that their plans to slash almost 80,000 engineering and manufacturing jobs and close more than two dozen plants would be enough to transform them into leaner and nimbler competitors.  However, Chrysler and Ford are the biggest losers as U.S. auto sales slump worsens

 It would be funny if it wasn't so serious - but a thriving "underground" industry with enormous challenges for the security engineers --

 Another engineering hiccup dents the cast iron veneer of supremacy as

 TOYOTA has again been hit by an embarrassing fault in a new model, with all Australian dealers being ordered to stop selling the new V6-powered RAV4 compact four-wheel-drive model

 U.S. Steel Corp . said Tuesday that third-quarter net income plunged 35 percent versus a year ago because of lower prices for its steel and tubular products, lower shipments and engineering plant outages in Europe.

 Industrial equipment manufacturers are at a crossroads according to the Second Annual Survey on Global Operations by Accenture. For some, the market is barely growing. Industrial and engineering machinery, for example, experienced zero growth between 2000 and 2005. Other sectors -- electrical equipment; plant automation; and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) -- had a compound annual growth rate of between 3.5% and 5.1% over the same time period.

 Whilst the West looks for engineering solutions,  to many of the cheap labor countries look for human solutions -

 Engineered to perform - but maybe a few issues to resolve - go,  go,  go

The technology group Apple plans to limit sales of its hugely popular iPhone to two for each customer to prevent illegal trafficking in the telephones and preserve stocks for Christmas.

The Apple iPhone is not just a phone - it is a phone, music player, video player, internet device, and camera all in one

 An Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use.