In the 15 months since listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, junior exploration company Radar Iron (ASX: RAD) has established a pipeline of iron ore prospects in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia. Managing director Jonathan Lea talks to Gay Sutton about the thrill of the chase.

The franchise industry is booming in South Africa, thanks to changing consumer spending habits, an increase in innovation and a willingness to explore new ways of working.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced the creation of 1,000 new jobs at its Halewood Operations manufacturing facility near Liverpool.

The new positions are to support ongoing demand for the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Freelander 2, and will take the workforce at Halewood to almost 4,500.

NASA and General Motors are jointly developing a robotic glove for astronauts and autoworkers to help them do their jobs better and reduce the risk of repetitive stress injuries.

The Human Grasp Assist device, known internally in both organizations as the K-glove or Robo-Glove, resulted from NASA and GM's Robonaut 2 – or R2 – project, which launched the first humanoid robot into space in 2011. R2 is a permanent resident of the International Space Station.

France Telecom-Orange and Publicis Groupe have partnered with Iris Capital Management to invest in technology companies, it has been announced.

Orange said the partnership would create one of Europe’s premier venture capital investors in the digital economy. Together, Orange and Publicis Groupe will contribute €150 million to the initiative; when added to Iris’ pre-existing funding commitments from investors, this will result in a total investment capacity of more than €300 million.

The latest figures from the US Department of Labor and the Commerce Department give rise to optimism for the recovery of the US economy.

The Labor Department has reported an increase of 233,000 private sector jobs last month, while the unemployment rate remained at 8.3 percent, its lowest level in nearly three years.

The number of new jobs being created has been consistently above 200,000 in each of the past three months, fuelling hopes that the US recovery is gathering pace.

UK engineering giant GKN is said to be at advanced stages of talks to buy the aerospace unit of Volvo.

According to a report in the UK’s Sunday Times, GKN could pay up to £800 million for Volvo Aero, which manufactures aircraft engines and components.

GKN has plants in Bristol and Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Its aerospace business, which manufactures aircraft components, is its second biggest division, with sales last year of £1.5 billion.

Part of GKN’s strategy is to expand in aerospace.

US pharmaceutical company Mylan Inc. today announced plans to build a new corporate headquarters near its current location in the Southpointe Office Park in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

"Mylan's global operations have experienced transformational and phenomenal growth over the last five years, and we expect this growth will only continue in the years to come,” said Mylan executive chairman Robert J. Coury.

Dutch construction firm Ballast Nedam has reported a strong performance in its 2011 results, released today.

The company reported operating profits of €19 million, with net profits of €9 million on revenues of €1.4 billion.

Ballast Nedam said it performed well considering the bleak market conditions, increasing competition and price pressure, a situation it said would persist over the coming years.

Excellent results were achieved on several large multi-year projects and in the niche markets, the company said.