Profits at the Middle East airline Emirates more than quadrupled in the first half of this year, thanks to increases in both passengers and cargo.

The Dubai-based carrier said it recorded the highest number of seats with paying passengers during the six months ending September than ever in a fiscal first half.

Passenger traffic rose by 17.3 per cent from the previous year, with a passenger seat factor of 81.2 per cent. Cargo tonnage also rose, by 23.7 per cent.

Fulcrum BioEnergy is poised to begin construction on its first facility that will produce ethanol from household waste. Keith Regan learns how this trash-to-energy plant could be the first step toward a network of such facilities capable of producing a billion gallons a year of clean, renewable transportation fuel.

Transcend United Technologies and Spectrum Solutions announced today that they are joining forces to create a large IT and communications technology provider with a significant presence in the Twin Cities.

The new entity has advanced capabilities working with Cisco, Avaya, Nortel, ShoreTel, Riverbed and other IT and communications vendors, and becomes one of the largest technology resellers in North America.

The UK’s BG Group has approved its biggest ever investment, a £9.3 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in north-east Australia.

Following environmental approvals from the Australian government, the company will now proceed with the first phase of the project—to build a liquefaction plant on Curtis Island, Queensland.

The project will also involve construction of a 540 kilometre pipeline to move gas from the Queensland interior, where the gas will be drilled using 6,000 bore holes, to the liquefaction plant.

As part of a comprehensive plan to modernize and expand its fleet of equipment, Amtrak is buying 70 new electric locomotives to provide improved performance and reliability for its Northeast intercity passenger rail services.

The six-year, $466 million contract was awarded to Siemens and will create 250 jobs primarily at a facility in Sacramento, California, but also at plants in Norwood, Ohio and Alpharetta, Georgia.

Poland’s Kulczyk Holding has been selected for exclusive talks to buy the state’s 51 per cent in Enea, the country’s third largest power generator.

The decision means that France’s GDF Suez is now out of the running to buy the utility.

Kulczyk will have until November 3 to negotiate the purchase of the government’s shares, worth more than five billion zlotys (approximately €1.2 billion).

Kulczyk Holding has emphasised that, if successful, it hopes to build a private Polish energy company around Enea.

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mezhgosmetiz-Mtsensk OAO (MGM), a privately-held welding wire manufacturer based in the Orel region of Russia.

The acquisition will provide Lincoln its first manufacturing operation in Russia as well as established distribution channels to serve the growing Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) welding markets. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisition has been approved by the Russian Federation regulatory agencies and is expected to close tomorrow.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has posted a 6.5 per cent rise in third quarter net profits on the back of higher oil and gas prices.

Net profits rose to $3.46 billion, up from $3.25 billion a year earlier. Group revenues were $90.71 billion, compared with $75.01 billion the previous year.

Due to new field start-ups, total oil and gas production rose by five per cent to 3.058 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, beating analysts’ expectations of a 3.4 per cent rise.

Australia’s fourth largest port achieved a record financial year in 2009, handling more than 83,000,000 tonnes of coal, grain and other goods. The company managing this impressive growth is Gladstone Ports Corporation Limited.