Renault suffer twin sponsor blow

Renault have been hit by the news that title sponsor ING will end its contract with the Formula 1 team immediately.

The Dutch-based financial group planned to pull out at the end of the season but will now leave four races early.

The move follows the race-fixing scandal that resulted in a suspended ban for the former world champions.

Renault had already lost the backing of Spanish insurance firm Mutua Madrilena, which asked for its name to be removed from Renault’s cars earlier in the day.

ING was the largest sponsor on Renault’s books, providing more than half their total sponsorship revenues according to some estimates.
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NASA: There is water in lunar soil

(CNN) — There is more water on the moon in more locations than originally thought, a discovery that may bolster NASA’s long-held goal of setting up an outpost there, a researcher said Thursday.

One ton of the moon’s surface — in which the water’s ingredients are held — could yield as much as 32 ounces, or one quart, of water, according to three reports from research teams who studied data from three spacecrafts.

Although that amount isn’t large, said geological sciences professor Jack Mustard, the findings show “there are ways you could convert these amounts of water into higher amounts” that could support human activity.

The water was discovered in rocky environments and in craters, Mustard said.
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Trouble breaks out at G20 summit

Trouble has flared as world leaders gather in the US city of Pittsburgh for the G20 summit.

Reports said riot police used pepper gas and fired rubber bullets at protesters on a march near the venue.

Demonstrations were widely expected and thousands of extra police are on duty. The previous G20 meeting, in London in April, was marred by clashes.

Economic stability, financial regulation, climate change and bankers’ bonuses are set to top the G20 agenda.

The clashes are thought to have begun after hundreds of protesters tried to march, without permission, towards the convention centre where the summit is being held.
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Hong Kong: The World’s Most Expensive Real Estate?

Home prices in overcrowded Hong Kong have traditionally been high, but when it comes to having the most expensive residential properties in the world, the Chinese metropolis has never seriously challenged cities like New York, London and Tokyo.

Until now. In another demonstration of how the recession is shaking up the global financial order, two luxury Hong Kong apartments have just gone on the market for a stunning $38.7 million each. If the developer, Sun Hung Kai, finds buyers at that price, the three-level penthouse dwellings, perched atop the 93-storey Cullinan towers with sweeping views of Hong Kong’s harbor, could well qualify as the world’s most expensive apartments. More than 4,000 sq. ft. in size, the apartments, which are still under construction, are selling for $9,677 per sq. ft. That’s considerably above the $6,000-per-sq.-ft. price that top-end London flats were fetching in early 2007, when that city was reputed to be the world’s priciest housing market.
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