Toyota had its roots in textile machinery but was anxious to diversify. In 1930, Platt Brothers of Oldham, at one time the world’s biggest manufacturer of textile machinery, handed over £100,000 in return for the patents to a pioneering automatic loom developed by the Japanese company. That money helped Toyota to lay the foundations to become the world’s biggest automobile manufacturer.

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LG, the technology company, has predicted that 30 million people will buy 3D TV sets by 2012. Suddenly there is a huge new market, not just for 3D TV and cinema performances, but for the eyewear that makes appreciating it possible.

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China has gotten away with pretty favourable trade terms for years, via a relatively more closed domestic market plus an under-valued yuan, but this time the US won't simply roll over. A nasty trade war will erupt, which will be economically disastrous for both sides.

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