The rise was directly linked to smartphone and tablet demand by several retail chains commenting on how cheap Amazon and Android tablets pulled consumers into stores.

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The onset of the Libyan crisis fortuitously coincided with the peak of the European refinery outages, primarily linked to seasonal maintenance work, and thus lower demand for crude oil.

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With about 1, 000 power plants in China, the potential demand of software that linked equipment, materials and fuel management software was huge.

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Later, a manager at the company that runs the cash points pointed out that indoor machines worked as normal throughout and insisted that the breakdown was neither linked to the introduction of the euro nor to excessive demand.

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"It is important that the demand for skills and the supply of skills are, as much as possible, linked, " he said.

BBC: Employment and Learning Committee