The base 3.5-liter V6 engine receives a number of friction-reducing enhancements for 2012 and generates a lively 280 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque.

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Jeff Weiner, the firm's boss, imagines that eventually every job opening and its requisite skills will be digitally searchable by every potential candidate, reducing the friction that lets millions of vacancies co-exist with high unemployment.

ECONOMIST: LinkedIn offers a new way to look at employment

And, as well as all the environmental benefits of eliminating paint, the film-coating has the added advantage that it can save fuel by reducing the friction between the aircraft's skin and the air.

ECONOMIST: It’s a wrap | The