Another round of industrial action has already been scheduled, with members in Stirling launching another 24-hour strike on Saturday.

BBC: Stirling Middle

After the first round of industrial action last week, Mr MacAskill said he was willing to listen to concerns raised by defence solicitors.

BBC: Lawyers stage court boycott in legal aid row

National Grid, which distributes energy, gave warning for the first time that there might not be enough gas to go round and some big industrial users had to cut production.

ECONOMIST: A liberalised market is put to the test

It would be best to broaden the new round to areas such as industrial tariffs, investment and competition policy, to allow more scope for the trade-offs on which a final deal depends.

ECONOMIST: Storm over globalisation

Contractors, consultants, vendors and support services round out the modern government-industrial complex.

FORBES: Obama's Stimulus Program Did Work ... For Washington

Glaciers, ice fields, and snowpack store an immense amount of fresh water and gradually release it to meet year-round needs for irrigation, drinking, sanitation, industrial processing, clean energy, and food production.

FORBES: Should Countries With No Water Be Pushing for Growth?

The government also announced earlier this month a new round of stimulus for the auto industry, cutting industrial production taxes to near zero in some cases and causing new car prices to drop by an average of 10 percent.

FORBES: Brazil's Star Power Dims, Economic Growth Weaker Than U.S.

Industrial output grew 5.7% year over year in June after a recent round of weakening.

FORBES: Russia Industrial Power Revs Up

The industrial countries, America and Europe in particular, were the driving force behind the new round.

ECONOMIST: Doubts about Doha | The