(July 2012) „Sings of a turnaround in the US housing market“ are the words used by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University in a recent publication.

Portugal’s natural stone exports up 28% in the first trimester of 2012 compared to the same period last year according to a website of a radio channel. 22% of the total turnover went to customers outside Europe for a total of 86.8 million €. At home the trend was reversed: trade organization Assimagra’s President spoke of „asphyxiation of the sector“ (Portuguese).

Granite millstones are used in kitchen appliances by Salzburger Getreidemühlen Company.

A wall made of more than 1000 ancient gravestones is the center of British architect Norman Foster’s award winning draft for the Musée de la Romanité in the French city of Narbonne. Visitors can observe archaeologists at work through gaps in the wall.

For the NATO-summit in May in Chicago even the stone floors were polished to a high gloss in the conference rooms according to a PR-report.

Video of the Month: News from the stone working industry. Kungfu master shatters small stone slabs with his forehead.