Carbon fibre is already transforming aircraft, supercars and things as diverse as fishing rods and racing bikes. Now it is about to change the business of lifts – or elevators as Americans call them. The thing about carbon fibre is that it is lighter than steel but far stronger. This week Kone, a Finnish liftmaker, announced that after a decade of development it has managed to produce lift cables out of carbon fibre. This would allow lighter lifts, and for them to rise by a kilometre (3,300 feet) or more, twice as far as the present limit. As a result, skyscrapers will grow taller. http://econ.st/11YDCUS