1. Top Kenya Airways executives’ pay goes up by 24 per cent

KQ's top managers, its CEO and Chief Financial Officer, will see an increase in their salaries, to a combined KES 6.83M from KES 5.5M. The increase comes in a year when Kenya Airways profit dropped 51.4 per cent to and cut dividends by 46.7 per cent.

Its share at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has shed 58.7 per cent in the past year to the current price of Sh13, making it the worst performing stock on the bourse over the 12 months.

 2. Get a copy of your credit report before applying for a loan

Banks evaluate loan applications on the 5Cs of credit: character, capital, condition, capacity and collateral. As the banks begin to rely more on credit reference bureaus, you need to make sure that they have the right information about you before it's forwarded to the lender. A copy of your credit report is free once a year but it attracts charges on subsequent inquiries.

To obtain one, visit a credit bureau and get their requirements, including original copies of national identity card and a pin certificate.

3. New software to deepen spying on Internet users

Internet service providers (ISPs) — including mobile telephone operators — are being asked to eliminate anonymity of Kenya’s 6.4 million Internet users as the country heads toward a General Election in March 2013, with the Internet as the main channel for communication of political messages.

So far, two bloggers, Robert Alai and Denis Itumbi, have been arrested and arraigned in court over cyber activity deemed to be in breach of the law. Internet and SMS contributed considerably to fanning of violence during the 2007/8 electoral mayhem.

4. Varsity staff vow to down tools over pay

About 12,000 university workers including lecturers in the country's seven public universities and 12 constituent colleges and campuses  are set to down their tools this week. The unions are demanding a resumption of the stalled 2010-2012 collective bargaining agreement between workers’ representatives, the universities’ management and the government.

5. What 170 Million Buys You in Silicon Valley

While Nairobi may have led the world in the increase in prices of luxury homes, the prices in Silicon Valley are something to behold.

Check out the picture of the homes that KES 170M ($2M) can get you.

 6. Windows that Power Your House

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) claim they’ve developed a transparent solar cell that’ll absorb solar radiation through something like a glass-fitted opening without compromising your ability to see through it. Hence your windows could power your house.

7. Kakuzi Earnings Drop 21 percent

Kakuzi Ltd posted a 21 percent drop in profit after tax to 103.3 million shillings from 131.5 million last year on reduced income through the loss of tea growing subsidiary Siret Tea Company Limited (STCL) to Sireet Outgrowers Empowerment and Producer Co Ltd in a sale approved last month.

8. Tourism in Kenya May Grow at Slowest Pace For the Last 4 Years

Kenya Tourist Board figures show that arrivals increased marginally from 549,083 to 564,835 in the six months to June from 549,083 over a corresponding period last year. The two per cent increase is the slowest in the last four years.