The Lead
Long-Haul Jets Get Boost At Paris Air Show
June 17, 2013 | by Lori Hinnant, Associated Press | Comments
The global aviation event at Le Bourget airfield north of Paris is once again showcasing the rivalry between U.S.-based Boeing and French-based Airbus. After several years of success for their smaller models, the world's leading plane makers are hoping this year generates orders for the bigger, more expensive long-haul jets.
Pa. Company Recalls 165,000 Baby Recliners
June 17, 2013 8:15 am | Comments
Baby Matters LLC of Berwyn, Pa., announced the recall of its Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill...
Starboard: Smithfield Sale Undervalues Company
June 17, 2013 8:03 am | Comments
One of Smithfield Foods' largest shareholders says a $4.72 billion takeover bid from China's...
Elan Shareholders Vote Down 3 Deals
June 17, 2013 8:16 am | Comments
Shareholders of Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. PLC have potentially ended a takeover bid from...
EU Official: Trade Deal With U.S. A 'Game-Changer'
June 17, 2013 2:12 pm | CommentsThe top official with the European Union's executive arm says a free trade deal with the United States would be a "game-changer" for the global economy. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the statement Monday ahead of a formal launch of the trade effort at the Group of Eight Summit in Northern Ireland.
J&J To Buy Aragon For At Least $650M
June 17, 2013 2:08 pm | CommentsJohnson & Johnson said Monday that it has agreed to buy Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc. for at least $650 million in cash, boosting its position in prostate drug development. The privately-held San Diego, company is focused on the development of drugs to treat hormonally-driven cancers.
Whey From Greek Yogurt Used To Produce Power
June 17, 2013 2:07 pm | by Michael Hill, Associated Press | CommentsAt the Gloversville-Johnstown wastewater plant west of Albany, it's pipelined from the nearby Fage yogurt plant, where it goes into a 1.5 million-gallon tank filled with anaerobic bacteria, called an anaerobic digester. The resulting methane gas becomes combustible fuel that generates nearly enough electricity to power the plant.
Nuclear Weapons Plant To Improve Fire Safety
June 17, 2013 1:52 pm | CommentsThe new construction comes after the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board raised safety concerns earlier this year about more than a decade of delays in completing improvements to an aging fire protection system at the West Texas facility, the Amarillo Globe-News reported Sunday.
Hundreds Sickened In Bangladesh Garment Factory
June 17, 2013 1:50 pm | CommentsSeveral hundred garment workers were sickened at their factory outside Bangladesh's capital on Sunday, apparently after drinking water there. Police official Mohammad Jahid said many of the workers were treated at various hospitals after the incident at East West Factory in Gazipur district.
MAPI: Rebound In Production, Modest To Moderate Growth
June 17, 2013 12:19 pm | CommentsStrong industrial activity in early 2013 softened somewhat recently but the sector should have enough momentum to continue growth, according to the quarterly Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation U.S. Industrial Outlook (EO-124), a report that analyzes 27 major industries.
Company Recalls Weight Loss Supplements
June 17, 2013 12:12 pm | CommentsFlorida Dolphin Intertrade Corp. announced Friday that these products have been found to contain undeclared Sibutramine, which was a previously approved controlled substance for the treatment of obesity. It was removed from the U.S. market in October 2010 for safety reasons.
Court: Pay To Delay' Generic Drugs Can Be Illegal
June 17, 2013 11:38 am | by Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press | CommentsThe Supreme Court ruled Monday that deals between pharmaceutical corporations and their generic drug competitors, which government officials say keep cheaper forms of medicine off the market, can be sometimes be illegal and therefore challenged by federal officials in court.
Chinese Supercomputer Named World's Fastest
June 17, 2013 9:58 am | CommentsThe semiannual TOP500 official listing of the world's fastest supercomputers released Monday says the Tianhe-2 developed by the National University of Defense Technology in central China's Changsha city is capable of sustained computing of 33.86 petaflops per second. That's the equivalent of 33,860 trillion calculations per second.
GE Aviation Plans To Open New Plant In NC
June 17, 2013 9:47 am | CommentsA company that specializes in jet engines and aircraft system production plans to break ground this year on a parts factory near Asheville. GE Aviation's new facility is being built next to an existing GE machining plant. The company says the new plant will produce engine components made of advanced ceramic matrix composite materials.
ABB Names Ulrich Spiesshofer As Next CEO
June 17, 2013 9:05 am | by ABB | CommentsThe Board of ABB has unanimously appointed Ulrich Spiesshofer, the head of its Discrete Automation and Motion (DM) division, as Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed Joe Hogan in this role in an orderly transition on September 15, 2013. He has led a doubling of the division’s revenues by organic and inorganic means, and the integration of Baldor – ABB’s largest ever acquisition.
Google Begins Launching Internet-Beaming Balloons
June 17, 2013 8:39 am | by Martha Mendoza and Nick Perry, Associated Press | CommentsEighteen months in the works, the top-secret project was announced Saturday in New Zealand, where up to 50 volunteer households are already beginning to receive the Internet briefly on their home computers via translucent helium balloons that sail by on the wind 12 miles above Earth.
Chrysler Freezes Some Pension Plans
June 17, 2013 8:36 am | by Sarah Skidmore, AP Business Writer | CommentsU.S. companies in general have moved away from traditional, or "defined benefit," pensions due to the cost. General Motors made a similar move last year when it froze traditional pension benefits for 19,000 salaried workers hired before 2001. Such pensions guarantee a specific payment to retirees.
Police: 1 Dead, 7 Hurt In 2nd La. Plant Blast
June 17, 2013 8:22 am | CommentsState Police Trooper Jared Sandifer said Saturday officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were coming to the CF Industries facility as soon as the site was safe. Sandifer said the state police's hazardous materials unit was at the plant overnight.
To Ease Shortage Of Organs, Grow Them In A Lab?
June 17, 2013 8:13 am | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | CommentsGrowing lungs and other organs for transplant is still in the future, but scientists are working toward that goal. In North Carolina, a 3-D printer builds prototype kidneys. In several labs, scientists study how to build on the internal scaffolding of hearts, lungs, livers and kidneys of people and pigs to make custom-made implants.
China Announces New Measures To Curb Air Pollution
June 17, 2013 7:54 am | by Louise Watt, Associated Press | CommentsChina's growing middle class has become increasingly fed up with air, water and soil pollution that has resulted from development-at-all costs policies. Members of the public have virtually no say on industrial projects, and often protest against factories or petrochemical plants they fear could affect their health.
GM Recalling SUVs For Fire Risk
June 17, 2013 7:41 am | CommentsGeneral Motors is recalling more than 193,652 SUVs from the 2006 and 2007 model years because a circuit board in the driver's door could short and cause a fire. The vehicles involved are the Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, Saab 9-7x and Isuzu Ascender from the 2006 and 2007 model years.
Europe Seeks Ways To Ease Youth Unemployment
June 14, 2013 9:33 am | CommentsEconomic and labor ministers from France, Germany, Italy and Spain are meeting in Rome to find a way to reduce record youth unemployment. Italian Premier Enrico Letta has made finding jobs for the young one of the battle cries of his new administration. About 40 percent of Italians aged 15-24 and active in the job hunt are unemployed.
Boat Maker Expanding With New Ind. Factory
June 14, 2013 9:29 am | CommentsA company making high-end pontoon boats is moving to a new location in Fort Wayne with plans to double its workforce over the next couple years. State and local officials joined Brunswick Corp. executives in a ceremony Thursday at its new factory on the city's west side at the site of a closed restaurant oven plant.
Factory Output Barely Rises In May
June 14, 2013 9:22 am | by Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | CommentsU.S. factories barely increased their output in May after two months of declines, a sign that manufacturing is providing little support for the economy. The Federal Reserve says manufacturing production increased just 0.1 percent in May from April. Output fell 0.4 percent in April and 0.3 percent in March.