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Export Revival Underway For Small Businesses

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:48:39 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) -- When Lawrence Scheer began selling baby clothes in 2010, he didn't realize it then, but he was on the leading edge of a recovery in small business exports.

Scheer's company, Magnificent Baby, manufactures its products in China and then sells them in about 20 countries around the world.

"Our goal from the beginning was to sell as much clothes as possible — so when international interest was there, we pursued it," says Scheer, whose business is based in New York.

Kolcraft Recalls Strollers Due To Wheel Blowouts

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:46:11 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) -- Kolcraft is recalling more than 96,000 Jeep Liberty strollers after at least 18 people were injured by tire blowouts, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday.

The government watchdog group said there have been 39 reports of inner tube ruptures that have caused the wheel rim to break off and become a projectile. The incidents took place mostly when the tires were being inflated, causing cuts and bruises to arms, legs, torso and head or face.

United Tech Sees Impact From Order On Fraud Charge

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:33:17 +0000

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- United Technologies Corp. says a federal court ordering it to pay $473 million plus interest to compensate for alleged fraud in its sale of fighter jet engines will cut revenue and profit.

Judge Thomas M. Rose of the U.S. Southern District Court of Ohio issued the order Monday. The Hartford, Conn., aerospace company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it will appeal the order. With damages, penalties and interest, United Technologies said the penalty would rise to about $660 million.

Senators Seek Cost Cuts For F-35 Fighter Jet

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:29:50 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senators are seeking cost-cutting opportunities in the Pentagon's $400 billion program for the next-generation F-35, a fighter jet with a troubled testing record that military leaders say America cannot afford not to build.

Chairing the hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin on Wednesday compared the F-35's history to a textbook on how not to develop a plane.

The Illinois Democrat asked military leaders to justify a decade of expanding costs.

They stressed that costs were now decreasing.

Xerox To Sell Western European Paper Business

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:27:54 +0000

NORWALK, Conn. (AP) -- Xerox Corp. plans to sell its Western European paper and print media products business to a subsidiary of the paper maker Sequana. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Xerox, based in Norwalk, Conn., sold its U.S. and Canadian paper businesses earlier this year. The copier company said it is focusing on growing its business services and document technologies. Xerox doesn't make paper but has distributed a range of papers and specialty print media through its brand name.

Obama Renews Calls For Nuclear Reductions

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:32:20 +0000

BERLIN (AP) -- Issuing an appeal for a new citizen activism in the free world, President Barack Obama renewed his call Wednesday to reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles and to confront climate change, a danger he called "the global threat of our time."

In a wide-ranging speech that enumerates a litany of challenges facing the world, Obama said he wanted to reignite the spirit that Berlin displayed when it fought to reunite itself during the Cold War.

Not 'Tired' Of Yokohama

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:30:32 +0000

WEST POINT, Miss. (AP) -- Since the recent announcement that tire manufacturer Yokohama Tire Company would be locating a plant in Clay County, area distributors have noticed an increased demand for the brand.

Although the West Point plant will not make passenger car and light truck tires when it begins production in 2015, the company's decision to locate in Clay County has been met with enthusiasm.

Obama Warns EU Over High Youth Unemployment

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:01:53 +0000

BERLIN (AP) -- President Barack Obama is suggesting Europe may need to adjust its economic policies to tackle high youth unemployment.

Obama said at a news conference in Berlin Wednesday that he has confidence in the eurozone's policies to resolve the 17-nation bloc's debt crisis, but also warned that policymakers must not lead to lose sight "of our main goal, which is to make people's life better."

Unemployment in the eurozone has shot up to a record 12 percent overall. Youth unemployment in Spain and Greece is above 50 percent.

EU Fines Pharma Firms Over Generics Delay

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:28 +0000

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union has fined Danish pharmaceuticals multinational Lundbeck and several other producers a combined 146 million euros ($195 million) for delaying the market entry of cheaper generic alternatives to a major antidepressant.

The EU claimed that the companies sought to capitalize profit at the expense of patients.

Alcatel-Lucent Plans Overhaul, Big Cost Cuts

alawrence — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:59:01 +0000

PARIS (AP) -- Telecommunications equipment manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent launched a major effort Wednesday to boost its fortunes by shedding businesses and jobs as part of a deep cost cutting program.

Shares rose nearly 5 percent on the announcement, as investors hope that the plan brings the solid profits that have eluded the Paris-based company for years.