Global Manufacturing
European Car Sales Up For First Time Since 2011
May 17, 2013 7:36 am | by Colleen Barry, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsNew car registrations in April were up 1.7 percent on the same time last year, the ACEA's latest figures show. Although the April rise has more to do with the two extra work days last month due to an early Easter, sales figures for the year so far gave some cause for hope.
Robots To Help Brazil Provide World Cup Security
May 16, 2013 12:33 pm | by Tales Azzoni, AP Sports Writer | News | CommentsThe Brazilian government has bought 30 security robots to improve public safety during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics. The government paid nearly $3.5 million for the small unmanned ground vehicles which can provide surveillance, bomb removal and other law-enforcement missions.
Protesters Picket Barbie-Themed House In Berlin
May 16, 2013 12:30 pm | News | CommentsFeminist protesters burned a doll on a cross and left-wing demonstrators shouted "pink stinks" at the Berlin opening of a life-sized Barbie house Thursday. They far outnumbered Barbie fans who came to see the Mattel Inc. toy's fictional Malibu home.
Cambodian Shoe Factory Collapse Kills 2
May 16, 2013 8:12 am | by Sopheng Cheang, Associated Press | News | CommentsAbout 50 workers were inside the factory south of Phnom Penh, the capital, when the ceiling caved in, said police officer Khem Pannara. He said heavy iron equipment stored on the floor above appeared to have caused the collapse. Two bodies were pulled from the wreckage and seven people were injured, he said.
EU: China May Be Dumping Mobile Network Equipment
May 15, 2013 2:05 pm | News | CommentsA senior EU official says China may be illegally dumping and subsidizing the import into Europe of mobile telephone networks and their essential elements.The Commission said China's export of telecommunication network equipment to the EU market amounts to 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) per year.
Eurozone's Struggling Economies Mired In Recession
May 15, 2013 1:51 pm | News | CommentsThe eurozone is stuck in recession — its longest since the euro was founded in 1999. The latest figures from the European Union's statistics office show that the economy of the 17 EU countries that use the euro shrank for a sixth straight quarter, slumping by 0.2 percent in the January-March period.
Students In Ghana Launch Mini-Satellite
May 15, 2013 1:42 pm | by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Associated Press | News | CommentsTheir project might not sound like much: The college students on Wednesday launched a tiny model of a satellite the size of a Coke can on a big yellow balloon. It went aloft to a height of 165 meters (yards) and then came back down on a red parachute.
Woman: China Police Ask To Ax White House Petition
May 15, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsPolice in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, have declined to comment. But B.Y.'s petition problem last week highlights how prickly Chinese authorities are about Internet dissent, perhaps especially when it involves the United States.
France Approves Major Labor Reform Package
May 14, 2013 1:31 pm | by Sarah DiLorenzo, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe bill is one of President Francois Hollande's signature pieces of legislation designed to overhaul the country's notoriously hidebound labor market. It includes measures such as making it easier for workers to change jobs and for companies to fire employees.
EU Probes Oil Companies For Possible Price-Fixing
May 14, 2013 1:25 pm | News | CommentsEuropean anti-trust authorities have launched investigations into at least three oil companies on suspicion of price-fixing. Britain's BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Norway's Statoil confirmed they are subject to the inquiry announced Tuesday by the European Union's executive arm, the Commission.
Nissan Chief Welcomes Yen Fall For Luxury Brand
May 14, 2013 8:08 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsJapanese automakers have been trying to move production to where their vehicles are sold to reduce risks from a strong yen, which lowers the value of their overseas earnings. But the yen has lost more than 20 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in recent months.
Survey: Global Manufacturers Lack Supply Chain Visibility Beyond Tier 1
May 13, 2013 10:18 am | by KPMG | News | CommentsGlobal manufacturers are putting their supply chains at the center of their business strategies to serve as the foundation for operational efficiency and collaborative innovation. Ironically though, many manufacturing executives admit that their companies currently do not have visibility of their supply chain beyond Tier 1 suppliers.
France Mulls Culture Tax On Smartphones
May 13, 2013 10:07 am | News | CommentsThe French government is considering creating a new tax on smartphones and tablets in a bid to raise millions to support the creation of digital cultural content inside France. The proposal, handed to President Francois Hollande Monday, outlines a 1 percent tax on the sale of Internet-compatible devices.
AP: Cars Made In Brazil Are Deadly
May 13, 2013 8:01 am | by Bradley Brooks, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe culprits are the cars themselves, produced with weaker welds, scant safety features and inferior materials compared to similar models manufactured for U.S. and European consumers, say experts and engineers inside the industry. Four of Brazil's five bestselling cars failed their independent crash tests.
Leaving Bangladesh? Not An Easy Choice For Brands
May 13, 2013 7:58 am | by Anne D'Innocenzio and Jonathan Fahey, AP Business Writers | News | CommentsThe rising death toll may force Western brands to make a choice: Stay and work to improve conditions. Or leave and face higher costs, similar or worse worker conditions in other low-wage countries and criticism for abandoning a poor nation where per-capita income is just $1,940 per year.
U.S. Sanctions Taiwan Firm For N.Korea Dealings
May 10, 2013 2:13 pm | News | CommentsThe Treasury Department announced designation Friday of Trans Multi Mechanics Co. Ltd. and Chang Wen-Fu for links to a Taiwanese man, Alex Tsai, arrested in Estonia last week. Tsai and his son, a U.S. resident, were charged in Chicago with seeking to bypass a ban on export of weapons machinery.
Worker Rescued After 17 Days In Bangladesh Rubble
May 10, 2013 1:37 pm | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press | News | CommentsFor 17 days, the seamstress lay trapped in a dark basement pocket beneath thousands of tons of wreckage as temperatures outside climbed into the mid-90s F. She rationed food and water. She banged a pipe to attract attention. She was fast losing hope of ever making it out alive.
Bangladesh Fire Kills 8 As Collapse Toll Hits 948
May 9, 2013 8:01 am | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press | News | CommentsA fire in an 11-story garment factory in Bangladesh killed eight people, including a ruling-party politician and a top official in the country's powerful clothing manufacturers' trade group, as the death toll from the collapse of another garment factory building passed 900 on Thursday.
Deal: Dubai Company To Build Ga. Plant
May 8, 2013 1:54 pm | News | CommentsGov. Nathan Deal says a company based in Dubai plans to build a manufacturing plant in Murray County with the goal of creating 200 jobs over the next three years. Mattex is headquartered in Dubai and is a leading provider of carpet backings and other textiles. The company has four facilities in the Middle East and plans to invest $60 million in its first U.S. plant.
Germany Plans Tighter Control Of Managers' Pay
May 8, 2013 8:38 am | News | CommentsThe plan, approved Wednesday by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet, foresees obligatory, binding votes at publicly listed companies' annual general meetings on the pay system and levels for managers. Those decisions are currently taken by German companies' boards of directors and shareholder votes are voluntary and nonbinding.
Italy Cargo Ship Slams Into Genoa Port
May 8, 2013 8:22 am | by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press | News | CommentsRescue workers in diving gear found seven bodies Wednesday in the wreckage after a cargo ship slammed into the dock at Genoa, toppling the busy Italian port's control tower into the harbor. Four people were hospitalized and two others remained unaccounted for, Luca Cari, spokesman for the fire rescue teams at the scene, told The Associated Press.
GM Opening $1.3B Cadillac Plant In China
May 8, 2013 7:54 am | News | CommentsPlans call for the 8 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) factory in Shanghai to begin production in 2015 with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles, according to GM spokeswoman Dayna Hart. GM sells imported Cadillacs in China but the luxury market is dominated by Germany's Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi.
What Price Cheap Clothing?
May 7, 2013 7:57 pm | by Karl Stephan, Consulting Engineer, Texas State University, San Marcos | Articles | CommentsThe latest body count as of this writing is 640, but that is sure to rise as more bodies are pulled from the wreckage. Despite the tragedy of the collapse, there is hope that something else died in the wreckage too: the type of criminal negligence that leads to such catastrophes in the first place.
German Industrial Orders Up Strongly
May 7, 2013 11:24 am | News | CommentsGermany's economy defied the eurozone gloom as official figures released Tuesday showed industrial orders rose strongly for a second straight month. Orders for goods from Europe's biggest economy grew 2.2 percent compared with the previous month.
China's Struggling Automakers Jump On SUV Boom
May 7, 2013 7:48 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe SUV boom clashes with Beijing's efforts to push automakers to develop electric cars and to sell smaller vehicles to help curb smog and demand for imported oil. But the SUV's image of safety appeals to prosperous Chinese drivers who face chaotic city streets while electrics from BYD and other producers struggle to attract buyers.
