Global Manufacturing
Venezuela Police Seize 2,500 Rolls Of Toilet Paper
May 31, 2013 8:14 am | News | CommentsPolice in Venezuela say they have seized nearly 2,500 rolls of toilet paper in an overnight raid of a clandestine warehouse storing scarce goods. The Thursday announcement on Twitter said that the officers raiding the garage in western Caracas also seized about 400 diapers and 7,000 liters of fruit juice.
Eurozone Unemployment Heading For 20M
May 31, 2013 8:12 am | by Pan Pylas, Associated Press | News | CommentsUnemployment across the 17 EU countries that use the euro is on course to hit 20 million this year, according to figures showing the jobless rate hit another record high — the latest ignominious landmark for the currency bloc.
Cuban Rat Poison Finds New Market
May 31, 2013 7:36 am | by Chris Brummitt, Associated Press | News | CommentsRat poisons normally come with warnings against human consumption and medical directions about what to do if accidentally eaten. Not so "Biorat," a bait produced in Vietnam by a Cuban-state owned company that earns foreign exchange for the Castro government.
Russia To Sell At Least 10 MiG Fighters To Syria
May 31, 2013 4:26 am | News | CommentsA Russian arms manufacturer says it is signing a contract to deliver at least 10 fighter jets to Syria. Sergei Korotkov, general director of the MiG company that makes the jets, told Russian news agencies Friday that a Syrian delegation was in Moscow to discuss terms and deadlines of a new contract supplying MiG-29 M/M2 fighters to Syria.
China's Entrepreneurs Expand Global Presence
May 31, 2013 2:42 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe $4.7 billion bid for Smithfield Foods by Wan Long, chairman of Shuanghui International, is another big step up for Chinese entrepreneurs who are emerging from the shadow of state-owned corporate giants and expanding on the global stage.
China: U.S. Hacking Claims Faulty
May 30, 2013 8:18 am | News | CommentsDefense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said Thursday the claims contained "errors in judgment" and underestimated the Pentagon's ability to protect its secrets. He said China is capable of producing the weaponry needed for its own defense and pointed to recent breakthroughs such as the country's first aircraft carrier.
Oil Giant Total To Pay $245M In Bribery Case
May 30, 2013 7:52 am | by Matthew Barakat, Associated Press | News | CommentsCourt papers filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria indicate Total paid $60 million in bribes between 1995 and 2004 that allowed it to re-renter the Iranian oil and gas market. The bribes helped Total land contracts with the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company to develop oil and gas fields in and around Iran's Sirri Island in the Persian Gulf.
South Korea Fosters Startups As It Seeks Economic Shift
May 30, 2013 7:50 am | by Youkyung Lee, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsInstead, while his peers were seeking jobs at Samsung and LG, he scaled back his studies and started a company with friends. Together they invented a garbage bin that compresses rubbish using solar power and wirelessly communicates to be collected when full.
EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Lowest To Date
May 29, 2013 11:09 am | News | CommentsThe EU's environmental agency says the 27-nation bloc's greenhouse emissions in 2011 were the lowest since it began monitoring them in 1990. The European Environment Agency says greenhouse gas emissions dropped 3.3 percent compared to 2010, and were 18.4 percent below 1990 levels. It cited a milder winter in 2011 as the main reason for the drop.
Pentagon Programs Target Of China Cyber Threat
May 29, 2013 8:28 am | by Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press | News | CommentsNew revelations that China used cyberattacks to access data from nearly 40 Pentagon weapons programs and almost 30 other defense technologies have increased pressure on U.S. leaders to take more strident action against Beijing to stem the persistent breaches.
OECD: Europe Remains Threat To World Economy
May 29, 2013 7:41 am | by Greg Keller, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe OECD again slashed its forecast for the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, saying it will shrink by 0.6 percent this year, after 0.5 percent drop in 2012. The OECD had predicted a 0.1 percent decline for the eurozone in its report six months ago — and this time last year, it forecast growth of nearly 1 percent for 2013.
Tightest Job Market Ever For China's College Grads
May 29, 2013 7:36 am | by Didi Tang, Associated Press | News | CommentsChemistry student Jiang Wenying graduated three years ago and decided the job market was so tough she might as well go back to school for a graduate degree. Now she's finding it even worse, in what looks to be China's tightest market ever for job-seeking graduates.
Germany: Merkel Vows To Avoid Trade War With China
May 28, 2013 12:32 pm | News | CommentsStill, Germany's powerful industrial lobby groups oppose the discussed EU anti-dumping measures against China because they fear an escalating trade war that would dent the countries' buoying business ties. Li said the EU's decision wouldn't serve its interests and would harm China and others.
EU: Google Must Up Offer To Settle Antitrust Case
May 28, 2013 12:29 pm | News | CommentsThe European Union's competition chief says Google will have to offer more changes to the way it displays search results to settle a pending antitrust case. Joaquin Almunia told the European Parliament Tuesday that the period to examine Google's proposals has been extended by one month but that his office will ask Google with "almost 100 percent" certainty in June to do yet more.
South Korea Idles 2 Nuke Plants After Cable Tests Faked
May 28, 2013 8:36 am | by Youkyung Lee, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsSouth Korea's trade and energy ministry said Tuesday a company contracted to conduct tests fabricated the results for cables that failed to meet international standards for capacity to withstand changes in voltage and pressure. It warned that the plant shutdowns would result in summer power shortages.
EU Looks To Small Business To Help Unemployment
May 28, 2013 8:12 am | News | CommentsLabor ministers warned at a conference in Paris on Tuesday that if high youth unemployment is not addressed, young people will lose faith in their governments and the European Union. But as many countries struggle to reduce spending, there is little money left in national budgets for youth programs.
North Korea Relaxes Controls Over Worker Salaries
May 28, 2013 7:55 am | News | CommentsA North Korean economist says the government introduced new economic management methods last month that relax state control of workers' salaries. Government economist Ri Ki Song says the change introduced April 1 should not be seen as "reform and opening." He says North Korea is sticking to socialist ownership of the means of production.
VW's German Workers Win Raises In Pay Deal
May 28, 2013 7:37 am | News | CommentsVolkswagen's German factory workers will get a two-stage raise under a new wage deal reached as the automaker grapples with slipping sales and profit. The company said Tuesday it agreed with the IG Metall union on increases of 3.4 percent from Sept. 1 and 2.2 percent from July 1 of next year through February 2015.
China, Switzerland To Seal Free Trade Deal
May 24, 2013 10:48 am | News | CommentsChinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Switzerland to sign a free trade pact with the Alpine nation — the first comprehensive agreement the country has reached with a major western economy. Li met with Swiss officials Friday in Bern, where he is due to ink the deal after three years of talks.
France Won't Force Companies To Cap Executive Pay
May 24, 2013 9:34 am | by Sarah DiLorenzo, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsFinance Minister Pierre Moscovici announced Friday that the government no longer plans to push for a law to cap executive salaries in the private sector. Instead, Moscovici told reporters that he was in discussions with business leaders and he hoped companies would agree to institute their own limits. He did not give details.
Stricken Japan Nuke Plant Struggles To Keep Staff
May 24, 2013 8:28 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsKeeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it.
MAPI: 1Q U.S. Trade In Manufactures Stays Flat
May 23, 2013 9:01 pm | News | CommentsFor calendar year 2013, Chinese manufactured exports are on track to nearly double U.S. exports, with a surplus of more than $900 billion, compared with a U.S. deficit of $500 billion, as the trade gap between these global powers continues to expand, according to a report from the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI).
Dutch Arrest Meat Works Owner In Horse Meat Probe
May 23, 2013 10:15 am | by Mike Corder, Associated Press | News | CommentsInvestigators from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority arrested the man on suspicion of fraud and detained him for further questioning. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of six year's imprisonment, according to prosecutors.
Made In The USA Back In Style For Small Businesses
May 23, 2013 8:04 am | by Joyce M. Rosenberg, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsReverie is one of a growing number of small businesses that are chipping away at the decades-old trend of manufacturing overseas. They're doing what's known as reshoring, moving production back to U.S. factories as labor costs grow in countries like China and India and shipping also becomes more expensive.
Building Materials Blamed In Bangladesh Disaster
May 23, 2013 7:59 am | by Farid Hossain, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe defects and errors that led to the world's deadliest garment-industry accident extend from the swampy ground the doomed Rana Plaza was built on, to "extremely poor quality" construction materials, to the massive, vibrating equipment operating when the eight-story building collapsed.
