Global Manufacturing
White House Threatens Veto On Cybersecurity Bill
April 17, 2013 8:12 am | by Anne Flaherty and Josh Lederman, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe White House on Tuesday threatened a veto against a House bill intended to improve cybersecurity through information-sharing, warning lawmakers that the president won't sign the measure unless changes are made to protect privacy and civil liberties.
Toyota's Hybrid Sales Pass 5 Million
April 17, 2013 7:46 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsToyota's global sales of gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles have surpassed 5 million in a milestone for a technology that was initially greeted with skepticism. The Japanese automaker, which said Wednesday it had sold 5.125 million hybrid vehicles as of the end of March, started selling the Prius, the world's first mass produced hybrid passenger car, in 1997.
Taiwan Tech Industry Faces Up To Samsung
April 17, 2013 4:54 am | by Annie Huang, Associated Press | News | CommentsTaiwanese companies have long viewed tech giant Samsung as a major threat and the battle has recently appeared to tilt in favor of the South Korean rival as Taiwan's smartphone, memory chip and display panel makers suffered sagging exports.
Brazilian Meat Packers Face Fines
April 16, 2013 9:59 pm | News | CommentsThe federal prosecutors' office says in a statement that prosecutors in the Amazon jungle states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Rondoni, want the companies to pay $278.5 million for producing beef products from cattle raised in environmentally sensitive regions, on indigenous reservations and at farms that have been blacklisted for using slave-like labor.
EU: Tests Show No Safety Issues With Horsemeat
April 16, 2013 11:05 am | News | CommentsThe tests also showed the veterinary anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone, or bute, was present about .50 percent of the horse meat. Bute is banned for human use because in rare cases it causes severe side effects, but veterinary experts say there is little risk from consuming small amounts of the drug in horse meat.
PwC Barometer: Prevailing Optimism In U.S. Economic Outlook
April 16, 2013 10:49 am | by PwC US, Industrial Products Practice | News | CommentsAccording to PwC’s Q1 2013 Manufacturing Barometer, 55 percent of respondents expressed optimism about the 12-month outlook for the U.S. economy during the first quarter of 2013, up seven points from the fourth quarter, and only five percent were pessimistic.
IMF Cuts Forecast For Global Economy In 2013
April 16, 2013 9:13 am | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsThe International Monetary Fund has lowered its outlook for the world economy this year, predicting that government spending cuts will slow U.S. growth and keep the euro currency alliance in recession. The global lending organization has cut its forecast for global growth to 3.3 percent this year.
EU Lawmakers Veto Beefing Up Cap-And-Trade System
April 16, 2013 8:20 am | by Juergen Baetz, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe European Union cap-and-trade system — the world's biggest — was introduced in 2005 in the hope of encouraging industries to reduce emissions and invest in greener technologies. The system is designed to limit the carbon dioxide emissions of power plants and big factories in the EU by issuing permits for each ton of carbon they can emit.
Dutch Company Linked To Horse Meat Fraud Bankrupt
April 16, 2013 7:45 am | News | CommentsA meat processing plant and wholesaler suspected of mixing undeclared horse meat with beef has been declared bankrupt. A court in the eastern Dutch city of Den Bosch court declared the Willy Selten meat works bankrupt Tuesday. The company is at the center of a huge recall announced last week of suspect beef across the European Union.
China's Struggle To Measure Economy Clouds Outlook
April 16, 2013 7:41 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsAfter China reported quarterly economic growth of 7.7 percent this week — far above anemic U.S. and European performance — global markets reacted by falling, wiping billions of dollars off stock prices. The reason? Growth came in under the 8 percent expected by private sector forecasters who relied on Chinese trade and other data.
Bridgestone To Set Up First Tire Plant In Russia
April 15, 2013 2:31 pm | News | CommentsBridgestone Corp. has said it plans to establish a car tire plant in Ulyanovsk in western Russia -- its first tire production base in the country -- by the end of June, aiming to build production capacity for around 12,000 tires per day in 2018.
Google Clears Another Step In EU Antitrust Case
April 15, 2013 2:06 pm | by Juergen Baetz, Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle has taken another step toward settling a European antitrust investigation focusing on whether the Internet giant is abusing its dominant position of online search and advertising markets. Google Inc. has submitted a list of remedies in legally binding form to address the concerns voiced by the European Commission.
Manufacturing Revival Radio: Charlie Post Of TSI Solutions
April 15, 2013 10:46 am | Podcasts | CommentsIf you need a better grip on the notion of “think globally, act locally,” Charlie Post, the President of TSI Solutions is a great source. This leader of a Stone Mountain, GA based industrial distributor, while maintaining a tight focus on serving customers in his home state, also keeps the solutions he sells in the context of the global economy.
U.S. Declines To Label China Currency Manipulator
April 15, 2013 8:43 am | by Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsThe Obama administration on Friday declined to label China a currency manipulator, although it said that China's currency remains significantly undervalued. The decision came in a twice-a-year Treasury report on whether any nations are manipulating their currencies to gain trade advantages.
EADS In Talks To Buy Part Of French Gov't Stake
April 15, 2013 8:07 am | News | CommentsEuropean aerospace giant EADS says in a statement Monday that the deal would see it buy back 1.56 percent of its shares from the French government's current 14.83 percent stake. The company will pay 37.35 euros per share — about the same as French media group Lagardere was paid when it sold its entire stake last week.
Amid Investigation, Coal Exports At Record Levels
April 15, 2013 8:03 am | by Matthew Brown, Associated Press | News | CommentsFrom the time coal is scooped from the depths of the Spring Creek strip mine in Montana's wide-open Powder River Basin until it travels more than 6,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to power plants in South Korea, the price can increase more than fivefold.
India's Industrial Production Slows
April 12, 2013 2:12 pm | by Kay Johnson, Associated Press | News | CommentsIndia's industrial production slowed in February, highlighting challenges to a recovery in Asia's third-largest economy. The government said Friday that industrial output grew 0.6 percent over the same month the previous year after expanding 2.4 percent in January.
Woodside Shelves $47B Australian LNG Plant
April 12, 2013 2:10 pm | News | CommentsWoodside Petroleum's chief executive said he is confident that a major gas field off the northwest Australian coast will be exploited despite the energy company on Friday shelving plans for a 45 billion Australian dollar ($47 billion) plant to process the gas for export.
Advanced Manufacturing: GE’s Response To Full Employment
April 12, 2013 11:47 am | by Tom Kadala, Founder and CEO of Alternative Technology Corporation | Blogs | CommentsWithout a ready inventory of workers to support a competitive manufacturing base, America’s future will always be vulnerable to outside economic threats. History reminds us of our true potential, when in 1945, 50 percent of the products produced in the world were "Made in USA." Today that number has trended down to 22 percent.
Hannover Messe 2013 Closing Report: Revving Up For 'Integrated Industry'
April 12, 2013 11:16 am | by Hannover Fairs USA | News | CommentsThis year’s HANNOVER MESSE attracted 6,550 exhibitors from 62 nations. As the strongest HANNOVER MESSE in the past 10 years, it fully met the high expectations placed on it by the industry, further consolidating its position as the world’s premium showcase for industrial technology.
MAPI Survey: Index Shows Slight Advance In March
April 12, 2013 9:39 am | by Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation | News | CommentsThe survey’s composite index is a leading indicator for the manufacturing sector. The March 2013 composite index advanced to 56 from 55 in the December 2012 survey. That breaks a string of 10 consecutive quarterly declines. The index remains above the threshold of 50 for the 14th straight quarter, the dividing line that separates contraction and expansion.
Volkswagen March Sales Flat As Europe Struggles
April 12, 2013 8:53 am | News | CommentsGerman automaker Volkswagen AG says sales were flat in March and that global car markets outside North America and China "are becoming even more difficult." The Wolfsburg-based company delivered 864,400 vehicles during the month, 0.2 percent more than the same month a year ago.
Greenhouse Gases Heat Up China
April 12, 2013 8:06 am | by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsChina, the world's largest producer of carbon dioxide, is directly feeling the man-made heat of global warming, scientists conclude in the first study to link the burning of fossil fuels to one country's rise in its daily temperature spikes.
DEMB Agrees To $9.8B Buyout
April 12, 2013 7:51 am | News | CommentsThe management of Dutch coffee maker D.E. Master Blenders 1753 NV says it has agreed to a 7.5 billion euro ($9.8 billion) buyout offer from a group led by private German investment company Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH. Master Blenders was spun off from Sara Lee in June.
2 New Indictments In Cancer-Data-To-China Plot
April 11, 2013 1:49 pm | News | CommentsOnline court records say 42-year-old Hua Jun Zhao was indicted Tuesday on charges of computer fraud and lying to a federal agent. A previous charge of economic espionage was superseded by the indictment, meaning it no longer applies unless he's indicted on that charge as well.
