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Reporting from Beijing and Tokyo – China’s economy surpassed Japan’s as the world’s second-largest – a highly anticipated milestone rich in symbolism for a developing country that began market reforms only three decades ago.
The news came Monday when Japan’s government said its economic output in the second quarter slowed to $1.28 trillion, short of the $1.33 trillion China reported for the same period.
Kraft Foods Inc. is seeking to raise the profile of Cadbury products in China as the U.S. food giant ramps up investments in developing markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region, which has become Kraft’s key growth driver following its multi-billion dollar acquisition of the British confectioner earlier this year. Get the full story »
A United Nations agency warned of a “lost generation” as more young people across the world give up the search for work. It reported that of some 620 million young people ages 15 to 24 in the work force, about 81 million were unemployed at the end of 2009 — the highest level in two decades of record-keeping by the organization, which is based in Geneva.
The U.S. trade deficit widened a surprising 18.8 percent in June on a surge of consumer goods from China and other suppliers, suggesting U.S. second-quarter economic growth was much weaker than previously thought. The monthly trade gap totaled $49.9 billion, the highest since October 2008, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday, as U.S. exports stumbled a bit. Get the full story »
Kraft Foods Inc., the world’s biggest confectioner after buying Cadbury Plc, will start making Tang and chocolate next year at a new $50 million plant in Brazil, fueling expansion in faster-growing developing markets.
The move is part of Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld’s strategy to use Cadbury’s strength in those regions and prove to investors that the merger makes sense. Kraft now gets about one-quarter of its almost $50 billion in sales from emerging markets because of Cadbury. Get the full story »
A deadline Saudi Arabia has fixed for BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion Ltd and local mobile phone operators to address security concerns has lapsed, but the handset’s services continue to operate normally.
The Communications and Information Telecommunications Commission (CITC) on Saturday gave the kingdom’s three mobile firms until Monday before it proceeds with a threat to cut the BlackBerry’s Messenger function for some 700,000 users in the kingdom, a threat which it had already delayed last week. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg | A Morgan Stanley-led partnership will get at least $11.6 billion from Chicago drivers over the next 75 years, 10 times what Mayor Richard Daley got when he leased the system to investors in 2008. Get the full story »
U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co. said Friday that it has received letters from the federal government seeking information about its activities in foreign countries, in connection with a U.S. anti-foreign bribery law.
Merck disclosed in a regulatory filing it has received letters from the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it is cooperating with the requests. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg News | President Barack Obama is reportedly considering further easing travel restrictions to Cuba to allow American to go there for cultural or educational purposes.
An aircraft-leasing company in the United Arab Emirates has canceled orders for dozens of planes from Boeing Co. and Airbus. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise canceled 25 orders in the past month at Boeing, including 15 for the company’s new 787 jet. And Europe’s Airbus disclosed on its website Friday that Dubai Aerospace cut 25 planes from its orders at the European company, including 18 orders for the medium-range A320 and seven for the long-range A350.
Europe’s Airbus said on Friday it had more than doubled its tally of 2010 orders due to a bumper Farnborough Airshow, however the pick-up was marred by $3 billion in canceled orders from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. Get the full story »
U.S. short-term interest rate futures traders deferred expectations of a first Federal Reserve rate increase, after a government report showed payrolls fell more than expected in July. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg | Archer Daniels Midland Co., Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. stand to benefit after Russia, the fifth-largest wheat grower, banned exports of the grain because of its worst drought in 50 years.
From Bloomberg | In an interview with Bloomberg News, Kraft’s European president, Mike Clarke, said the company plans to focus on integrating the acquisitions of Cadbury Plc. and Groupe Danone SA’s LU unit, rather than make more purchases. “I don’t think we need at this time to buy other businesses to grow,” said Clarke.
