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Wheat prices held just below a two-year high while shares in European brewers and food producers fell on Friday as markets reacted to the sudden imposition of a ban on grain exports from drought-hit Russia.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin moved on Thursday to halt grain and flour exports to head off inflation following Russia’s worst drought in 130 years, and the railroad monopoly said Friday it would stop loading grain for export from Saturday. Get the full story »
Some Saudis are trying to sell their BlackBerrys ahead of a ban on the smart phone’s messenger service in the kingdom. The Saudi telecoms regulatory agency said this week the service would be halted Friday. By mid-afternoon, it was still operating.
Wheat futures prices soared Thursday to their highest levels in two years after Russia said it would ban grain exports due to a severe drought, a move that heightens concerns about global supplies of the grain and the possible impact on food prices.
September wheat futures at the Chicago board of trade were up the exchange-imposed daily limit of 60 cents at $7.85 3/4 a bushel in late trading, an 8.3 percent rise and the highest level since Aug. 29, 2008. U.S. wheat futures have gained nearly 85 percent from a nine-month low in June on expectations that demand for U.S. wheat will increase. Get the full story »
The United States will hold technical talks with the United Arab Emirates and other countries on the pending ban on the BlackBerry Messenger, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. Get the full story »
The Saudi telecom watchdog said on Tuesday that telecom companies in the kingdom must block the messenger function on Blackberry handsets as of Friday.
The ban would last until the kingdom’s three mobile phone operators “fulfill the regulatory requirements it has requested,” the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) said in a statement to media. Get the full story »
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion may be considering concessions to governments who have voiced concerns about the tight security that makes its devices so popular, newspapers said on Tuesday.
India’s Economic Times newspaper reported that RIM had agreed to allow security authorities in the country to monitor BlackBerry services after pressure from governments worried about national security.
Separately Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida, quoting a source it did not identify by name, said RIM had given “initial approval” to block 3,000 porn sites at the request of Kuwait’s communications ministry. It said security was also a concern. Get the full story »
Research In Motion pledged to satisfy the security needs of customers and governments, a day after the United Arab Emirates threatened to cut off some BlackBerry services because authorities could not access encrypted messaging data.
In the latest of several disputes over BlackBerry security, the UAE said over the weekend that it would suspend BlackBerry Messenger, email and Web browser services from Oct. 11 until it could access encrypted messages. Get the full story »
The United States said it was disappointed that the United Arab Emirates planned to cut off key BlackBerry services and said the Gulf nation was setting a dangerous precedent in limiting freedom of information.
“We are committed to promoting the free flow of information,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. “We think it’s integral to an innovative economy.” Get the full story »
Geely Holding Group completed its acquisition of Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo unit Monday in a $1.5 billion deal that gives the small-but-ambitious Chinese automaker a global brand and huge management challenges.
U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter as companies invested heavily in equipment from abroad and the pace of consumer spending eased, raising concerns about the recovery in the rest of 2010. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate on Friday, after an upwardly revised 3.7 percent growth pace in the January-March quarter.
Financial markets had forecast GDP, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, growing at a 2.5 percent rate in the second quarter from a previously estimated a 2.7 percent rate for the first three months of this year. Get the full story »
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the Itasca-based insurance brokerage, said it acquired the 60 percent equity interest in Australia’s Specialised Broking Associates Pty Ltd. it didn’t already own.
Terms weren’t disclosed. Get the full story »
China’s regulator has approved Geely’s acquisition of Ford’s Volvo unit, clearing one of the last remaining hurdles to the high-profile deal, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday.
The deal could be completed as early as next week, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the discussions remain private. Get the full story »
The proposed merger of United Airlines and Continental Airlines cleared its first regulatory hurdle on Tuesday, as the European Union said it would approve the deal. But the merger, which would create the largest airline in the world, must still pass muster with U.S. antitrust officials. The mega-deal is expected to face far more rigorous scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice, which isn’t expected to wrap up its probe until later this year.
European officials, in a review of the transaction that began on June 21, quickly determined that it wouldn’t adversely affect competition, given the relatively light overlap between United and Continental on trans-Atlantic routes.
However, the EU continues to separately investigate a proposed joint venture that would allow United, Continental, Air Canada and Germany’s Lufthansa AG to closely coordinate north Atlantic flights, as well as share revenues.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs at a press conference on the Apple iPhone 4 reception problems at Apple's headquarters, July 16, 2010. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)
Apple Inc. said on Monday that its popular iPhone 4 model will go on sale in an additional 17 countries on Friday, July 30.
The newest version of iPhone went on sale in France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. in late June, creating a carnival-like atmosphere and drawing tens of thousands of eager fans to Apple stores and retail partners. Get the full story »
