American chocolate manufacturer Mars Inc. has announced plans to build a brand new “state-of-the-art” chocolate manufacturing facility in Topeka, Kansas – its first such site in the US for over 35 years.
The company – known worldwide for numerous confectionary products such as the eponymous Mars Bar, M&Ms, Snickers and Skittles – expects the new facility to be completed by late 2013, by which time it should create more than 1,000 jobs for Kansas residents.
Here’s a weekly look at the top business, finance and world economy news.
Politicians are typically smart and well-educated. But under pressure – and especially when they’re trying to sugarcoat the ugly truth or blatantly lie, they tend to come up with some pretty dumb things.
Here’s a collection of some of the best political blunders:
“Do you own sombreros? Do you know the Mexican hat dance?” — Sidney Yates, U.S. representative from Illinois, addressing Hispanic high school students.
The Russian economy needs a new growth model for economic development, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in his budgetary address on Wednesday.
Addressing budgetary matters for the next three years, Medvedev outlined 12 key priorities that would raise the efficiency of state governance, modernise the economy and improve living standards in the country.
In the aftermath of the fiercest street fights to be seen in central Cairo since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, analysts have questioned whether the level of violence that have erupted in the post-Jasmine Revolution Arab World could be a hindrance to the democratic process in the region.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde received support from the four major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as she was officially elected to become the new IMF Managing Director for a five-year term beginning on July 5, 2011.
While Brazil, Russia and China had previously already expressed their support for Lagarde, India chose to wait for the official IMF announcement of Lagarde’s appointment before backing the French Finance Minister for the job.
A war of words could erupt between oil-consuming nations and oil producers, after the IEA (International Energy Agency) – representing 28 oil-consuming countries – announced last Thursday that it would release about 2 million barrels of oil per day from its emergency stocks over the next month in order to boost supply and drive down prices.
Everyone knows Microsoft and most people on the planet have used Microsoft products at some point in their lives. Like all companies, Microsoft has to constantly adapt to provide relevant and current products/services in today’s ever changing competitive technological landscape. With the advent of Cloud computing, this is a critical time in Microsoft’s development. For this reason, I thought it poignant and extremely relevant to get into the head of a very senior Microsoft executive.
The Colombian economy received a massive boost last Wednesday, as Fitch Ratings became the third major credit rating agency this year to upgrade the nation’s investment grade – to BBB-, the minimum standard required for a country to be deemed as credit-worthy.
New US claims for unemployment benefits grew faster than expected in the week ended June 18th 2011 – echoing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke concerns over a persistent economic slowdown in the US.
According to a Labour Department report, 429,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits that week – 14,000 more than an earlier prediction done by economists for Reuters.
