Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Armonk, NY, United States (AHN) – International Business Machines Corp. is bent on retaining its hold as the number two most valuable company in the world by expanding its $22.5-billion software business. IBM Senior Vice President Steve Mills says the firm, which has sold its hardware business and shifted to software development, plans to spend $100 million to $300 million to buy mid-sized firms. The expansion aims to add another $20 billion in annual revenues by 2015, which would mean that IBM must double or triple the pace of sales growth at companies it plans to buy. IBM’s success in software development, according to the company’s chief technology officer, Dr. Jai Menon, is providing clients with solutions that are flexible to meet their needs such as computing power, storage and memory requirements. Menon said the IT industry needs to come up [...] Continue Reading…
Eurozone officials push Greece to speed up economic reforms
Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Athens, Greece (AHN) – Greece is teetering towards a default on its international loans, prompting Greek officials to seek the advice of European and International Monetary Fund officials to measures the financially challenged nation could do to speed up the release of its $11 billion anticipated aid. The reply of European economic officials on Monday was that Athens must make deeper and faster budget cuts and economic reforms. In the event of a Greek default, the ones to be hit hardest would be German banks Hypo Real Estate Holding and WestLB which jointly hold more than 50 percent of Greek debts held by Deutsche banks. Hypo has $12 billion (EUR 8.76 billion) and WestLB has $1.66 billion (EUR 1.21 billion). In contrast Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, the two largest lenders in Germany, hold only a total of $4.6 billion (EUR 3.35 billion) [...] Continue Reading…
Solar panel manufacturer Solyndra files for bankruptcy
Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Wilmington, DE, United States (AHN) – American solar panel maker Solyndra has filed for bankruptcy. It is the third solar firm since August to seek court protection from creditors. Solyndra filed a Chapter 11 petition with a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, DE, after it amassed debts of $1 billion. However, it still has assets of about the same amount. The California-based company shuttered on Aug. 31 and laid off its 1,100 workers. It suffered from losses due to competition from larger, foreign manufacturers that flooded the American market with solar panels, causing prices to drop. On Labor Day, U.S. Rep. Pete Stark appealed to Solyndra to compensate the 1,100 dismissed employees. Stark, in a letter to Solyndra Chief Executive Officer Brian Harrison, said the summary dismissal of the workers without warning was reckless, irresponsible and heartless. The legislator hinted the layoffs [...] Continue Reading…
S&P president steps down
Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s announced on Monday that its president, Deven Sharma, will leave the company. He will be replaced beginning Sept. 12 by Douglas Petersen, chief operating officer of Citibank. Sharma will leave the company amid the furor caused by S&P’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating two weeks ago to AA+ from triple A because of the prolonged political debate over how to raise the country’s debt limit. The downgrade caused investors to be jittery and led to declines in the global stock market. U.S. authorities criticized S&P for the credit downgrade and are investigating the rating agency. Sharma, 55, will stay with S&P until the end of the year. He explained his decision to step down to pursue other opportunities, according to S&P’s parent company, McGraw-Hill. When Peterson takes over in [...] Continue Reading…
High-tech measures to curb illegal fishing in Congo
BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (IRIN) – Congolese authorities have taken steps to curb illegal fishing in their territorial waters to ensure the survival of fishery resources and boost food security. The latest measure is a satellite surveillance system that monitors all the fishing boats operating in the country’s maritime waters. “The Vessel Monitoring System allows us to conduct surveillance of all the fishing vessels in the sea without exception,” said Dieudonné Kiessiekiaoua, a fishing and aquaculture adviser in the Department of Fisheries. Kiessiekiaoua said: “The Minister of Fisheries has a screen at his desk that allows him to follow, in real time, the movements of every ship. It’s a measure designed to combat illegal fishing, since we have to ensure sound management of the fish, which are the inheritance of all Congolese. We must safeguard them for future generations who will also turn to them for food.” [...] Continue Reading…
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Macy’s Agrees to Pay $750,000 Civil Penalty for Failing to Report Drawstrings in Children’s Outerwear
Cincinnati, OH, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that Macy’s Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $750,000. The penalty agreement (pdf) has been provisionally accepted by the Commission. The settlement resolves CPSC staff allegations that Macy’s knowingly failed to report to CPSC immediately, as required by federal law, that it had sold children’s sweatshirts, sweaters and jackets with drawstrings at the neck between 2006 and 2010. Children’s upper outerwear with drawstrings, including sweatshirts, sweaters and jackets, poses a strangulation hazard to children that can result in serious injury or death. The sweatshirts, sweaters and jackets that are the subject of the penalty agreement were sold by Macy’s and Macy’s-owned stores, including Bloomingdale’s, and Robinsons-May. CPSC staff alleges that Macy’s knowingly sold some garments after a recall had been negotiated, which the Consumer Product Safety [...] Continue Reading…
Eurozone manufacturing slows, unemployment stabilizes, inflation remains high
Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Berlin, Germany (AHN) – Manufacturing growth in eurozone countries slowed in June, but unemployment has not increased although inflation is troubling. Exports and domestic demand both fell to an 18-month low, according to a survey by Markit’s. Its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 52.0 June down from 54.6 in May. Although any reading above 50 is an indication of growth, the June figures were the PMIs lowest reading since December 2009. The news was mixed when it came to unemployment and inflation. May unemployment in the eurozone did not go up but remained steady at 9.9 percent. Howevder, eurozon inflation has remained above the European Central Bank’s 2 percent target ceiling and was steady at 2.7 percent last month.
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U.S. economy grew at tepid 1.9% during first quarter
Linda Young – AHN News Writer
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The United States economy grew at a slow 1.9 percent pace during the first quarter of the year a slowdown in growth that Federal Reserve policy makers hope will only be a temporary. In contrast, the economy grew at a more robust 3.1 percent rate in the previous quarter. Still the 1.9 percent figure was better than the 1.8 percent rise in gross domestic product predicted for the first quarter by government officials last month. Real gross domestic product is the total output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the U.S. “The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from federal government spending and [...] Continue Reading…
U.S. economy grew at tepid 1.9% during first quarter
Linda Young – AHN News Writer
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The United States economy grew at a slow 1.9 percent pace during the first quarter of the year a slowdown in growth that Federal Reserve policy makers hope will only be a temporary. In contrast, the economy grew at a more robust 3.1 percent rate in the previous quarter. Still the 1.9 percent figure was better than the 1.8 percent rise in gross domestic product predicted for the first quarter by government officials last month. Real gross domestic product is the total output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the U.S. “The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from federal government spending and [...] Continue Reading…
