Sugar supplies may outpace demand by as much as 8 million tonnes next season, a second consecutive year of surplus, according to Singapore-based trader Olam International Ltd. Production will be 6 million to 8 million tonnes higher than consumption in the 2012-13 season starting in October, after a surplus of 9 million tonnes in 2011-12, Piero Carello, general manager of the company's sugar division in Europe, and John Stansfield, a senior analyst, said in an interview in Dubai on Saturday before the opening of an annual sugar conference organized by Kingsman SA, a broker and researcher.

'Sugar supply may outpace demand by 8 mn tonnes'

Business Standard

China&rsquo;s economic expansion would be cut almost in half if Europe&rsquo;s debt crisis worsens, a scenario that would warrant &ldquo;significant&rdquo; fiscal stimulus from the nation&rsquo;s government, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

China growth rate could be halved if Europe worsens

Chinese shoppers on their Lunar New Year holiday were less lavish than expected by Hong Kong jewellers, curbed spending on beauty brands and slowed spending at South Korean stores. They may keep that pace in the coming year of the dragon.

Lowest new year sales growth since 2009 shows dim outlook

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos struck a tentative deal with political parties on austerity measures demanded by international creditors as European leaders maintained pressure to complete terms for a Euro 130-billion($171 billion) rescue package.

Greek leaders wrestle with spending cuts

The number of positions waiting to be filled climbed by 258,000, the biggest gain since February 2011, to 3.38 million, the labour department said on Tuesday in Washington.

US job openings rise by the most in a year

Dongyan Wang, an executive at data-storage provider NetApp Inc, did what peers at some other businesses deem unthinkable: He let the company's 10,000 employees start making their own mobile applications for work.

DIY mobile apps win Honeywell to Disney

Mark Zuckerberg may sell about $1.67 billion of Facebook Inc stock in the company&rsquo;s initial public offering to pay off taxes he will owe when he exercises options to buy 120 million shares.

Zuckerberg may sell $1.67 bn in FB stock to cover taxes

European Union and Persian Gulf countries recalled their ambassadors from Damascus, increasing diplomatic isolation for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as he conferred with Russian officials on a way to resolve the crisis.

Russia huddles with Syria's Assad as Europe joins gulf in pulling envoys

Munich-based BMW&rsquo;s fine is the largest related to safety by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) the investigator of automobile defects and regulator of recalls, since the record $16.4 million levied against Toyota Motor Corp in 2010. It&rsquo;s NHTSA&rsquo;s second-largest penalty since at least 1999, according to agency records.

US fines BMW $3 mn for defect-report delays 

Confidence among U.S. consumers declined more than forecast in February as growing optimism about job prospects failed to ease concern wages will stagnate.

US consumer sentiment falls more than forecast

President Barack Obama will revive proposals for $1.5 trillion in tax increases as well as spending to boost jobs as part of a 2013 budget request that projects the deficit shrinking next year to $901 billion.

Obama budget projects $901-bn deficit in 2013

UniCredit SpA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA were among 34 Italian financial firms downgraded by Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s, after the credit-ratings company reduced the nation&rsquo;s grade last month.

S&P downgrades ratings of 34 Italian banks

China&rsquo;s exports probably declined in January after a slowdown in foreign trade in the second half of last year, commerce minister Chen Deming said as he pledged to maintain &ldquo;stability&rdquo; in the yuan&rsquo;s exchange rate. Exports in January &ldquo;cannot make us optimistic&rdquo; and are &ldquo;expected to have negative growth due to Chinese New Year and other factors,&rdquo; Chen said on Thursday in a written response to questions from Bloomberg News.

China January exports may have fallen

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments unexpectedly declined last week, indicating the labour market recovery was gaining traction. Applications for jobless benefits decreased 15,000 in the week ended February 4 to 358,000, labour department figures showed on Thursday. Economists forecast 370,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

US jobless claims near 4-year low

Greek political leaders announced agreement on austerity measures, clearing the way for a deal to cut the nation&rsquo;s debt and win its second rescue in two years.

Greece delivers pact to win bailout approval

Apple Inc, maker of the iPad and iPhone, for the second time failed to win a ban on sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy 10.1N from a German court.

Apple loses bid to ban sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 

Microsoft Corp, the world's largest software maker, will unveil the first broadly available test version of the Windows 8 operating system on February 29 in Barcelona, Spain, at a mobile industry show.

Microsoft to unveil Windows 8 preview 

The US, lacking a plan to contain $1 trillion deficits, faces the prospect of another rating cut in six to 24 months depending on the outcome of November elections, according to John Chambers of Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s.

US faces S&P downgrade if no budget plan

German exports fell four times more than economists forecast in December as the sovereign debt crisis damped growth across the euro region.

German exports slump faster than forecast amid crisis

Nokia Oyj, the world&rsquo;s largest maker of mobile phones, will cut about 4,000 jobs in its factories in Hungary, Mexico and Finland to speed up the delivery of devices and get closer to suppliers.

Nokia to cut 4,000 jobs, shift production to Asia

Apple Inc sued Motorola Mobility Inc in a bid to block Motorola&rsquo;s patent infringement claims against Apple in Germany.

Bloomberg

Bloomberg

Page 1097 - Bloomberg/workspace/business Standard Web/video