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Consumer products and services

Electrolux earnings up a third on strong sales
Sweden-based Electrolux's fourth-quarter earnings rose by a third compared to a year earlier and full-year income in 2012 was up by 25 percent despite ...
Daimler buys stake in Chinese automaker BAIC Motor
German luxury automaker Daimler AG said Friday it is buying a stake in the passenger car unit of its main Chinese partner to expand its presence in ...
Chinese automaker Geely buys maker of London cabs
The Chinese automaker that owns Sweden's Volvo Cars said Friday it has acquired the British manufacturer of the distinctive London cab. Geely Holding ...
LVMH cashes in on rising luxury goods demand
French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton confirmed Thursday that it's recession-proof: Net profit rose 12 percent last year, as ...
Poland: No proof yet horsemeat came from country
Poland is conducting DNA tests on meat samples at seven facilities to see if any are the source of horsemeat discovered this month in Irish-produced ...
Amer Sports Q4 profit falls despite sales growth
Global sports equipment maker Amer Sports Corp., whose brands include Atomic, Salomon and Wilson, says fourth-quarter profits plunged more than 80 ...
Ex-HMV employee lets loose on company Twitter feed
An employee apparently fired from music retailer HMV let loose on the company's Twitter feed Thursday, comparing the latest round of layoffs to a mass ...
Chocolate makers hit with German price-fixing fine
German antitrust authorities have fined 11 chocolate makers €60 million ($81.3 million) for colluding to rig the price of confectionary. The Federal ...
Brazil nightclub owner blames country for fire
The owner of a nightclub in southern Brazil where more than 230 people died in a fire last weekend deflected blame to "the whole country," as well as ...
Algeria crisis strangling Sahara tourism
The awe-inspiring dunes and wild mountains of Algeria's Sahara have lured adventure travelers for decades, but their latest incarnation — as a ...
New brand costs dent H&M's Q4 profits
Fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB is to press ahead with its global expansion plans with the opening of over 300 stores this year, even though it ...
Brazil police: Outdoor flare started club fire
Penny-pinching by a band known for its onstage pyrotechnic displays may have cost more than 230 people their lives at a nightclub in southern Brazil, ...
Philips loss widens in Q4; sheds division
Royal Philips Electronics NV Tuesday said it will sell the entertainment division which contains many of the consumer products for which it is best ...
Spanish store chain withdraws burgers
A Spanish supermarket chain has withdrawn its own-brand hamburgers after a consumer protection group found tiny traces of horsemeat in them.
No alarm, only 1 exit in Brazil nightclub fire
The nightclub Kiss was hot, steamy from the press of beer-fueled bodies dancing close. The Brazilian country band on stage was whipping the young ...
Antigua gets OK to become copyright haven
Americans call it piracy. Antiguans call it justice. The islands of Antigua and Barbuda are threatening to strip intellectual property protections ...
Neglect, errors to blame in Brazil nightclub fire
There was no fire alarm. There were no sprinklers or fire escapes. And when a band member tried to put out a fire that had been started by ...
Arrests made in Brazil fire, funerals begin
Brazilian police say they've made three arrests and are seeking a fourth person in connection with a nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people.
French autoworkers disrupt Peugeot Citroen plant
A few hundred French striking autoworkers are disrupting production at a key Peugeot Citroen plant north of Paris, protesting layoffs linked to its ...
Norwegian cruise operator to cut fourth of staff
Norway's Hurtigruten cruise line says it will streamline operations and slash staff by 25-30 percent in an effort to increase profitability.
Brazil nightclub fire kills more than 230 people
The bodies of the young college students were found piled up just inside the entrance of the Kiss nightclub, among more than 230 people who died in ...
Bangladesh probing if factory's 1 exit was locked
Bangladesh's government is investigating allegations that the sole emergency exit was locked at a garment factory where a fire killed seven women.
Volvo truck to pair with China's Dongfeng
Swedish truck maker AB Volvo says it will acquire a 45 percent stake in a new heavy-truck unit of China's Dongfeng Motor Group Co. for a total amount ...
Burger King drops supplier linked to horsemeat
British and Irish burger fans could face a Whopper shortage. Burger King has stopped buying beef from an Irish meat processor whose patties were found ...