Consumer Non-Cyclicals

US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola will cut 750 jobs in the United States as part of a restructuring of its North America operations, a company spokesman said Thursday.

France's Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault landed in Ottawa on Wednesday for a four-day visit that includes talks with his Canadian counterpart on quickening Canada-EU free trade negotiations.

US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola is "cooperating fully" with Chinese authorities on allegations that it illegally mapped part of a southwestern province as part of its distribution operations, it said Wednesday.

Six in 10 Britons have changed their shopping habits following the horsemeat scandal, with many buying less processed meat, while consumer confidence in the food industry has plummeted, a survey published Wednesday suggests.

After years of trying, the EU finally put into effect Monday a complete ban on the sale of cosmetics developed through animal testing.

Imports to meet Europe's ever-growing food demand require it using land beyond its borders roughly the size of Scandinavia, according to a new study that urges belt-tightening.

China will retain its crown as the world's fastest growing wine consumption market although the rate is tipped to slow significantly after years of explosive expansion, according to a new study.

Global food prices remained stable in February from the previous month and wheat harvests are set to increase by 4.3 percentage points this year, the UN's food agency in Rome said on Thursday.

Taiwan and the United States will resume stalled trade talks next week after Taipei removed a six-year-old ban on some US beef imports, officials said Wednesday.

Indian tax authorities have accused the local unit of chocolate giant Cadbury of evading $46 million in taxes by pretending to produce sweets at a factory that did not exist, according to a report.

The US services sector picked up pace slightly in February despite the impact of payroll tax hikes at the beginning of the year, the Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday.

Saudi police have arrested 176 people, including 15 women, for holding an illegal protest to demand the release of Islamist prisoners, according to the official SPA news agency.

Horsemeat has been found in ground beef supplied to Taco Bell's three restaurants in Britain after tests sparked by Europe's sprawling food scandal, the US fast food giant said Friday.

Japan's Shiseido on Friday said it was mostly dropping animal-tested cosmetics, as the European Union gets set to finalise a sweeping ban on the sale of such products later this month.

British American Tobacco, the world's second-biggest maker of cigarettes, announced on Thursday a 24-percent hike in annual net profit.

South Africa has launched an "urgent" investigation into how unlabelled donkey, water buffalo and goat got into meat products sold in supermarkets.

The Australian government's pension fund for public servants Thursday announced it would sell off its Aus$222 (US$228) million holdings in tobacco companies following the nation's move towards plain packaging.

Russia said Wednesday it had found horsemeat in a shipment of pork sausages imported from Austria in its first known case of horsemeat contamination as the scandal spread further across Europe.

Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby said Wednesday that its net profit fell for the third time in a row with a drop of 35.7 percent in the second quarter on the back of lower crude palm oil prices.

Ikea said Wednesday it was withdrawing more food products from its stores in Europe as tests confirmed the presence of horsemeat in its meatballs.