Consumer Non-Cyclicals

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's announced on Wednesday a modest rise in quarterly sales thanks to a record Christmas trading period for the group.

Britain's struggling pubs will be protected from unfair rents and beer prices by a new independent watchdog, the government said on Tuesday.

Global fast food chain McDonald's is embracing its Australian nickname Down Under, with selected stores around the country changing their signage on Tuesday to "Macca's".

Zambia's President Michael Sata warned Monday that high food prices could spark riots, which toppled a previous government, as he put pressure on millers to keep prices down.

Tokyo stocks opened 0.52 percent higher on Monday, following US gains thanks to a steady December jobs report and an improvement in a key index for the service sector.

Japanese beverage giant Kirin has decided to sell its Tokyo headquarters in order to reduce debts as it aggressively buys foreign firms in a bid to expand its global reach, a report said Sunday.

Starbucks said Thursday it would open its first store in Vietnam next month, seeking a foothold in the coffee-loving country as part of efforts to expand in Asia.

Dutch food giant Unilever has agreed to sell its Skippy brand of peanut butter to the US group Hormel Foods in an all-cash deal worth $700 million (534 million euros), it said on Thursday.

London shares closed higher on Wednesday as investor sentiment was boosted after US talks to avert a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts reached a compromise.

A "sin tax" on cigarettes and alcohol dampened the New Year party spirit when it was introduced in the Philippines, as part of a government bid to boost finances.

Belgium is rightly proud as producer of some of the world's finest chocolate but changing tastes and new markets in Asia and the Arab world are shaking up its somewhat predictable chocolate scene.

Belgium is rightly proud as producer of some of the world's finest chocolate but changing tastes and new markets in Asia and the Arab world are shaking up its somewhat predictable chocolate scene.

A city in east China suspended 12 officials on Wednesday, including a vice mayor, policemen and education administrators, after 11 children were killed in a road wreck involving an overloaded vehicle.

A rainbow-colored Oreo has been rated the year's top gay ad by BuzzFeed.com. A photo of a rainbow-themed Oreo cookie to support Gay Pride on the brand's Facebook page in June has been rated the year's top gay ad by BuzzFeed.com. The simple message of support included a chocolate Oreo cookie filled with six layers of rainbow-colored icing along with the caption, ?June 25 | PRIDE.? The image went viral on social media. Some Oreo Facebook fans criticized the brand and parent company Kraft Foods, Inc, the world's third largest food and beverage company by revenue. ?I'm never eating Oreos again. This is disgusting,? wrote a supposed former fan. ?Unliking page and the rest of the 'kraft' family products,? wrote another. ?I will not support a company with these views.? A supporter wrote: ?Oreos, keep supporting what you want to. Don't let religious nuts stop you from making this world better. You have a lot more respect from me.? The ad was also criticized by One Million Moms, the group close

A fire broke out in a factory in eastern Saudi Arabia on Saturday killing six workers, a spokesman for the Jubail industrial zone said, updating an earlier death toll of five.

A German gummy bear maker won a court battle Tuesday against a Swiss manufacturer of chocolate teddy bears over the marketing of their sweets.

South Korea has suspended its imports of Brazilian beef, becoming the sixth country to do so over a two-year-old case of mad cow disease, authorities said here Tuesday.

N. Joseph Woodland, inventor of the now ubiquitous bar code that revolutionized retail, has died at the age of 91, US media reported Friday.

Coca-Cola FEMSA of Mexico is to take control of the US soft drink firm's bottling operations in the Philippines in a $688.5 million cash deal, the buyer announced on its website Friday.

A worker laid off by a beef processor after US media reported the use of "pink slime" in fast food and school lunches is suing reporters and a celebrity chef, alleging a campaign of "misinformation."