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S&P downgrades Portugal, Greece

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s delivered a damning verdict of the euro zone’s new plans for resolving sovereign debt crises, downgrading two of the euro zone’s most troubled member states on Tuesday. Get the full story »

Cocoa supply concerns rise for Blommer, others

(Blommer)

Ivory Coast’s increasingly violent political crisis has cast doubt not only over the availability of this year’s cocoa crop, but also its quality. The country supplies around one-third of the world’s cocoa.

“Concerns now are being raised in regard to how a long drawn out solution could negatively impact the quality and quantity of the country’s upcoming mid crop,” said Kip Walk, head of cocoa at Chicago-based Blommer Chocolate Co., one of the world’s largest cocoa processors that sells to major candy makers. Get the full story »

New iPad price highest in Denmark, lowest in U.S.

Apple’s new iPad went on sale in 25 countries internationally on Friday, but the United States is still the cheapest place to buy the latest version of the tablet computer. Get the full story »

Apple’s iPad 2 hits overseas stores after U.S. sellout

Hundreds of customers formed long lines outside Apple stores on Friday for the international launch of the iPad 2, which has flown off the shelves in the United States and left the company struggling to meet demand. Get the full story »

Exelon unable to quantify quake costs

The U.S. nuclear industry will see a “significant” increase in operating and regulatory costs following the Japanese nuclear emergency, but the magnitude won’t be known for several months, the head of the largest fleet of U.S. nuclear reactors said on Thursday. Get the full story »

FDA bans some food imports from Japan

The Food and Drug Administration is banning imports of milk and fresh fruit and vegetables from areas near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Get the full story »

Harris Bank parent aims for five-fold profit jump

Bank of Montreal aims to more than quintuple annual earnings from its U.S. operations, following the $4.1 billion acquisition of U.S. lender Marshall & Ilsley. Get the full story »

Obama promotes U.S.-Latin America partnership

President Barack Obama called on Monday for a “new era of partnership” with Latin America as he acknowledged a sometimes troubled past between Washington and its neighbors in the region. Get the full story »

Asia leads steel production to new record

Asia’s mills lead the world’s crude steel production rate to a new record in February, the World Steel Association said Monday, as demand from economic recovery gathered pace.

Output in the West edged up but lagged pre-recession levels, World Steel said. Get the full story »

France fines Google over Street View data grab

France’s online privacy watchdog said Monday it has fined Google Inc.  100,000 euros, or around $144,000, for unfair data collection from wireless networks through the company’s Street View mapping service and localization program Latitude.

Last May, Google disclosed that the camera-equipped cars it uses to take pictures for Street View, which has provided panoramic views of city streets since it was launched in 2007, had for several years inadvertently collected personal data from unsecured wireless networks across the world. The revelation prompted scrutiny from authorities in a number of countries, including France and the United Kingdom. Get the full story »

China misses deadline on piracy ruling

China has missed a deadline to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling against restrictions on foreign companies distributing copyright-intensive goods including books, newspapers, films, DVDs and music, U.S. movie and music groups said Monday. Get the full story »

Google accuses China of blocking Gmail

Google Inc. on Monday accused the Chinese government of making it difficult for Gmail users to access the service in the country, the latest development in a rocky relationship between the two. Google said any difficulty users in China may have faced in the past few weeks accessing its email service was likely to be the result of government blocks, a Google spokeswoman said in a statement. Get the full story »

Deere expects delays in excavator deliveries

Deere & Co. said Friday it expects delivery delays for some construction excavators built under a joint venture with Japanese equipment manufacturer Hitachi. Get the full story »

Caterpillar warns of supply chain disruptions

Caterpillar Inc. said disruptions in its supply chain in Japan could sporadically affect the company’s assembly plants elsewhere in the world.

The Peoria-based manufacturer of construction equipment said Friday it is attempting to secure alternative sources for components produced by Japanese-based suppliers in case they aren’t able to provide sufficient volumes of components in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan. Get the full story »

U.S. to help Irish recover from economic woes

President Barack Obama said during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny on Thursday that the United States would help Ireland recover from its economic problems and that he would visit in May. Get the full story »