COMPANIES

Ivory Coast cocoa-exporting farmers have asked their government to lower taxes to help them compete with more influential foreign exporters.

The Coca- Cola company said on Friday it will relocate its Africa Group office from Windsor, England to Johannesburg in South Africa starting in January next year, in a bid to increase business growth in Africa.

Ford Motor Co. on Friday said it would cut fourth-quarter production by 21 percent and also reduce third-quarter production to accelerate its turnaround plan.

Ford Motor Co. is considering closing more factories and eliminating more management jobs to cut North American salary costs by another 10 percent to 30 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported on its web site on Thursday.

A Federal bankruptcy judge allowed Northwest's flight attendants to strike on Thursday, with the airline vowing that it would appeal the decision.

A jury in a U.S. federal court found that pharmaceuticals company Merck & co. was responsible for the death of a man who took the company's Vioxx painkiller drug.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson's latest venture into South Africa, Virgin Money said on Wednesday it has already issued over 50,000 credit-cards in the six weeks since its launch.

Indra Nooyi, 50, must maintain strong growth and face the perpetual Coca Cola challenge.

Carl Icahn is planning to increase his stake in Time Warner Inc through a new fund he is developing, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing a letter the billionaire sent to investors.

AOL announced on Wednesday that it would acquire leading independent video game publication Gamedaily for an undisclosed amount.

Delphi Corp., posted a half year loss of $2.6 billion of which the bulk comes from its special attrition program.

Teck Cominco, the world's largest zinc producer, has withdrawn its offer for mining giant Inco, after failing to raise enough cash to fund the acquisition. Teck Cominco, the world's largest zinc producer, has withdrawn its offer for mining giant Inco, after failing to raise enough cash to fund the acquisition.

The market for limited medical care could provide a significant growth opportunity for public pharmacies, stated Standard & Poor's Equity Research.

Heinz announced that the results for a shareholder vote for its board of directors would not be known for weeks.

There's a cloud of diminished profits hanging over one of the U.S. market's leading auto parts retailers. In an economy which shows signs of slowing down and consumers are less willing to open their wallets, the company says it has to re-examine itself.

Pepsi Co. Inc. on Monday announced that it would be replacing current Chief Executive Steve Reinemund, after he announced he would retire, with the company's Chief Financial Officer, Indra Nooyi.

Indra Nooyi, who played in an all-girl rock band in her youth, brings her ease at performing onstage to the boardroom at PepsiCo Inc. where she will become the new chief executive, those who know her said on Monday.

Airlines will cut 20 percent of flights departing London's Heathrow Airport on Monday following a directive by the airport's owner amid a growing dispute over how to handle tougher security measures.

It all started with Canadian mining company Inco Ltd. saying that it wanted to acquire nickel miner Falconbridge Ltd.

CVDR had announced that it would bid for Canadian mining firm Inco amid two other competing offers.

Biotechnology firm ImClone said on Thursday that it had failed to find a buyer for the company six months after beginning its search at the beginning of the year.

Target Corp., the US market's second largest retailer, endured an uncertain economy in the latest quarter to earn a solid profit which beat Wall Street expectations.

Can technology create a non-hijackable plane?By 2008, European researchers aim to bring that vision closer to reality through an ambitious security program to combat on-board threats in an industry left reeling this week by a security scare that raised the specter of September 11.

Internet gaming group BETonSPORTS, which removed its chief executive from his job following his detention in Texas last month on racketeering charges, said on Friday it was closing down the U.S. business, which drives the vast majority of the company's profits.

South Africa's telecommunication giant Telkom's proposed takeover of IT company Business Connexion Ltd has been delayed as certain conditions have not been met on time, the group said on Thursday.

Sprint Nextel Corp. said on Thursday that it had secured a $1 million settlement from 1st Source Information Specialists in its case against the company related to the sale of call detail records.

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, has agreed to purchase online media company Atom Entertainment for $200 million on Wednesday.

General Motors Corp. on Thursday said it would build a revived version of the Camaro muscle car to go on sale in early 2009.

BHP declared on Tuesday that delivery from its copper mines in Chile had come to a halt due to a walkout staged by over 2,000 union workers.