PepsiCo in drive to regain sales
PepsiCo, the food and snack company, on Thursday laid out a broad range of steps aimed at reinvigorating its US soft-drink business, including a redesign of its flagship cans, and the launch of its first drinks using a low-calorie natural sweetener.
Cheaper food buying raises obesity fears
Cash-poor consumers are ditching healthy, more expensive foods such as smoothies and organic vegetables for cheaper, less healthy ones such as hamburgers and frozen pizzas, raising fears the fight against obesity has become the latest victim of the economic downturn.
Tills are alive with sound of M&S ‘riot’
Marks and Spencer on Thursday staged only its second one-day sale ahead of Christmas in another sign of retailers’ deepening concern over consumer sentiment at the start of what should be the busiest time of year on the high street.
But the surprise effort to entice shoppers with 20 per cent off at least appeared to produce the desired effect on cash-strapped consumers at the new Westfield shopping centre in London.
Demand jitters push crude below $50
Oil sank below $50 a barrel, reaching its lowest point since May 2005 amid fears over the outlook for demand in the face of a global recession.
The drop in oil prices led a broader retreat in raw materials, with the Reuters-Jefferies CRB commodity index, a global benchmark, falling to a five-year low.
Bay area powers up for age of electric cars
Government and business leaders in the San Francisco Bay area laid out plans on Thursday for new infrastructure capable of supporting a vast fleet of electric cars
Local officials described the move as part of an attempt to put the region – including Silicon Valley – at the forefront of electric vehicle development in the US.
Oxford Instruments reveals jump in net debt
Shares in Oxford Instruments slumped after it revealed its net debt had jumped more than 50 per cent in the past six months.
The high-tech instruments group saw net debt rise from £17.8m at the end of 2007 to £24m as working capital rose £2.3m. It made two acquisitions totalling £3.4m and was hit by £1.6m on foreign exchange movements.
Did asteroid cause ancient N.Y. tsunami?
Did asteroid cause ancient N.Y. tsunami?
New clues suggest an 330-foot asteroid slammed into the Atlantic Ocean
By Michael Reillyupdated 4:39 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2008
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Single-celled giant upends early evolution
Single-celled giant upends early evolution
G. sphaerica’s traces are spitting image of the old, Precambrian fossils
By Michael Reillyupdated 4:23 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2008
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Beavers arrive for spring release
Four beaver families were caught in the Telemark region of Norway
Four beaver families have arrived in the UK as part of a historic plan to reintroduce the mammals to Scotland for the first time in more than 400 years.
The beavers were flown into Heathrow Airport on Thursday night from Norway.
First otter reaches Farne Islands
It is the first time otter tracks have been found in the Farne Islands
An otter has survived a “perilous” three-mile sea crossing to the Farne Islands for the first time, the National Trust has said.
The animal, more commonly found in rivers, has swum from the coast of Northumberland despite rough seas.
Government warns of “catastrophic” U.S. quake
By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - People in a vast seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States would face catastrophic damage if a major earth quake struck there and should ensure that builders keep that risk in mind, a government report said on Thursday.
Astronauts finish second spacewalk outside station
By Chris Baltimore
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Shuttle Endeavour astronauts working outside the orbiting International Space Station faced glitches during a second spacewalk on Thursday, as one astronaut experienced high carbon-dioxide levels after his crew mate lost a tool bag on the mission’s first spacewalk.
Huge glaciers detected under rocky debris on Mars
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A radar instrument aboard a NASA spacecraft has detected large glaciers hidden under rocky debris that may be the vestiges of ice sheets that blanketed parts of Mars in a past ice age, researchers said on Thursday.
China says quake school toll over 19,000
By Lucy Hornby
BEIJING (Reuters) - Schools that collapsed during China’s May 12 earth quake killed more than 19,000 people, nearly a quarter of the total deaths, an official said on Friday, giving the first government estimate.
The deaths of children, many buried under ruins of shoddily built classrooms while nearby buildings withstood the tremors, has been the most controversial aspect of the disaster.
Australia govt says won’t monitor Japan whalers
By Rob Taylor
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia won’t send a fisheries patrol ship this year to shadow Japanese whalers and protests near Antarctica, the government said on Friday, appealing for activists to keep high seas protests peaceful.
Q: Since the beginning of summer, has Buffalo been cooler and wetter than normal?
Q: Since the beginning of summer, has Buffalo been cooler and wetter than normal? Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz
A: For the 3 summer months, June and August were slightly cooler than average, while July was slightly warmer than average. As for precipitation, June and August had overhead-average rainfall, while July had below-average rainfall. Here are the temperature and precipitation totals by month, for Buffalo, along with the averages:
St Paul’s tower may ‘grind to halt’ after council veto
Sheffield planning committee rejects changes proposed by architect on £40m scheme
The future of a half-built tower in Sheffield is “on a knife-edge” after the city council turned down proposed design changes.
The 30-storey St Paul’s scheme by City Lofts (Sheffield), for which 300 workers are already on site, is central to the regeneration of the city. However, design changes proposed by the architect to remedy construction problems have been vetoed for a second time by the council.