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Market conditions have created new opportunities for South American and Asian businesses to acquire iconic companies in the U.S. Brazil's meat-processing giant JBS S.A. may be pursuing a takeover of Sara Lee Corp.

As part of its plan to refocus its operations, Sara Lee Corp. will sell its bread business in North America to Grupo Bimbo of Mexico for $1 billion. Sara Lee will use some of the proceeds to fund its share-buyback program.

Cadbury PLC agreed to sell itself to Kraft Foods Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal that values Cadbury at 11.9 billion pounds sterling or 850 pence per share. The final price reflects a 10% increase over Kraft's original bid. Kraft also raised the cash portion of the offer.

Although no final decision has been made, Hershey Co. and the charitable trust that controls it are expected to make an offer for Cadbury PLC to rival an existing offer of $16.5 billion from Kraft Foods Inc.

The Milton Hershey School & School Trust provides assistance to some 1,800 disadvantaged children and controls confectionery giant Hershey Co. To meet ever-growing demand for its services, the fund has focused on aggressively increasing its income. Article discusses the fund's history, management, and role in Hershey's possible bid for Cadbury PLC to rival a $16.5 billion offer from Kraft Foods Inc.

The charitable trust that controls Hershey Co. wants the confectionery firm to launch a rival $17 billion bid for Cadbury PLC to compete with the $16.5 billion offered by Kraft Foods Inc. Hershey and the trust are working with creditors to raise the funds, but a bid wouldn't be ready for at least a couple of weeks.

Saying it undervalues the company, Cadbury PLC rejected a 10.2-billion-pounds-sterling takeover offer from Kraft Foods Inc. The offer values Cadbury shares at a 31% premium over its closing share price on Friday. U.S.-based Kraft stood to benefit from Cadbury's distribution channels and presence in international markets which account for most of Cadbury's sales. Kraft's offer might prompt a bid from rival Hershey Co.

In response to the global economic downturn, machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. said it will slash an additional 7,500 from its workforce, bringing the total of announced job cuts to 20,000. For the quarter ended December 31, the company reported a 32% net income drop to $661 million, and a drop in sales of 6% to $12.9 billion. Caterpillar expects a 10% drop in full-year sales to $51.32 billion in 2009. Caterpillar's shares dropped 8% to close at $32.67 on the New York Stock Exchange.

In response to declining sales, machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. will lay off 814 workers at its small-engine factory in Mossville, Illinois. Global machinery sales through dealers fell 6% for the quarter ended in November. Caterpillar recently announced it would built a midsize-engine plant near San Antonio for which the company will receive subsidies from the state of Texas.

Despite a planned price increase, farm equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. expects net profit to drop to about $1.9 billion in fiscal 2009 from this year's $2 billion. Sales are expected to remain flat at about $28 billion. For its fiscal fourth quarter, Deere reported an 18% drop in net income to $345 million.

Affected by high commodity prices, machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. posts a 6.4% net income drop to $868 million for the period ended September 30, and a 13% revenue increase to $12.98 billion. The company's shares dropped 5% to close at $38.83 on the New York Stock Exchange. Article also discusses Caterpillar's revenue expectations through 2009.

Byline: ILAN BRAT OAKVILLE, IOWA -- Farmer Keith Ball is taking a gamble. Mr. Ball, 53 years old, said he will try to replant 80 acres that were flooded in [...]

Byline: ILAN BRAT AND TIMOTHY AEPPEL Surging U.S. exports on a range of goods including corn, soybeans and frozen pork are hitting a bottleneck in the nation's overloaded ports, threatening [...]

3M co. of the United States is planning to sell its pharmaceutical unit. The decision to divest is the first major move by the new Chief Executive Officer George Buckley. Sales at the health-care business have been flat at $4 billion in 2005, compared to 2004.

Merck and Company Inc. of the United States has been fined $253 million in a litigation settlement for the complications of the medication Vioxx. The analgaesic medication was linked to lethal heart attacks and was implicated in the death of runner Robert Ernst.

Sales of ethanol fuels may be limited by the transportation capacity of railroads.

As manufacturing industries boom around the world the demand for welders is increasing, but the number of qualified workers has dropped.

Milk crates used to be mainly stolen by college students looking for storage containers, but in the past few years rising plastics prices have resulted in thefts by the recycling industry.

Thousands of immigrants across the country took the day off to call for immigration reform as part of a National Day of Action, but the economic impact was not as big as feared because the numbers could have been higher.

The Department of Agriculture and the nonprofit U.S. Animal Identification Organization are starting a program in which livestock are each given a 15-digit identification number.

Independent dairy farmer Hein Hettinga is able to use a loophole in federal law to avoid pricing rules, and his success is leading to attempts to change the laws.

Data submitted by the plaintiffs suing Merck indicate that Merck was aware of results from an Oxford University study that indicated that some Vioxx users started to experience heart symptoms after just weeks of taking the medication, instead of eighteen months as Merck has previously claimed.

French food company Danone S.A. will pay $21 million in settlement of charges of exaggerated health claims made for its Activia yogurt product. State and federal agencies were investigating the company's advertising, which made unsubstantiated claims of health benefits from using the product.

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc., better-known as A&P, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company's debts equal $3.2 billion and assets are around $2.5 billion. It posted a loss of $153.7 million in the quarter ending Sept.11.

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc., more commonly-known as A&P, is near a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as it deals with a debt of more than $1 billion. The iconic company began in the 1800s. Its main difficulties have arisen from supply-chain problems and competition from stronger rivals.

Sara Lee Corp. is searching for a new chief executive officer following the resignation of Brenda Barnes for health issues. Barnes, who suffered a strike in May, was instrumental in the company's huge reconstruction over the past five years. Barnes will also step down from her post as chairperson.