The Arab Spring has been a time of both excitement and uncertainty for many companies operating in the Middle East. Despite this, Switzerland-based food and confectionary company Nestlé is investing some $160 million into its manufacturing, distribution and skills base in Egypt, and progressing a new initiative to promote nutrition education among children.

Supplying services to South Africa’s mid-market appliance and retail sector, Laser Logistics has been re-engineering its business and developing a comprehensive logistics capability. CEO Warren Hewitt explains to Gay Sutton how this has been achieved.

AT&T has indicated for the first time that its proposed merger with T-Mobile USA may not go ahead.

Dallas, Texas-based AT&T and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom have announced the withdrawal of their merger application from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), following an announcement this week by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that he was moving to block the deal.

Such a move would create a major obstacle to the merger in the near term.

Automotive giant Toyota has announced an investment of more than £100 million into one of its UK manufacturing sites.

The investment will be made at Toyota’s Burnaston, Derbyshire factory, to manufacture new generation hatchbacks.

Manufacturing the C-segment family sized hatchback models will create up to 1,500 additional jobs in the next two years.

Commenting on the news, the UK’s prime minister David Cameron said: “This major announcement from Toyota is fantastic news and a massive vote of confidence for UK manufacturing.

Statoil Canada has announced it is investing $1 million into research expertise in reservoir engineering.

The investment is to be matched by the Research & Development Corporation (RDC), and will create the Statoil Chair and Statoil Associate Chair in Reservoir Engineering at Memorial University, Newfoundland, fostering the development of a new Petroleum Engineering research program in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

Statoil Canada and RDC will each contribute a total of $1 million over the next five years.

The UK’s Weir Group has agreed to acquire US-based Seaboard Holdings for $675 million (£431 million).

Based in Houston, Texas, Seaboard manufactures engineered wellhead and pressure control equipment for the oil & natural gas exploration and production industries. The company also provides a range of field and support services, including equipment rental for the onshore oil & gas drilling, completion and production markets.

Andy Hutt, CEO of triOpsis, looks at the need for visibility in industries that rely on physical assets and the steps that can be taken to avoid failures.

A surprising number of businesses have yet to define clear targets for reducing their carbon emissions. Hugh Jones, managing director of the Carbon Trust Advisory Services, explains why the time has come to take action.

Roman Bukary of NetSuite Inc outlines the benefits and advantages offered by the modern supply web.

Trading globally is not just for the big multinationals, says Linda Kozlowski, director of Global Marketing and Customer Experienceat Alibaba.com.