Amazon has purchased flexible touch screen maker Touchco in an apparent attempt to better compete against Apple's new product, the iPad.  It is thought that Amazon plans to use the technology developed by Touchco to offer a touch-screen interface with its Kindle e-readers.

A new offshore crude oil field has been discovered in the emirate of Dubai, the government has announced.

Kraft Foods has won control of UK confectioner Cadbury after holders of almost 72 percent of the companyÔÇÖs shares accepted the $18.6 billion takeover.  The deal, which brings a five-month battle over the company to an end, will create the worldÔÇÖs biggest confectioner.  Once Kraft gains 75 percent of Cadbury's shares, it can delist them. At more than 90 percent, it can force remaining Cadbury shareholders to sell.  Kraft needed just 50 percent plus one share to take control of Cadbury.

Telecom Italia and SpainÔÇÖs Telef├│nica may be seeking to merge, it has been reported.

Factory sector activity in the US reported its best performance in over five years in January, boosting hopes of a growth in overall economic output.  The data, released by private research group the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), provides further evidence that the US economy is continuing to emerge from recession. The ISM said its index of manufacturing activity, also known as the purchasing managers index, moved to 58.4 in JanuaryÔÇöthe best reading since August 2004. The reading was 54.9 in December and 53.7 in November. Readings over 50 indicate growth.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has signed an agreement with the Brazilian industrial group Cosan to form a new ethanol-producing joint venture.

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Ontario TeachersÔÇÖ Pension Plan is considering a $2.7 billion bid for UK utility firm Northumbrian Water, according to UK newspaper the Sunday Times.  The $91 billion pension fund already owns 27 percent of the water company and now wants to buy the remaining stake, the newspaper said.

The trickle-down effect
The South African government is asking existing businesses to improve the lot of the wider black communityÔÇödemands which have changed the face of the countryÔÇÖs mining industry, as Jeff Daniels discovers.
Without first-hand observation, itÔÇÖs impossible to fully understand the conditions under which many black South African men used to live and work for the countryÔÇÖs mining operationsÔÇömany of which were owned by renowned international business names.

Hub of the cityTransnet Port Terminals in South Africa is revolutionising every aspect of the Cape Town Container Terminal as part of an ambitious and extensive five-year upgrade programme.