USA and Canada

While governments struggle to prop up their currencies in a recession, producers of precious metals see nothing but upside. Endeavour Silver Corp. has a business model tailored to the times, as Godfrey Walton explains.

Engineering specialist BESTECH has been named in Queen’s University’s School of Business annual list of the 50 Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada for 2012.

With offices in Sudbury, Timmins, and Toronto, Ontario, BESTECH specializes in engineering, automation, software development and environmental monitoring to assist companies in the mining, pulp and paper, forestry, oil and gas, manufacturing and other industries enhance their productivity, profitability and safety.

DuPont and Yingli Energy (China) Company Limited have signed a $100 million strategic agreement for photovoltaic materials to accelerate the adoption of solar energy.

The agreement was signed today in Washington, DC, in a ceremony organized by the US Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Commerce, People's Republic of China. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Yingli will purchase a range of trademarked photovoltaic materials from DuPont.

American “retail treat” brand Dairy Queen opened its 500th franchise in China this week, and plans another hundred before the end of this year.

The 500th DQ restaurant is located in the Hu Dong finance district in Shanghai, and is operated by Shanghai Shida Catering Management Company, which already has more than 350 Dairy Queen sites throughout southern and eastern China.

At the Chicago Auto Show today, Toyota announced the return of its 100 Cars for Good program.

For the second year in a row, Toyota will award 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to 100 US nonprofits, with winners selected through public voting on the Toyota Facebook page.  

The announcement was made by Michael Rouse, vice president of philanthropy and community affairs for Toyota Motor Sales, USA, who was accompanied by some of the nonprofits that received vehicles in last year's 100 Cars for Good program.

The University of Kentucky’s Lean Systems Program is perhaps the closest you can come to understanding lean as Toyota sees it. Program director Ken Kreafle and Kathleeen Jeurisson of Lake Region Medical, talk about the people side of true lean.

Logistics company Lynden International has extended its reach with the opening of a new service centre in Belgium, Lynden International (BE).

The new facility will see the company entering the transport and logistics services market catering for Belgium-based medical, pharmaceutical and other growth industries.

The centre will serve the medical and pharmaceutical industries with temperature-controlled shipping and single-point entry departure in and out of Europe, the company said.

US carmaker Chrysler Group today reported its best January sales since 2008, with US sales of 101,149, a 44 percent increase over January 2011.

Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram Truck brands each posted sales increases in January compared with the same month a year ago, in the 22nd-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.

Chrysler brand sales increased the most, with 17,604 units sold, up 81 percent over the previous year, with Ram Truck sales up 42 percent, Jeep up 37 percent, and Dodge increasing by 29 percent.

Westinghouse Electric Company today announced the signing of an exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Czech construction company Metrostav, in preparation for the potential construction of nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic.

Caterpillar delivered record-breaking 2011 sales and revenues of $60.14 billion, an increase of 41 percent from $42.59 billion in 2010.

Profit in 2011 was $4.93 billion, an increase of 83 percent from $2.70 billion in 2010. Profit per share of $7.40 was up 78 percent from $4.15 in 2010.

Excluding the impact of the acquisition of Bucyrus International, Inc, 2011 profit was $7.79 per share, up 88 percent from a year ago.