USA and Canada

After a poor 2009, and despite making another loss, Harley-Davidson has reported encouraging results for year ending 31 December 2010.

After losing $218 million in 2009, the iconic motorcycle maker reported a loss from continuing operations of $42.1 million last year, including a one-off early loan repayment of $85.2 million during the fourth quarter, without which it would have turned in a healthy profit.

Sales and profits grew across all operating segments in 2010 for The Sherwin-Williams Company, which today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.

Compared to the same periods in 2009, consolidated net sales increased $296.8 million, or 18.6 percent, to $1.90 billion in the quarter and $682.2 million, or 9.6 percent, to $7.78 billion in the year due primarily to higher paint sales volume, acquisitions, and selling price increases.

Toyota ended 2010 as the world's largest automaker despite suffering a series of recalls and safety issues.

Toyota overtook General Motors in terms of total vehicle sales in 2008, after GM had held top spot for nearly 80 years.

Toyota’s reputation for quality has suffered since, as it recalled over 10 million vehicles around the world for issues ranging from faulty floor mats to computer software faults. It hung onto to its #1 position however, with 2010 sales of 8.42 million vehicles, against GM’s 8.39 million.

A two-day conference is being held in Michigan this week, focusing on global corporate responsibility issues, including raw material transparency, due diligence, ethics and compliance, and effective communication.

The Road to Corporate Responsibility conference will be held on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 January at the Management Education Center, 811 W. Square Lake Road, Troy, Michigan.

CleanTech Innovations, Inc announced today that it has signed two initial wind tower supply contracts totaling $11 million with a subsidiary of China HuaNeng Group, the largest energy company in China. The wind towers will be supplied to HuaNeng later this year.

"These two recent contracts represent approximately 50% of our entire 2010 revenues,” said Bei Lu, chairman & CEO of CleanTech. “The new contracts are critical to meeting our 2011 revenue targets in a favorable market environment.”

Perrigo Company announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Paddock Laboratories, Inc., a privately-held, Minneapolis-based manufacturer and marketer of generic pharmaceutical products, for approximately $540 million in cash.

The global market for coatings is forecast to reach almost $100 billion by 2015, according to research by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA).

The new GIA report, Coatings: A Global Strategic Business Report, predicts that the market will expand to $98.69 billion in the next five years, led by rapid industrialization, economic activity and vibrant demand from automotive and construction sectors in developing countries.

Honeywell announced today that it would turbocharge the new Chevrolet Sonic unveiled this week at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Sonic launch expands the number of new smaller, turbocharged gas engines introduced into the US auto market to boost fuel economy without sacrificing performance.

Meggitt, the UK engineering group, has announced it is to buy US-based Pacific Scientific Aerospace (PSA) in a deal worth $685 million (£428 million).

Dorset-based Meggitt, which makes engine-monitoring systems for Airbus and Boeing planes, said the acquisition would add fire and smoke suppression to its existing product portfolio, creating an integrated fire and smoke detection and suppression capability increasingly being demanded by its customers.

Walmart’s expansion into Africa has taken a step forward with the news that shareholders in South African wholesale firm Massmart have voted to accept the retail giant's bid for a 51 percent stake in the company.

The $2.5 billion dollar (€1.87 billion euro) offer was approved by over 97 percent of the South African company's shareholders, Massmart said in a statement.