USA and Canada

Despite the debt crisis in Europe, unrest in the Middle East and the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, leading US companies are turning in unexpectedly encouraging results.

A blitz of fresh quarterly results has hit news desks in the last few days, many of which are surprisingly good.

The South African seafood division of Lonrho has signed a deal to supply the US retailing giant Walmart.

Walmart will be stocking Oceanfresh’s pure hake fillets in 500 of its stores from October this year.

The Oceanfresh fillets come from wild caught, sustainably sourced white hake that is caught in the Benguela current off the coast of Southern Africa.

US aerospace and defense executives are looking at strategic acquisitions and expansion into new markets to promote company growth, according to a recent survey by KPMG.

Faced with tighter federal defense budgets, stiffer competition and a struggling home economy, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of A&D executives say their companies will be involved in a merger or acquisition as a buyer in the next two years.

The boards of directors of Ecolab Inc. and Nalco Holding Company have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Nalco will merge with a subsidiary of Ecolab.

Ecolab Inc. is a global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety and infection prevention products and services. Nalco is the world's largest sustainability services company focused on industrial water, energy and air applications, and is seen as a natural complement to Ecolab’s portfolio.

AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, announced landmark agreements today with both Airbus and Boeing to replace and transform American's narrowbody fleet over five years.

These new aircraft will allow American to reduce its operating and fuel costs and deliver state-of-the-art amenities to customers, while maximizing financial flexibility for the company.

PepsiCo has joined forces with Grupo Embotelladoras Unidas to create a nationwide beverage company in Mexico.

The joint venture will combine PepsiCo’s beverage manufacturing and distribution operations in Mexico with those of GEUSA, a subsidiary of GEUPEC. Empresas Polar, the largest food and beverage company in Venezuela and a longtime leading bottler of Pepsi-Cola products in that country, will have an equity stake in the joint venture.

Global pallet and container pooling services supplier CHEP has secured a new contract in the US with compact industrial vehicle producer Bobcat Company.

The companies have formed a three-year partnership under which CHEP Automotive Americas will be Bobcat’s returnable packaging provider for its manufacturing operations in North Dakota.

BHP Billiton has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Texas-based oil and gas company Petrohawk Energy to expand its interests in the booming shale gas market.

The equity value of the transaction is $12.1 billion, and the Petrohawk board of directors has unanimously recommended the offer to shareholders.

austriamicrosystems, a designer and manufacturer of high-performance analogue ICs, has acquired the Texan manufacturer Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions (TAOS).

The value of the deal is $320 million (approx. €226 million).

General Motors is to invest $129 million in powertrain plants in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan as part of a $2 billion investment program in 17 facilities in eight states over the next 18 months.

For the plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Bedford, Indiana, which make transmissions for Buick and Chevrolet models with eAssist fuel-saving technology, this is a second helping of investment since May, bringing total investment at the plants to $287 million and $81 million respectively.