German conglomerate Siemens buys majority in Yangtze Delta and GIS Steel & Aluminum of China

July 30th, 2009 Siemens Q3 net profit euro1.3 billion, down 7 percentFRANKFURT — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Thursday that net profit for its fiscal third quarter fell 7 percent as the global recession curbed demand for its products, which range from light bulbs to high-speed trains. The Munich-based company said net profit in the April-June period fell to euro1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) from euro1.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.

July 30th, 2009 Siemens 3Q net profit euro1.3 billion, down 7 percentFRANKFURT — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Thursday its net profit for its fiscal third quarter fell 7 percent as the global recession curbed demand for its products which range from light bulbs to high-speed trains. The Munich-based company said net profit in the April-June period fell to euro1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) from euro1.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.

July 29th, 2009 Alcoa Executive Chair, former CEO Belda to retirePITTSBURGH — Alcoa Inc. said Wednesday executive chairman and former CEO Alain Belda will retire as an executive of the aluminum company effective Aug.

July 21st, 2009 Companies that make passenger trains in USA sampling of major international companies that are positioned to make new passenger trains in the U.S. —Bombardier Inc., based in Montreal, operates an assembly plant in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

July 7th, 2009 German iron, steel output falls 45 percentFRANKFURT — German iron and steel output for June fell sharply as the world recession continued to cut into demand for the country's machinery and car exports, the Federal Statistical Office reported Tuesday. The Wiesbaden-based office said Germany's producers made 1.44 million metric tons (1.59 US tons) of iron for the month, a 45 percent decline over the same month last year, while they made 2.5 million metric tons (2.76 US tons) of steel, a 41 percent decline.

July 2nd, 2009 Germany's Siemens to pay euro75M to combat corruptionMUNICH — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Thursday it has agreed to pay euro75 million over 15 years to help bolster international anti-corruption efforts and to refrain from bidding for contracts under World Bank-financed projects until 2011. The Munich-based company said it agreed to pay the money — euro5 million ($7 million) annually for 15 years — to the United Nations and Transparency International as part of an agreement with the Washington-based World Bank, calling it part of its "ongoing efforts to address the consequences of the bribery scandal." Siemens, which makes products ranging from wind turbines to trams, has been embroiled in a far-reaching corruption scandal and has acknowledged making dubious payments to secure business.

July 1st, 2009 Former Greek Siemens exec ordered held in GermanyMUNICH — A German court said Wednesday it has ordered that a former head of Siemens AG's Greek branch be kept in custody pending a decision on his possible extradition to face money laundering and bribery charges. Michael Christoforakos, who holds both Greek and German citizenship, was arrested in Bavaria last week on a Greek-issued European warrant.

June 29th, 2009 Siemens names new US operations leaderNEW YORK — Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Monday Michael Reitermann will lead the company's U.S. organization.

June 25th, 2009 Greek ex-Siemens executive arrested in GermanyMUNICH — A former senior executive of industrial conglomerate Siemens AG who faces money laundering and bribery charges in Greece was arrested in Germany on Thursday, prosecutors said. Michael Christoforakos, who holds both Greek and German citizenship, was arrested near Rosenheim, southeast of Munich, following a tip-off from the public, Munich prosecutors said in a statement.

June 22nd, 2009 Siemens hopes for $20.9 billion in stimulus ordersFRANKFURT — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Monday that it expects to garner about euro15 billion ($20.9 billion) worldwide in new orders because of more government-backed orders aimed at reducing energy consumption. Siemens said that the efforts by governments, including the U.S., to parcel out stimulus money to jolt economies back to life — much of it earmarked for infrastructure projects emphasizing "green" technology — would lift its order books from 2010 to 2012.

June 13th, 2009 German prosecutors charge ex-Siemens managerMUNICH, Germany — German prosecutors have charged a former top-ranking Siemens AG manager with breach of trust for his alleged role in a widespread corruption scandal at the Munich-based industrial conglomerate, an official said Saturday. Charges had been brought against the ex-head of finance for Siemens' communications branch, Michael Kutschenreuter, said Anton Winkler, a spokesman for Munich prosecutors.

May 8th, 2009 Venezuela to pay Ternium $1.97 billion for SidorCARACAS, Venezuela — Ternium SA has agreed to sell its 59.7 percent share in steel maker Sidor to Venezuela for $1.97 billion. The subsidiary of the Argentine-Italian conglomerate Techint has been locked in negotiations over a payment plan with Venezuelan authorities since last year.

April 23rd, 2009 Defense investigators raid Siemens Medical in Pa.PHILADELPHIA — Criminal investigators with the Defense Department searched the headquarters of Siemens Medical Solutions USA on Wednesday in connection with a government contract, weeks after the firm won a $267 million medical-imaging contract. Agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service arrived at the sprawling complex in Malvern, near Philadelphia, in the morning and were still onsite hours later.

April 21st, 2009 China to build 20 hydro dams on Yangtze RiverBEIJING — China plans to build more than 20 dams along the country's longest river by 2020 as part of a plan to further develop the Yangtze River's hydropower, an official said Tuesday. The river already has the world's largest hydroelectric project, the Three Gorges Dam.

April 7th, 2009 WIESBADEN - Steel production in Germany dropped by half in the year up to March, the steepest decline since unification nearly 20 years ago, according to figures released Tuesday. The Federal Statistics Office said German steelworks produced 2.1 million tonnes of raw steel and 1.28 million tonnes of pig iron last month, 49.8 percent and 50.3 percent below the levels of March 2008.