WASHINGTON - U.S. officials on Thursday said President Bush will seek an 11 percent increase in the US Agriculture Department's 2004 food safety budget to strengthen protections against harmful bacteria in food and increase security at laboratories, The Boston Globe reports.
NEW YORK - U.S. consumer confidence fell hard to a new nine-year low last week as renewed war fears and rising oil prices dampened faith in the Bush administration's handling of the economy, a report said on Tuesday.
MATTHEWS, N.C. - Matthews, N.C.-based Family Dollar Stores Inc. on Wednesday reported higher fiscal fourth-quarter profits, suggesting that the discount format continues to fare well during this troubling economy.
ROSWELL, Ga. - Dirty-looking grocery stores and fast food restaurants were big turn-offs to consumers considering whether or not to patronize a particular establishment, according to a new national survey.
WASHINGTON - The number of people with illnesses related to contaminated beef produced by ConAgra Foods Inc. rose to at least 26 in five states, state and federal health officials said on Monday.
HONG KONG - McDonald's Corp. has begun selling Chinese-style meals in Hong Kong to better compete during the territory's bitter economic downturn, Reuters reports.
NEW YORK - Despite signs of an economic recovery in the United States, the pace of job cuts in the retail sector has continued to pick up in the first quarter of this year, according to a new study reported on by Reuters.
