WORLD'S LARGEST BEER MAKER CUTS JOB

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, is to cut 800 jobs across western Europe, 10 % of its 8 ,000 workforce in the region. The firm said the move was a response to falling beer sales, with the layoffs spread across Belgium, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The news trigged protests at the firm's brewery in the Belgium town of Leuven, where it also has its headquarters. Anheuser-Busch InBev's brands include Becks, Budweiser and Stella Artois. "Even though beer has traditionally proved one of the most resistant products in less prosperous economic times, our industry isn't immune to the general economic climate," the company said in a statement. As a result, it said it needed to be "slimmer and more flexible". In the UK, the firm has a major brewery outside Newport, south Wales, where it makes Stella Artois for the UK market. Anheuser-Busch InBev was formed in 2008 when Belgium-based InBev bought Anheuser-Busch, the owner of Budweiser, and the largest brewer in the US. InBev itself was formed in 2004 when Belgian Interbrew merged with Brazil's AmBev.

Rahimafrooz Batteries Ltd launched battery in India

Rahimafrooz Batteries Ltd yesterday launched its Global brand battery in the fast growing Indian auto market. The company earlier had a strong presence in the Indian market, but it failed to maintain the export pace because of a capacity constraint. The company makes Globatt at its plant in Ishwardi Export Processing Zone set up in 2008 with a yearly capacity of 2.5 million. Officials of the company expect to bring back the export momentum with the introduction of Globatt along with its exiting brand Volta in the Indian market, which is growing by 30 percent annually. The company mainly exports its Volta, Delta and Optus brand automotive batteries to 42 countries including Dubai, Vietnam, Jamaica, Ghana, Chile, Paraguay, Mauritania and Lebanon. "We are looking for the promising Indian market, " said Niaz Rahim, director of Rahimafrooz Group. He said the new brand will also be available in other global destinations. However, Globatt was earlier launched in Dubai in May last year. Rahimafrooz launched Globatt at New Delhi auto fair, aiming to become one of the top three brands in the Indian market. It has been exporting batteries to India since 1996. "We had a dull export in India in the last two years due to our capacity constraint," said Munawar Misbah Moin, managing director of Rahimafrooz Globatt Ltd. "With the launch of Globatt, we expect to overcome the setback in the Indian market," said Moin. Globatt batteries are made with cutting edge German technology involving expanded metal which makes a difference with the competitors, said the company officials. The maintenance free Globatt brand offers three ranges --Josh, Race and Ace -- in the Indian market. Rahimafrooz Batteries is the largest lead-acid battery manufacturer in Bangladesh and provides over 300 types of automotive and specialised industrial batteries. It has technical collaboration agreements with UK-based Lucas Battery Company, Technical Support Group, Hawker Batteries, Invensys and Hawker Batteries, Eltek of Norway, and AEES of France, to ensure quality.

European economic confidence back

European business and consumer confidence firmed in December for a ninth month running, an EU survey showed on Thursday, with a big jump in key recession straggler Britain. The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator for the 16 nations using the euro single currency rose to 91.3 points in December, up 2.5 points from one month earlier. The index hit a record low 64.6 points in March. For the 27- nation EU as a whole, economic confidence also increased according to the commission survey, up 4.1 points to 92.0 points in December -- with the bloc's economy as a whole having emerged from recession. In Britain, which went into reverse between October and November, the index rose by 8.2 points to match the overall EU figure of 92.0 points.

UK car sales rise

New car sales in Britain jumped 38.9 percent in December, helped by a government-backed scheme subsidising the cost of buying vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Thursday. The number of new cars sold jumped to 150 ,936 last month compared with the level in December 2008 , SMMT said in a statement. They had soared by almost 58 percent in November as the global car industry recovers following the severe economic downturn. SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said that British sales were boosted in December by the so-called Scrappage Incentive Scheme and by consumers looking to avoid this month's increase in VAT, or tax levied on purchased goods. The scrappage scheme, which allows car-owners to trade in a 10- year-old vehicle for a 2 ,000- pound (2 ,218 ,000- euro, 3 ,189 ,000- dollar) discount on a new car, helped to realise almost two million registrations in 2009.