Pastures signal U.S. beef supply rebound
Signs of a rebound in U.S. beef supplies are taking shape as pasture conditions in the U.S. recover from a 2012 drought that forced ranchers to shrink the domestic herd to a 63-year low.
While it takes years to reverse a decline in animal supply, record-high beef prices and the increasing availability of cheap feed are providing incentives for some producers to begin expanding.
A production rebound would help slow beef-price gains that the U.S. government said will be the biggest of any food group this year except pork. Cattle futures that touched a record high in July already are showing signs of a shift, heading for their biggest monthly drop since before the peak of the drought.
"Record profitability and good pasture conditions may be the combination that pushes us over to really see some expansion in cattle inventory," said Scott Brown, a livestock economist at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Forty-eight percent of pastures and rangeland were in good or excellent condition as of Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates.
Cattle futures fell 6.4 percent on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange this month to $1.47 a pound, after touching a record $1.6075 on July 28.
While pastures are improving in much of the Midwest and the Great Plains, conditions are lagging behind in Texas, the biggest beef-cow producer. About a third of the state was in severe drought as of Aug. 12, and 34 percent of its pastures were in good or excellent condition, trailing the national average.
-- Bloomberg News
Backpack designer sues Barnes & Noble
NEW YORK -- A former New York fashion student is claiming in a federal lawsuit that she designed a backpack for Barnes & Noble and hasn't made any money off the top-selling bag.
Diana Rubio was a student at Manhattan's Fashion Institute of Technology when she designed the "everything backpack" in 2010.
The Daily News reported that the school had assigned Rubio to enter Barnes & Noble's "Back to Campus" contest.
Rubio's bag won the contest and sells for $39.95. The Barnes & Noble website identifies Rubio as the designer.
But Rubio said in a lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court that she never received any money from the institute or Barnes & Noble for her design.
Representatives for the bookstore chain and the school did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
-- The Associated Press
Egypt picks developers for canal project
CAIRO -- Egypt selected a consortium of Egyptian and Persian Gulf companies Tuesday to develop the government's project to transform the Suez Canal waterway into a hub of international investment and free trade zones, officials said.
Egyptian authorities said the development plan is badly needed to help an economy that has been ravaged by three years of political turmoil. The Suez Canal is a key source of revenue for Egypt, taking in about $5 billion annually.
Canal Authority chief Moheeb Mamish said the Dar al-Handasah -- a leading Mideast design, architecture and engineering consultancy registered in Bahrain -- was chosen from 14 candidates to develop the project. He did not give the price tag for the project.
The goal is to transform five ports at the northern and southern tips of the canal -- Sukhna, Adiba, El Arish and two facilities in Port Said -- into attractive investment zones, he said.
"Egypt is the belly button of the world," Mamish said. "We have to make use of its geography."
The plan is separate from another project for the Suez Canal, unveiled earlier this month by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, that involves expanding the waterway.
In that $4 billion project, the Egyptian military and local companies would dig out a new 22-mile segment of the waterway to shorten the waiting period for ships crossing from 11 hours to three.
-- The Associated Press
Microsoft's Azure shuts down for 5 hours
SAN FRANCISCO -- Microsoft's Azure cloud-computing service, a critical part of CEO Satya Nadella's plan to remake the software company, experienced a major global failure Monday that lasted about five hours.
Azure, which lets businesses access computing resources and run programs via the Internet, was restored after a disruption that affected at least six major components in multiple data centers, the world's biggest software maker said on its website.
Microsoft's cloud-computing service, which competes against rival businesses from Google and Amazon.com, also experienced failures in August. It's unusual for cloud-service suspensions to affect more than one data center at once, and this is Microsoft's most severe Azure interruption since some storage tools went offline in February 2013.
Azure is a key part of the "cloud OS," a term Nadella uses to describe the different technologies Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft can bring together to give customers a consistent experience across different devices. The cloud division, which contains Azure, has an implied annual revenue of about $4.4 billion, Amy Hood, Microsoft's chief financial officer, told Bloomberg in July.
-- Bloomberg News
Meadowlands plans for hotels, casinos
CARLSTADT, N.J. -- Casinos, hotels, a convention center and a monorail could be on the horizon at New Jersey's Meadowlands.
That's the plan business leaders laid out Tuesday to transform the area into a multivenue entertainment district.
Jim Kirkos, head of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the goal isn't to build a new Atlantic City. He and others said the upside is huge, given the millions of people within a short drive.
They also point to the restarting of the American Dream megamall project and the transformation of Meadowlands Racetrack as signs that the complex is on the rebound.
There has been more talk of allowing casino gambling outside Atlantic City recently. On Tuesday, a state senator said he'll push for a constitutional amendment to allow slot machines at the state's horse racing tracks.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 08/20/2014