Google Inc. said it's making its software available in Iran for the first time, in a move the company said is aimed at expanding individual freedoms in the Persian Gulf nation. In a posting on a company website late Tuesday, Google export compliance programs manager Neil Martin wrote that the company is making its Google Earth satellite imagery software, Picasa photo-editing tool and Chrome Internet browser available for download in Iran. "We believe that more available products means more choice, more freedom, and ultimately more power for individuals in Iran and across the globe," Martin wrote. Google said it's now able to offer its software in Iran, following the lifting of some U.S. export restrictions.
Citigroup promotes Havens to president/COOCitigroup said that John Havens, head of the investment banking division, would become the company's president and chief operating officer. Citigroup has been without an operating chief since Robert Druskin left the bank in 2007.
Great Lakes bulk cargo shipments up 33%Shipments of bulk cargo on the Great Lakes jumped by one-third last year, an industry spokesman said Wednesday. The Lake Carriers Association credited a gradually healing economy for the increase in waterborne transport of coal, limestone, sand and other raw materials. But the dramatic improvement in 2010 also reflects the industry's dismal showing the previous year. The association represents 18 companies that operate 55 U.S.-flagged vessels on the Great Lakes. The ships hauled 88.7 million tons of dry bulk freight last year, up from 66.5 million tons in 2009, an increase of 33.4 percent. The biggest improvement was in iron ore for the steel industry, which shot up 75 percent, from 24 million tons in 2009 to 42 million tons last year.
Gallup: Global unemployment near 7%About 7 percent of the world's workforce is unemployed, while 40 percent of the global workers had stable jobs for a full-time employer, according to new report from Gallup. The United Nations reported about a year ago that global unemployment was at 6.6 percent and there were a record 212 million people out of work.
China's investment in U.S. doubled last yearChinese investment in U.S. projects and acquisitions more than doubled in 2010 as businesses in the world's biggest emerging economy sought to reach wealthy buyers, estimates show. Chinese companies directly spent $4.9 billion in the U.S., up from $2.2 billion a year earlier, said Dan Rosen, principal with the Rhodium Group, a New York-based economic research firm that specializes in China. "Chinese firms are investing more in the U.S. because the huge American market holds more profit potential for them than their increasingly cutthroat home market," Rosen said in an interview.
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