LONDON, May 17- Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. will be called back to the British parliament to clarify how its activities in the UK justify its low corporate income tax bill, two lawmakers told Reuters.
WASHINGTON, May 16- Immigration reform legislation should allow unlimited hiring of foreigners to work on U.S. farms to avert damaging labor shortages at harvest, a group representing large farmers told a U.S. House of Representatives panel on Thursday.
May 16- The New York attorney general's office on Thursday said it was investigating allegations that fast-food operators in the state are underpaying workers in violation of labor laws. The announcement came on the heels of a survey of 500 New York City fast-food employees at chains such as McDonald's Corp, Burger King and Domino's Pizza.
RALEIGH, N.C.-- Legislation that attempts to prevent people from suing North Carolina food manufacturers, sellers and advertisers by claiming their products made them overweight has passed one General Assembly chamber. Brian Brown of Greenville says the measure is a commonsense way to eliminate frivolous lawsuits.
*Corn from Brazil, Argentina seen going north until August. BUENOS AIRES, May 15- A record 2 million tonnes of South American corn is being sent to the United States this season to compensate for last year's weak harvest, industry sources based in Buenos Aires have told Reuters.
*FTSEurofirst 300 closes up 0.7 pct at 1,245.66 points. LONDON, May 15- European shares scaled new five-year highs on Wednesday, led by gains for several major Swiss stocks after a fresh fall on the Swiss franc that should continue to buoy the country's exporters.
CARACAS, May 15- Socialist leader Nicolas Maduro and the billionaire boss of Venezuela's biggest private company have buried the hatchet after a war of words over food shortages and other economic problems in the South American nation.
LONDON, May 15- European shares scaled fresh five-year highs on Wednesday, led by gains for several major Swiss stocks after a currency shift that should continue to buoy the country's exporters. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index provisionally closed up 0.7 percent at 1,245.41 points, its highest level since mid-2008.
May 14- Smithfield Foods Inc, the world's largest pork producer, said on Tuesday it will soon raise half of its hogs on feed that does not contain the additive ractopamine, a lean muscle promoting drug that has been banned in China and Russia.
LONDON, May 14- From ketchup to hot drinks, family-run investment firms are shaking up the consumer deals market, squeezing out private equity players and forcing them to change strategy.
NEW YORK, May 13- The $23 billion sale of ketchup maker H.J.Heinz Co to Berkshire Hathaway Inc and buyout firm 3 G Capital, Avis Budget Group's takeover of Zipcar, and the $6.9 billion leveraged buyout of BMC Software, have one common link: Kirkland& Ellis LLP.
CARACAS, May 13- Venezuela's top food producer, Empresas Polar, on Monday challenged the country's socialist government to boost output of basic staples and ease nagging product shortages, rejecting accusations it is hoarding products to destabilize the economy.
ST. LOUIS-- Cereal maker Post Holdings' fiscal second-quarter net income fell 59 percent as it paid more in interest and its prices dropped. For the period ended March 31, Post _ whose cereal brands include Honey Bunches of Oats and Grape-Nuts _ earned $4.3 million, or 13 cents per share. That compares with $10.5 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.
The protests in the Motor City- which is struggling to recover from the hollowing out of its auto manufacturing sector- marked an expansion in organized actions by fast-food workers from ubiquitous chains owned by McDonald's Corp, Burger King Worldwide and KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut parent Yum Brands Inc..
MONTPELIER, Vt.-- The Vermont House has approved legislation calling for labeling of food products containing genetically modified organisms. Thursday's vote came after the House spent most of the day debating a measure that will not see final action this year because the Senate lacks time to take it up.
JAKARTA, May 10- The president of Indonesia, home to the world's third-largest tropical forests and a powerful palm oil industry, has agreed to extend a ban on forest clearing, a government official said on Friday.