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Jury awards big amount in benchmark caseA jury has awarded a South Florida family $2.5 million in a benchmark defective Chinese drywall case. Armin and Lisa Seifart won the judgment in a Miami-Dade civil court Friday against drywall distributor Banner Supply Company. The jury, which had been deliberating since Thursday afternoon, returned the verdict around 5:15 p.m. The Seifarts had been seeking at least $4.3 million in damages after they had to completely renovate their Coconut Grove home due to the noxious drywall. "It was important to send a message to companies that they should do the right thing when...

WTO rules against US ban on China poultry products K J M Varma Beijing, June 17 (PTI) China won the dispute with the US over a ban on its poultry imports after the World Trade Organisation ruled the American curbs on Chinese poultry were violating international trade laws, says a media report. State newspaper, China Daily said in a report the US ban violated Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement, that mandates how governments can apply food safety, animal and plant health measures, as well as most-favored-nation treatment and general elimination of quantitative restrictions provided under the WTO framework. As...

NEW ORLEANS – Thousands of U.S. homes tainted by Chinese drywall should be gutted, according to new guidelines released Friday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The guidelines say electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall need to be removed. "We want families to tear it all out and rebuild the interior of their homes, and they need to start this to get their lives started all over again," said Inez Tenenbaum, chairwoman of the commission, the federal agency charged with making sure consumer products are safe. About 3,000 homeowners,...

New federal guidelines say thousands of U.S. homes tainted by Chinese drywall won't be safe unless they are completely gutted.The Consumer Product Safety Commission released the guidelines Friday. They say electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall must be removed.About 3,000 homeowners, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, have reported problems with the Chinese-made drywall. A large quantity of the drywall was imported during the housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes. It has been linked to corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units, computers, doorknobs...

New federal guidelines say thousands of U.S. homes tainted by Chinese drywall won't be safe unless they are completely gutted. The Consumer Product Safety Commission released the guidelines Friday. They say electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall must be removed. About 3,000 homeowners, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, have reported problems with the Chinese-made drywall. A large quantity of the drywall was imported during the housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes. It has been linked to corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units,...

Feb. 28, 2010, 8:19 p.m. EST China's manufacturing growth slows in February By V. Phani Kumar HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- One of two Chinese purchasing managers' indexes unexpectedly eased to 52.0 in February from 55.8 in the previous month, indicating a slowdown in manufacturing growth, according to data released Monday by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

TOKYO — Fresh from a grilling by U.S. lawmakers, Toyota President Akio Toyoda will speak Monday in China about his company's quality problems, seeking to boost confidence and ease consumer worries in the world's biggest auto market. Toyoda, who testified at a U.S. Congressional hearing last week about the spate of global recalls plaguing Toyota Motor Corp., will speak to reporters at a Beijing hotel, company spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said. The number of vehicles being recalled in China is small compared with the 8.5 million vehicles recalled worldwide since October for sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and glitches in...

The California attorney general is asking Target Corp. to pull its Valentine's Day "Message Bears" from store shelves over concerns that they have illegal levels of lead. In a letter sent to the company Monday, Attorney General Jerry Brown said testing of the holiday toys revealed lead levels that violate federal law. The products were identified as two of Target's "Message Bears" -- one a pink stuffed bear with "XOXO" across the chest and the other a brown stuffed bear with "I Love U" across the chest, with "love" represented by a heart. Investigators from the Center for Environmental Health,...

We’ve all heard of the massive Toyota recall regarding the accelerator pedals, but it seems that they aren’t the only automaker that is getting plagued by the problem. It was recently announced that Ford will be stopping production altogether of their Transit in China due to the same problem. You may be thinking this is quite the coincidence but it seems that Ford actually gets the accelerator pedals from the same supplier that Toyota does.

Tourists feed tigers at the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Park, a private zoo in Guillin, China, in an undated photograph. Many such tourist attractions secretly operate as fronts for illegal tiger farming, butchering captive tigers for their parts, National Geographic magazine reports in the January 2010 story "Asia's Wildlife Trade." On the eve of 2010--the Year of the Tiger in Chinese astrology--the big cats remain highly coveted. A dead adult male can sell for U.S. $10,000 or more on the black market. Tiger bones and penises are often used in traditional medicines, and some restaurants serve tiger meat, including, a...

With much fanfare and celebration - by Chinese steelworkers and Caltrans officials alike - the first steel pieces of the new Bay Bridge suspension span were prepared to ship out of Shanghai on Tuesday - more than a year late but in time to meet a Dec. 31 deadline that officials hope will keep construction on schedule for a 2013 opening. "It's momentous," said Ken Terpstra, Caltrans' project manager for the Bay Bridge, from Shanghai where workers staged a ceremony complete with daytime fireworks. "It was a hard, challenging road, but they're ready to go." The first shipment, delayed by...

Citizens of Shanghai are aghast at the collapse of a major new bridge, pictured, which was revealed to be constructed partially out of rubbish instead of concrete. The bridge, spanning the Wusong River in central Shanghai, was completed in 2009 and replaced a century old bridge with a more modern design. However, after only a short period in operation the bridge began to collapse, with investigators finding such sturdy construction materials as bags of rubbish, Styrofoam, scrap wood and waste plastic used in the structure in place of reinforced concrete.

Indonesia to equip navy with Chinese-made missiles 16:40, December 22, 2009 Indonesia is going to equip its own navy's warships with missiles made in China so as to upgrade combat capabilities, Agus Suhartono, Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral said Monday. "We will continue to procure C-802 missiles from China after we test the weapon with good results,” he said adding that the Indonesian Navy was also negotiating with China to obtain C-705 missiles that were more slender in shape. C-705 "Both types of missile will be added to the armament of the navy’s fast patrol boats and Van Speijk...

Chinese aero manufacturers open up to engage export market By Reuben F Johnson 30 November 2009 Over the last month China's National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC), the state-licensed aircraft export sales monopoly, along with its industrial partner, Aviation Industries of China, have both demonstrated an unusual degree of openness in displaying data on their products. This willingness of Chinese officials to speak at length on both of these areas seems to have coincided with the 60th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) on 11 November. China's military aircraft industry has been steadily developing a line...

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China's manufacturing expanded for the eighth straight month in October and forward-looking indicators pointed to a further pick-up underway, according to a government index released Sunday.The data adds up to a picture of an economy that's on track for acceleration in the October-to-December period, marking the third-straight quarterly pick up. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 55.2 in October from 54.3 in September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a release. A gauge of export orders rose to 54.5 from 53.3, the sixth straight month of gains. General orders notched a similar...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help — and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't be renewed. Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys',...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help—and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't be renewed. Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys', in which insurers drop...

When Bill Morgan, a retired policeman, moved into his newly built dream home in Williamsburg, Va., three years ago, his hopes were quickly dashed. His wife and daughter suffered constant nosebleeds and headaches. A persistent foul odor filled the house. Every piece of metal indoors corroded or turned black. In short order, Mr. Morgan moved out. The headaches and nosebleeds stopped, but the ensuing financial problems pushed him into personal bankruptcy. “My house is not worth the land it’s built on,” said Mr. Morgan, who could not maintain the mortgage payments on his $383,000 home in a Williamsburg subdivision called...

The top of the frozen apple juice can was stamped with the date, then the word "China." I could not believe it. China? I live in the Shenandoah Valley, at one time the biggest apple producer in the world, and my apple juice comes from China? Maybe it's just this store brand, I thought. But a visit to another grocery store confirmed it. They stocked a name brand, the top of it stamped with the date and the words "from China." I googled "China and apples." Stories and reports came up confirming my ... yes, fear. I hadn't been paying...

Obama decides to impose tariffs on Chinese tire imports for 3 years WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama has decided to slap punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China. Obama had until Sept. 17 -- next week -- to accept, reject or modify a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that a rising tide of Chinese tires into the U.S. hurts American producers. A powerful union, United Steelworkers, blames the increase for the loss of thousands of American jobs. The federal trade panel recommended a 55 percent tariff in the first year, 45...