73K infected chickens destroyed Business briefing GM to sell its European brands Soy firm sued over alleged E. coli

Tens of thousands of chickens have been destroyed at a Tennessee chicken farm due to a bird flu outbreak, and 30 other farms within a 6-mile radius have been quarantined.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said 73,500 chickens were destroyed at the facility and will not enter the food system. The H7 avian influenza can be deadly to chickens and turkeys.

"Bird flu" is a catch-all phrase for a variety of influenza viruses that spread among poultry. They can be very contagious and deadly among birds, but rarely spread to humans. That said, deadly human flu pandemics have been sparked by viruses that first emerged in birds, and health officials closely track what's killing poultry.

Flu can spread from birds to humans through the air.

The Tennessee breeder supplies Tyson Foods Inc. The company said that it doesn't expect its chicken business to be disrupted, but the outbreak sent jitters through Wall Street.

Shares of Tyson, based in Springdale, Ark., fell and the news dragged down shares of other companies in the sector as well.

The company said it tests all of its flocks for the virus before they leave the farm "out of an abundance of caution."

GM to sell its European brands

General Motors is selling its unprofitable European car business to the French maker of Peugeot, marking the American company's retreat from a major market and raising concerns of job cuts in the region.

With the $2.33 billion deal announced Monday, GM is giving up brands - Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in Britain - that have given it a foothold in the world's third-largest auto market since the 1920s. The brands, however, have lost $20 billion since last making a full-year profit in 1999.

For PSA Group, which makes Peugeot and Citroen cars, the acquisition will turn it into Europe's No. 2 automaker after Volkswagen and caps a remarkable turnaround after it was bailed out just three years ago.

Soy firm sued over alleged E. coli

Two California parents are suing SoyNut Butter Co. for liability and negligence, among other charges, after their 8-year-old son was allegedly infected and hospitalized with E. coli after consuming I.M. Healthy SoyNut Butter.

Mosby and Erin Simmons, of Santa Clara County, Calif., filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Just two days prior, SoyNut Butter, headquartered in suburban Chicago, expanded its voluntary recall of products as federal officials continue to investigate the company's I.M. Healthy-branded soy nut butter as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak that has infected 12 people in five states so far.

THE BOTTOM LINE

1.2% The amount U.S. businesses increased their orders in January, although a key component that tracks business investment spending fell for the first time in four months. Factory orders rose, led by a jump in demand for aircraft, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Orders had risen 1.3 percent in December. A category that serves as a proxy for business investment edged down 0.1 percent in January after three months of solid gains.

Credit: - From news services