On 21 March Coca-Cola Femsa agreed to hand over a parking lot, that was used as a distribution centre, to the Venezuelan government, two weeks after President Chavez demanded the company relinquish the space.

The craft brewing industry has been good business for Oregon. This entrepreneurial industry of about 90 breweries – which is built on uniquely Oregon advantages such as agriculture, people, and lifestyle – contributes USD 375 million to the Oregon economy every year. It does this without receiving state tax breaks or subsidies, while continuing to pay tens of millions of dollars in existing excise taxes.

Volume in North America was down 3 percent, while international unit case volume rose 6 percent. Carbonated soft-drink volume was up 2 percent, while still-beverage unit case volume rose 11 percent.

However, PepsiCo itself may need an energy boost after reporting on 13 February that its fourth-quarter net income was USD 719 million, or 46 cents a share, down 43 percent from USD 1.26 billion, or 77 cents a share, a year earlier.

MillerCoors agreed in December last year to stop producing and selling caffeinated-alcoholic drinks under a settlement with more than a dozen state attorneys general. The Sparks agreement – in which MillerCoors promised to remove caffeine, taurine, guarana and ginseng from the drink – was a blow to MillerCoors because Sparks had become the dominant product in the category.

S&P said there are 75 potential "fallen angels" globally with rated debt of USD 174.47 billion – equivalent to the GDP of the Philippines.

The use of malt by US brewers slowly declined over the last 20 years, reaching a low of just over 128 million bushels in 2005 according the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The increasing production of low calorie beers was largely responsible for this decline. But the good news is that the amount of malting barley used for brewing began to increase in 2006 and 2007, and the trend appears to have continued in 2008.

Most of the makers of consumer goods, interviewed in the U.S. media in recent weeks, emphasised the relative stability of their "staples" business, but offered a muted outlook for consumer spending this year.

At Miller Brewing, they were considered the savvier marketers. After all, did they not invent light beers? At Coors, marketing and advertising has often resembled a potluck affair – sometimes they got it right, sometimes they did not.

The company, which is a leading international producer and marketer of beverage alcohol in the wine, spirits and imported beer categories, with a significant market presence in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and New Zealand and more than 250 brands, said revenue excluding excise taxes fell 6 percent to USD 1.03 billion in the third quarter.