The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 to be the International Year of Co-operatives (IYC) and Trent Bartlett, for the last 10 years CEO of Capricorn Society Ltd and a founder of Social Business Australia,has taken on the job of chairing the IYC 2012’s Australian Secretariat. We talk to him about Capricorn, IYC, and his vision for the co-operative movement.

Located on the northernmost point of the Red Sea, Aqaba Container Terminal is a port of international standards that is fast becoming the docking place of choice for all shipping lines wishing to move cargo not just through Jordan but through the whole of the Levant and Iraq. Jane McCallion reports.

South Africa-based Altech has established a leading position as a provider of converged communications in South Africa and East Africa. CEO Craig Venter explains how the company is gearing up to go global.

The board of Cambridge, UK-based Autonomy has unanimously recommended its shareholders accept a £7.1 billion offer from technology giant HP.

Founded in 1996, Autonomy provides infrastructure software to a customer base of more than 25,000 companies, law firms and public sector agencies globally. It has approximately 2,700 employees worldwide.

Over the past five years, Autonomy has grown its revenues at a rate of approximately 55 per cent and its adjusted operating profit at a rate of approximately 83 per cent per annum.

Deere & Company, Illinois based manufacturer of John Deere agricultural and construction equipment, has reported earnings of $712 million for Q3 2011.

After a broad-based improvement reflecting higher results from all divisions, income rose 15 percent for the quarter ending 31 July as a healthy global farm sector continues to support the company’s performance.

For the first nine months of the year, net income was $2.130 billion, compared with $1.408 billion last year.

Africa Oil Corp has signed a contract with Sakson Drilling and Oil Services to provide a rig to drill the first exploration wells in Puntland, Somalia, for more than 20 years.

Spudding of the first well in Dharoor is expected to commence during the fourth quarter of this year.

Drilling locations have been selected over two prospects in the Dharoor and Nugaal valleys covering nearly 36,000 square kilometres. Each prospect is targeting a gross best estimate oil-in-place of approximately 900 million barrels.

Blount International has announced an agreement to acquire agriculture and construction equipment manufacturer Woods Equipment Company for approximately $185 million in cash.

"The acquisition of Woods significantly increases the scale of our farm, ranch, and agriculture business," said Josh Collins, Blount's chairman and chief executive officer.

UK-based SABMiller has made a hostile bid for the Australian beer giant Foster’s.

The Foster's board rejected SAB's initial A$9.5 billion (£6.1 billion) offer made in June, saying it was too low.

SABMiller has now taken the offer directly to the company’s shareholders, though it remains unchanged at A$4.90 per share.

The boards of directors of Google and Motorola Mobility Holdings have unanimously approved a deal for Google to acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash.

The transaction values Motorola Mobility at around $12.5 billion, a premium of 63 percent to the closing price of its shares on Friday, August 12, 2011.

As a dedicated Android partner, the acquisition of Motorola Mobility will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and enhance competition in mobile computing, the company said in a statement.

Germany’s Rhenus Group has agreed to acquire the mainland European activities of UK-based Wincanton Group, it has been announced.

Wincanton’s German and French businesses generate revenues of approximately €550 million and employ 3,000 people. The companies’ activities are predominantly in contract logistics and intermodal transportation.