As the US celebrates 235 years of independence today, there is some cause, if not to celebrate, at least to be a little less anxious about the state of the economy.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 23rd consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 25th consecutive month, according to supply executives polled in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has secured a £600 million bond issue to help finance the city’s Crossrail project.

The bonds will be issued in association with Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets—the first time for 17 years that a local authority has gone to the capital markets for finance in this way.

The planned Crossrail rail route, the newest rail line in the country and the biggest single extension to the south-east network in half a century, will connect Maidenhead in Berkshire with Shenfield in Essex, passing through the West End and Canary Wharf.

A consortium of six global technology heavyweights has emerged as the winning bidder for the remaining patents belonging to the once-great Nortel Networks Corporation.

After an extensive auction, the consortium comprising Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony outbid the likes of Google and Intel with a winning bid of US$4.5 billion.

UK telecommunications giant Vodafone has agreed to sell its 24.4 per cent interest in Polish telecoms operator Polkomtel for approximately €920 million.

Vodafone is selling its stake to investment vehicle Spartan Capital Holdings, which is controlled by Polish businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Zak.

The Newbury, Berkshire-based company said the sale underpinned its strategy to realise value from its non-controlled assets, adding that proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce its net debt.

Mars Chocolate North America has announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Topeka, Kansas.

The new facility will be the first Mars Chocolate site built in the US in 35 years.

Australia’s Equatorial Resources Limited has acquired a 19.9 per cent interest in African Iron Limited, it has been announced.

African Iron owns an 80 per cent stake in the Mayoko-Lekoumou iron project, which is situated next to Equatorial’s 100 per cent owned Mayoko-Moussondji iron project in the Republic of Congo.

President Obama highlighted the role of advanced manufacturing to the US economy yesterday with a visit to Alcoa’s aerospace component plant in Davenport, Iowa.

Davenport is the manufacturing hub of Alcoa's $3 billion aerospace business, producing high-tech products for all major aircraft, including the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane, and Boeing's 747-8 and 777.

Engineering powerhouse Siemens says it expects new orders to increase again in the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, driven by a major order in May for new ICx long-distance trains.

The company also anticipates a clear increase in revenue compared to the same period a year earlier.

“We're continuing to invest strongly in innovation and the expansion of our global market footprint,” said Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser at the Siemens Capital Market Day in Shanghai on Tuesday. “Our growth expectations have come along in the third quarter."

Just 10 months after beginning commercial production, Oman Aluminium Processing Industries Limited is planning a phase of expansion to nearly treble the plant’s output. Mr PR Ramakrishnan talks to Ben Sansom about the role the company is playing in Oman’s industrial development.

Technocraft Group is one of the largest exporters of drum closures in the world. But its story doesn’t stop there—the company is constantly seeking new avenues and opportunities, no matter what sector they are in. Jane Bordenave reports.