UK construction firm Costain has increased its all-share offer for the business services group Mouchel, valuing it at around £150 million.

The revised offer values each Mouchel share at about 135 pence. Mouchel has already rejected one bid from Costain, made in December last year.

Although Toyota maintains a narrow lead as the strongest automobile brand in the United States, Ford leads the way in factors that matter most to consumers, according to Consumer Reports' 2011 Car Brand Perception Survey.

Spanish construction company ACS has gained a key stake in rival Hochtief, after it announced it now holds more than 30 per cent of shares in the German group.

The stake represents a key stage in ACS’s strategy to take full control of Hochtief, because it can now buy Hochtief shares on the open market and accumulate more than half of the company. ACS announced its bid for full control of Hochtief last September.

The past decade has been revolutionary for much of our society, but few sectors have seen as much change since 2000 as the auto industry.

Ten years ago, automakers were touting the number of cupholders in the cabin and the increased off-road capabilities of family haulers. Today, these same companies are racing to offer increasingly hands-free mobile communication, eye-popping fuel economy and technologies aimed at helping drivers avoid accidents.

Under a contract awarded by the United States Army, Connecticut-based M Cubed Technologies, Inc. will develop advanced armor to protect Army vehicles and US service personnel from increasingly lethal enemy ballistic threats. The contract is part of the US Army's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.  

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. today announced two contract awards, one in Idaho, United States, and one in Newfoundland, Canada.

The former is a contract from Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation to provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services in support of the Expended Core Facility Recapitalization Project.

The total construction project cost is estimated to range from $300 to $500 million.

Iraq has given the go-ahead for Royal Dutch Shell to build a dock in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, to help move heavy equipment to the Majnoon oilfield.

Shell is to fund construction of the 25-metre quay, which will be used to move materials from the sea port at Umm Qasr near Basra to the Majnoon oilfield it is developing—a transportation method that is faster, safer and easier than moving materials by truck.

After approval by competition authorities on 31 December, CoorsTek has now finalized its acquisition of the advanced ceramics business of Saint-Gobain for US $245 million.

Headquartered in North America, and celebrating its 100th year in business, CoorsTek is the largest technical ceramics manufacturer in the world with facilities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

SC Johnson, one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products, has reached an agreement to acquire Sara Lee's global shoe care business for €245 million.

The deal will bring the world famous Kiwi brand that has been polishing shoes around the world for more than 100 years into SC Johnson's robust portfolio that already includes Pledge, Glade, Mr. Muscle, Windex and Ziploc. Like many SC Johnson brands, Kiwi is the leader in its category.

The Timken Company today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, TSB Metal Recycling LLC, has purchased substantially all of the assets of City Scrap and Salvage Co. in Akron, Ohio.

City Scrap has been a local source of supply of ferrous scrap for Timken’s steelmaking operations for more than 15 years. Timken's steel business was founded in 1917 to provide a dependable supply of steel for its bearing business, and this acquisition is consistent with that strategy.