Business briefs | Greece bailout wards off Europe meltdown

Greece bailout wards off Europe meltdown

BRUSSELS The bailout has saved Europe, for now, but it's unlikely to save Greece.

The $172 billion rescue – agreed to Tuesday after an all-night summit of European ministers – prevented an uncontrolled bankruptcy and calmed investors worried that a Greek default would have started a chain reaction across Europe. But it left key problems unresolved.

Draconian budget cuts could keep Greece mired in recession after five straight years. The deal doesn't directly address the debt problems in other struggling countries in the 17-country zone that uses the euro. Spending cuts could reduce tax revenue and possibly worsen the government's finances.

Shell touts Nigeria’s oil-production capability

LAGOS, Nigeria Nigeria could produce as much as 4 million barrels of oil a day, but production remains held back by chronic problems with the nation's government and the rampant theft of crude from pipelines, a top official with Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Tuesday.

The speech Tuesday by Shell executive vice president Ian Craig at an oil and gas conference in Nigeria's capital Abuja renews long-running complaints by the multinational firm in Nigeria, where it remains the dominant oil company.

Jimmy John’s sees first suit over sprouts

IOWA CITY, Iowa An Iowa woman sickened by eating tainted sprouts filed a lawsuit Tuesday against sandwich chain Jimmy John's, the first stemming from a recent outbreak of a foodborne illness linked to the restaurant.

Heather Tuttle, 27, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Des Moines seeking damages for medical expenses and pain and suffering. She became ill with E. coli poisoning after eating a turkey sandwich with sprouts from a Jimmy John's restaurant in West Des Moines on Jan. 3.

ADM to cut 1,200 jobs

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Archer Daniels Midland Co. said Tuesday that it is firing 175 people at its headquarters in Illinois as part of a plan to cut what it now says will be 1,200 mostly salaried jobs across the company.

Feds investigation side air bags

Federal safety regulators are investigating a problem with side air bags that may fail to inflate in a crash.

The problem already has caused recalls of more than 2,700 Toyota, Honda, Subaru and Nissan vehicles, but that number could grow if the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determines that more automakers used similar defective parts.

The recalled vehicles could have an ineffective mixture of the gas that inflates the side curtain air bags in a crash. That mix could mean air bags on one or both sides of the cars won't inflate, increasing the risk of injury, the agency said in documents posted on its website. So far no one has been hurt.

Johnson & Johnson CEO Weldon to retire

PHILADELPHIA Johnson & Johnson Chief Executive Officer Bill Weldon, 63, will retire in April, after a string of product recalls that have embarrassed the health care giant in recent years.

From wire reports