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Kerala bans Coke, Pepsi sale, production
NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (AP) : A southern Indian state Wednesday banned the sale or manufacture of Coke, Pepsi, Sprite and other soft drinks made by the Indian subsidiaries of the Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., an official said.
Four Indian states have already banned the sale of Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks at schools, colleges and government offices after a research group in New Delhi last week claimed they contained high levels of pesticide residue. But the state of Kerala was the first to impose a total ban on production and sales.
The moves will likely hurt local sales of Coca Cola and PepsiCo, which account for nearly 80 per cent of India's US$2 billion-plus soft drinks market.
Kerala's health secretary, Viswas Mehta, told the news agency the state banned the drinks because of concerns over pesticide contamination.
Oil prices rise on supply concerns
LONDON ( Internet) : Oil prices rose Wednesday as the market focused again on concerns about a supply shortage in the United States from the shutdown of a major pipeline in the state of Alaska.
By afternoon in Europe, light, sweet crude for September delivery was up 22 cents to $76.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September Brent crude futures on London's ICE Futures rose 52 cents to $78.07 a barrel.
"The story of oil at present remains one of threats to security of supply with accelerating global demand growth, Nigeria, Iran and the US Gulf hurricane season all weighing on the market and continuing to fuel the bull run," said Paul J. Harris, an analyst for Bank of Ireland Global Markets in Dublin.
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