2015 Event Nokia announces that it will purchase Alcatel-Lucent for $16.6 billion, creating the second-largest manufacturer of mobile communication products behind Ericsson 2014 Event Hewlett-Packard (HP) plans to split into two companies: HP Enterprise, focused on enterprise products and services, and HP Inc., focused on printing and personal computing; the move will be completed in 2015 2014 Event Six people are arrested in Taiwan for selling contaminated lard products to restaurants, manufacturers and food suppliers; the 'lard' included discarded kitchen oil and leather manufacturing grease 2014 Event The CEO of BlackBerry Ltd. will be refocusing its business on software and services in an effort to turn around the company; once a leader in the smartphone market, the company's products now account for less than 1% of global market share 2014 Event The World Trade Organization upheld its November decision to continue banning European imports of seal products on the grounds of concern for the suffering of the hunted animals; the WTO is also reexamining its exception for indigenous hunters 2014 Event The banking industry is losing ground as non-banking companies such as Apple, Google and TMobile develop their own payment methods and financial products that circumvent the need for banking services 2013 Event As part of a strategy to focus on growth products, thrombosis drug brands manufactured by the GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical company is sold to Aspen Pharmacare for $1.13 billion 2013 Event Nestle removes its beef pasta meals from supermarkets in France, Spain and Italy after tests confirm the food giant has products contaminated with horsemeat 2013 Event British catering firm Compass Group and Whitbread, one of the country's largest hotel chains, find horse DNA in products sold as "beef" 2013 Event Owen Paterson, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, convenes with British retailers and the Food Standards Agency to determine how "beef" products containing horsemeat were sold in supermarkets 2012 Event In England, lawmakers ban the display of tobacco products, hoping the move will lead to a reduction in the number of youths who smoke 2010 Event One year after thousands of children became ill from melamine in milk, new traces of melamine in milk products is discovered in China 2009 Death Billy Mays, famous television pitchman, direct response advertising salesman for 'As Seen on TV' products, CEO, Founder, Mays Promotions, Inc., dies at age 50 1988 Death S B Fuller, founder (Fuller products), dies at 83 1966 Event Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark 1965 Event South Africa begins economic boycott of Dutch products 1958 Birthday Billy Mays, born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, famous television pitchman, direct response advertising salesman for 'As Seen on TV' products, CEO, Founder, Mays Promotions, Inc. 1929 Birthday Kennetgh Couzens, CEO, Coal Products 1925 Birthday Kenneth Couzens, CEO, Coal Products 1923 Event Great Britain lowers import duty on German products from 26% to 5% 1894 Birthday Forrest Shaklee, founder, Shaklee Products
