January 2010 Current Events: Business News

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

U.S. News | World News | Science/Disasters News

Here are the key events in business and science news for the month of January 2010.

• Holiday Sales in 2009 Improvement Over 2008 (Jan. 7): Retailers report that their holiday sales in 2009 exceeded those in 2008, which was the worst holiday season in terms of sales in decades. The International Council of Shopping Centers reports that the industry posted a 1.8 percent increase in same-store sales.
• 85,000 Jobs Lost in December (Jan. 8): The U.S. economy lost another 85,000 jobs in Dec. 2009, dashing hopes that the November jobs report, which showed that the economy actually gained 4,000 new jobs, was a signal that the economy was improving. The unemployment rate remains steady at 10%.
• Google Threatens to Leave China (Jan. 12): In response to the hacking of at least 34 email accounts, Internet mogul Google threatens to stop cooperating with the Chinese government's censorship terms and possibly leave the country altogether. Upon arriving in China in 2006, Google agreed that it would remove banned topics from the search engine's results page, though this move has been met with criticism outside of Asia. The security breach of the Gmail accounts was directed in part at Chinese human rights activists.
• Kraft Reaches Deal to Take Over Cadbury (Jan. 19): Kraft Foods has reached a deal to takeover Cadbury for $19 billion in cash and stock. The negotiations between the two companies has lasted for months. Together, Kraft and Cadbury will have about $50 billion in revenue.
• U.S. Economy Grows 5.7% in Fourth Quarter (Jan. 29): The United States' gross national product grows at an annual rate of 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2009, the fastest growth the economy has seen in six years. However, the economy finished 2009 in its worst contraction since 1946.