These guys are amateurs. If they had any brains,
they'd figure out how to turn bananas into
ethanol.

Quoting from:
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/...fx3816019.html

EU regulators are targeting the five biggest banana
companies -- Chiquita, Del Monte and Dole of the United
States, plus Noboa of Ecuador and Fyffes of Ireland --
on suspicions that they ran an illegal cartel for about
five years, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said.

[. . .]

According to the sources, the Commission suspects the
companies of having 'shared confidential data about
volumes and prices' of imported bananas to fix prices at
artificially high levels and carve up the market among
themselves.

After a two-year investigation, Commission suspicions
have firmed, at least as far as bananas are concerned,
and the panel should now send formal charge-sheets to
the companies in the first step toward possible fines,
the sources said.

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> These guys are amateurs. If they had any brains,
> they'd figure out how to turn bananas into
> ethanol.
>
> Quoting from:
> http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/...fx3816019.html
>
> EU regulators are targeting the five biggest banana
> companies -- Chiquita, Del Monte and Dole of the United
> States, plus Noboa of Ecuador and Fyffes of Ireland --
> on suspicions that they ran an illegal cartel for about
> five years, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said.
>
> [. . .]
>
> According to the sources, the Commission suspects the
> companies of having 'shared confidential data about
> volumes and prices' of imported bananas to fix prices at
> artificially high levels and carve up the market among
> themselves.
>
> After a two-year investigation, Commission suspicions
> have firmed, at least as far as bananas are concerned,
> and the panel should now send formal charge-sheets to
> the companies in the first step toward possible fines,
> the sources said.

Here's the other chapter:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17615143/

"Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed
to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid terrorists for protection in a
volatile farming region of Colombia."

Of course, this is silly, since we give arms to anybody with the money to
buy them, including various gangs of lunatics in Colombia. Then, we expect
our corporations to behave like saints when doing business in dangerous
places.