North Dakota is focusing on nations with "transitional" economies, such as Ukraine, which is now seeing substantial direct investment and is revamping its agricultural sector. That's the case in North Dakota, for example, where its trade office has helped the state's foreign exports grow by 87 percent since 2001. It doesn't hurt to have the dollar sinking in value and a relatively strong global economy. market with six weeks of our production," says Brian Dahl, a vice president. American...

The once idyllic little town with cobblestone streets and traditional architecture, which in the 1980s was popular among skiers and hikers from the former Soviet bloc, has changed beyond recognition. The state has abdicated its functions to exercise control and the rule of law," said Ivan Sirleshtov, 60, a member of a local civil group to fight graft. The tale of Bansko is a microcosm of the property boom in mountain resorts and along Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, where corporate appetites...

North Dakota is focusing on nations with "transitional" economies, such as Ukraine, which is now seeing substantial direct investment and is in the process of revamping its agricultural sector. It doesn't hurt to have the dollar sinking in value - down almost 9 percent so far this year - and a relatively strong global economy. That's the case in North Dakota, for example, where its trade office has helped the state's foreign exports grow by 87 percent since 2001. It had to improve the...

Ranchers and dryland wheat producers joined row crop farmers in celebration. A long-awaited rain covered much of western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming this weekend, leaving between one and four inches of precipitation. Darnell said sugar beet harvest is 43 percent complete, and is expected to reach 70 percent by the end of the week. By today, the "greasy" slick roads, caused by the slow rain falling on extremely dry, powdery surfaces, are expected to have dried enough to provide good...

The voluntary recall, an expanded version of one issued Tuesday for nearly 332,000 pounds of Topps beef, was the first in the 67-year history of Topps, one of the nation's largest meat processing concerns. Geoffrey Livermore, Topps' vice president of operations, said the recalled products were distributed to retail grocers and food service institutions throughout the United States over the past year. Based on consumption patterns, he said, the company believes most of the products have...