Bloomberg Dean Foods Co., the largest US dairy processor, agreed to buy the manufacturing and retail operations of Friendly’s Ice Cream LLC for $155 million to add another consumer brand and help build its business beyond commodity fresh milk. The deal includes Friendly’s trademark and intellectual property, Dallas-based Dean said in a statement. The company will retain Friendly’s senior ...

  Buenos Aires / AFP With hardship rising due to job cuts and inflation, Argentina has adopted a scheme from Europe’s economic crisis: putting food in outdoor “social fridges” for the needy. “I was sick of seeing how food got thrown away and then shortly afterwards people were foraging for it” in the trash, said Luis Pondal, a restaurant owner in ...

  Las Vegas / AFP Hyperloop One startup, intent on zipping people along at near-supersonic speeds in pressurized tubes, announced that the French national rail company had joined its growing list of backers. Hyperloop One said that it raised US$80 million in fresh funding from an array of investors, including GE Ventures and France’s SNCF. “The overwhelming response we’ve had ...