This Afternoon's Top News Stories

Here's a quick look at a few of the headlines making news this afternoon.

Alpha Natural Resources cuts production
Coal company Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR  ) is idling eight mines in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, eliminating 400 jobs, as part of restructuring. Between now and early 2013, a total of 1,200 positions will be cut from the workforce, a reduction of about 9%, as annualized coal production and shipments are cut by some 16 million tons, according to a company press release. Overhead cost savings from streamlining field and corporate support functions are targeted to be $150 million, which includes the $50 million to $60 million of cost reductions Alpha announced on June 8.

Google makes inroads in Nigeria
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG  ) has launched a service in Nigeria that enables mobile phone users to access email through text messaging, The Associated Press reports. This is the way to go in the area as many people lack access to electricity, much less the Internet. "We don't want to just come in and start looking for how to generate profit," the AP quoted Affiong Osuchukwu, Google's Nigeria marketing manager, as saying. "We consider (sub-Saharan Africa) to be an investment region. We know we have to invest resources and time to develop the market in order for the market to become valuable to us in a way that we can do business."

China squeezes drug companies
China has cut prices for 95 oncology, immune-system, and blood-related drugs and 200 formulations, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Health-care spending in China is forecast to triple to $1 trillion by 2020, according to the Journal report.