Reuters — The candy maker Mars Inc. on Thursday said it would take full control of its Wrigley chewing gum business, acquiring the minority stake held by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Mars plans to combine Wrigley with its chocolate business, putting M+Ms, Snickers, Skittles, Lifesavers, Starburst fruit chews, Doublemint and Extra gum and Altoids […] Read more
Mars buying out Buffett stake in Wrigley
Spanish man charged with lying in PotashCorp trading probe
Reuters — A U.S. grand jury has charged a Spanish investor with lying to regulators probing insider trading ahead of an August 2010 hostile bid for PotashCorp, even though he had been cleared of charges over his own trading. An indictment announced on Friday by federal prosecutors in Chicago charged Luis Martin-Caro Sanchez, 42, of […] Read more
Italy’s Ferragamo suing ex-Als QB over same-name winery
Reuters — Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, the Italian luxury goods maker, on Wednesday sued former Montreal Alouettes and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo, saying he infringed its trademarks by operating his namesake winery in southern California. Consumers are likely to be confused into thinking the Ferragamo Winery and Ferragamo SpA are related, the Italian company […] Read more
Whole Foods wins dismissal of PETA lawsuit over meat claims
Reuters — Whole Foods Market won the dismissal of a lawsuit by a well-known animal rights group that accused the grocery chain of deceiving consumers into believing the meat it sells is raised more humanely than normal, resulting in overcharges. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said the use by Whole Foods of […] Read more
U.S. dairy group reaches milk price-fixing accord
Reuters — Dairy Farmers of America Inc. has agreed to pay US$50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in which farmers in the northeastern U.S. accused the marketing co-operative of conspiring to drive down milk prices. Settlement papers were filed on Thursday with the federal court in Burlington, Vermont, and require approval by U.S. District […] Read more
MF Global officials settle lawsuit for US$64.5M
New York | Reuters — Jon Corzine and other former MF Global Holdings officials have reached a US$64.5 million settlement of litigation brought by investors seeking to hold them liable for the now-defunct futures brokerage’s 2011 bankruptcy. The all-cash settlement with Corzine, who was MF Global’s chief executive and previously New Jersey’s governor, and nine […] Read more
U.S. court upholds FDA animal feed policy despite health concern
Reuters — A divided federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy allowing the use of various antibiotics in animal feed, even if such use might endanger the public health. Reversing a lower court ruling, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the FDA was empowered […] Read more
U.S. packer suing ABC News over ‘pink slime’ reports
ABC News was hit with a US$1.2 billion defamation lawsuit Thursday by a South Dakota meat processor that accused it of misleading viewers into believing a product that critics have dubbed "pink slime" was unsafe. Beef Products Inc. (BPI) sued over ABC reports aired in March and April about the nation’s largest producer of "lean […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
