BUSINESS BRIEFS
FTC investigating rejected Walgreen offer to buy Longs
Associated Press
Longs Drug Stores Corp., which agreed to be bought by CVS Caremark Corp. last month, said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether a $2.8 billion acquisition offer from Walgreen Co. would hurt competition.
The agency is seeing if a combination of Walgreen and Longs would "substantially lessen competition" at retail pharmacies in parts of California, Nevada and Hawai'i, Longs said yesterday in a statement. The FTC requested documents related to Walgreen's proposal, which was made on Sept. 12, Longs said.
Longs disclosed the investigation in its third news release on the Walgreen proposal since rejecting the bid a week ago. Longs said the offer by Walgreen poses an antitrust risk and doesn't sufficiently reward shareholders. It recommended that shareholders accept the CVS offer.
GE CUTS EARNINGS FORECAST FOR YEAR
HARTFORD, Conn. — General Electric Co., the industrial powerhouse that makes everything from jet engines to light bulbs, cut its earnings forecast for the year yesterday, blaming volatile financial markets that have damaged the profitability of its loan and lease business, which accounts for almost half its income.GE, a bellwether of the U.S. economy, warned that its GE Capital unit would face "difficult conditions in the financial services markets that are not likely to improve in the near future."
Yesterday's announcement came as Wall Street grappled with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the government takeover of insurer AIG, and fierce debate over a $700 billion plan for Washington to bail out banks weakened by risky mortgage-backed securities.
That turmoil has hurt GE Capital, the company's financial business that provides consumer financing for car loans, mortgages outside the United States, and credit cards.
GE's commercial side finances real estate, corporate lending and leases jets.
SHAREHOLDERS OK SALE OF WRIGLEY
MILWAUKEE — Shareholders of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. have approved the company's $23 billion sale to Mars Inc., a move that will end more than a century of family control as the chewing-gum company becomes part of what will now be the world's largest candy maker.The deal, expected to be finalized around Oct. 6, joins the company that makes gums like Juicy Fruit and Big Red with the privately held maker of M&Ms, Snickers and Skittles, bumping Britain's Cadbury PLC from the top candy-making slot.
The voting results were released yesterday at a shareholder meeting in Wrigley's hometown of Chicago. Holders of two-thirds of the company's roughly 272.7 million outstanding common shares had to approve the deal for it to go through. The company did not say what percent approved.
FDA FOOD SAFETY EFFORTS FAULTED
FRESNO, Calif. — The Food and Drug Administration's efforts to combat food-borne illness are hampered by infrequent inspections, not enough staff and the failure to implement a program devoted to the safety of fresh produce, according to congressional investigators.The Government Accountability Office draft report obtained yesterday by The Associated Press also said that only 1 percent of produce imported into the U.S. is inspected, and that the practice of mixing produce from several sources makes it hard to trace contamination.
The findings, to be released today, outraged Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who along with Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy called for the investigation after the 2006 E. coli contamination in bagged spinach killed three people, sickened 200 others and cost the leafy greens industry $86 million.
"This report paints a frightening picture of the FDA's fresh produce safety efforts," Boxer said. It "should serve as a wake up call to do more to protect the nation's food supply."
A spokesman for the FDA would not comment until the report was released.
