Feds balk at rum deal

        Diageo Plc, the biggest liquor maker, and French rival Pernod-Ricard SA face opposition to their joint $8 billion bid for Seagram Co.'s drinks business from U.S. antitrust regulators concerned about concentration in the rum market, people familiar with the matter said.

        The Federal Trade Commission may vote soon on a recommendation from staff lawyers to oppose the takeover, the sources said. FTC staff rejected Diageo's proposal to sell Seagram's Myers rum brand to allay antitrust issues, they said.
       

Merger to proceed

        A business marriage of the Pillsbury Doughboy and Betty Crocker moved ahead Tuesday when the Federal Trade Commission deadlocked on approving General Mills Inc.'s $6.1 billion purchase of Pillsbury Co.

        A government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FTC vote was 2-2. Typically, a merger proceeds unless the FTC votes to block it, the source said.

        The purchase of Pillsbury from Diageo PLC, a London-based food and drinks conglomerate, creates the world's fifth-largest packaged food company.

Disney seeks cutbacks

        Walt Disney World officials asked some of their salaried workers to volunteer for a 20 percent cutback in hours and salary.

        The company wants some of the resort's 7,400 full-time salaried employees to scale back their workweek to 32 hours, saying it will save some jobs and preserve insurance and retirement benefits for employees, spokeswoman Marilyn Waters said Monday.
       

Kimberly-Clark profits fall

        Kimberly-Clark Corp., the maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers, said third-quarter profit fell 4.8 percent after businesses cut orders, and it will delay the introduction of moistened toilet paper in the Northeast until next year.

        Net income for the largest U.S. maker of diapers fell to $419.4 million, or 79 cents a share, from $440.4 million, or 81 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 5.1 percent to $3.71 billion from $3.53 billion, the company said.
       

Daimler income, costs decline

        DaimlerChrysler AG said Tuesday that its net income fell 70 percent in the third quarter, but analysts welcomed the company's progress in cutting costs and losses at its struggling Chrysler division in the United States.

        For the three months ended September, DaimlerChrysler earned 902 million euros ($802 million), compared with 3.01 billion euros a year earlier.

        “A turnaround on the operational level brings the cash flow to improve the financial performance,” said Georg Stuerzer, an analyst at HypoVereinsbank in Munich. The results were “very positive” because of the success in reducing the losses at Chrysler, he added.

Duramed agrees to merger
205 workers out of jobs in Warsaw
Companies begin to rebuild
Keating leaves 5/3 in surprise move
Industry notes: Banking
LSI reports higher earnings on record revenues
Tank maker, union reach deal to end strike
Business Digest
Morning Memo
Tristate Summary
What's the Buzz?