British American Tobacco this morning agreed to pay $49.4 billion for the 58% of Reynolds American Inc. it does not already own, making it the second-largest tobacco company in the world after U.K.-based Imperial Tobacco Group, the outright owner of heritage brands such as Newport, Pall Mall and Camel, and a singular force in the emerging e-cig business.

After 146 years, the self-proclaimed Greatest Show on Earth is pulling up stakes this May. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a vestige of the day when troupes of performers traveled from city to Podunk bringing jobs, thrills and cotton candy to kids of all ages, cited pressure from animal rights activists and declining ticket sales as the primary reasons - among several - to disband.

The President-elect threw a tweet on the fire at Freeport, Maine-based L.L. Bean yesterday by not only thanking board member Linda Bean for her "support and courage" but also by urging people to buy its products.

Verizon is putting the squeeze on heavy data users, giving customers who are on unlimited data plans and habitually use more than 200 gigabytes a month or so to choose another plan or be disconnected.

As the clamor of competitors nears a 10, Sonos co-founder and CEO John MacFarlane announced in a blog post yesterday that he was turning over leadership to the audio firm's president, Patrick Spence, after 15 years at the helm.

Chocolate and dogs usually do not mix -- but don't tell that to Mars Inc. The maker of such delectables as Peanut M&Ms for two-legged creatures and Pedigree for canines is paying $7.7 billion cash dollars for VCA, a chain of nearly 800 animal hospitals and 60 diagnostic clinics in North America. It's also assuming $1.4 billion in debt, putting a total value of $9.1 billion on the deal for a company that was founded with one facility in Los Angeles in 1986 and now trades on NASDAQ under the symbol WOOF.

Dedicated followers of The Limited are finding their options are just that after the retailer revealed Friday that it was shutting down all 250 of its shops and reportedly will lay off about 4,000 workers, about 800 of whom are full-time staffers.

Sears Holdings' spiraling losses, as Sarah Mahoney details below, have turned out to be Stanley Black & Decker's gain. Over time, Stanley will pay Sears about $900 million for the Craftsman line, which Sears has controlled since it bought the trademark for $500 in 1927 and "quickly touted it as superior to the Fulton and Trojan tool lines," as a timeline states.

Macy's yesterday said it was closing 68 stores of its 730 stores by the spring -- wiping out about 3,900 jobs -- and that it would lay off about 6,200 additional workers nationwide in a move it characterizes as a "need for greater efficiency and productivity."

Carnival Cruise Lines yesterday took the media embargo off a new smart device that CEO Arnold Donald officially will take the wraps off in a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tomorrow. In short, the Ocean Medallion is a wearable concierge that will not only open passengers' stateroom doors as they approach but also track their gustatory desires and locate missing partners who are doing some cardio on the treadmill (or indulging in a Carnival Cosmo at the Red Frog Pub).