Not too long ago, Wal-Mart was making headlines almost weekly as critics lambasted the retailer for its pay practices, pollution and rapaciousness. But the image of the nation's self-professed price leader and its largest employer outside the government is no longer under siege -- at least for the time being. Thanks to a multimillion-dollar public relations and marketing campaign, aggressive environmental initiatives and price rollbacks billed as the retailer's very own "economic stimulus package," the company has been recasting itself as a champion of the environment and a benevolent big business. But its critics claim the retailer still has …

For Disney, there are few more crucial tasks than finding and developing talent that appeals to 8- to 12-year-olds and perpetuating the pipeline of clean-cut Disney Channel stars whose singing, dancing and acting can be exploited across multiple platforms. The task has taken on new urgency since April, when Vanity Fair magazine published photos of the 15-year-old Miley Cyrus with only a bed sheet covering her torso. As a rare spring thunderstorm clattered outside, executives from Disney's Hollywood Records huddled with 15-year-old Demi Lovato and her management team recently to complete her debut solo album, to be released this …

The first FCX Clarity rolled out to the applause of hundreds of Honda employees wearing white jump suits in a factory an hour north of Toyko Monday. The world's first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle that's intended for mass production looks like an ordinary family sedan, but presently costs more to build than a Ferrari. Among its first customers is the actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Honda says the FCX Clarity can be filled easily at a pump, can drive 280 miles on a tank, and gets the equivalent of 74 miles a gallon of gas. It will make just 200 of …

Major pharmaceutical firms including Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer are agreeing to a six-month moratorium on advertising new drugs to consumers. The companies also will start following the American Medical Association's guidelines about using actors to portray doctors, and at least one marketer -- J&J -- says it will not use doctors in ads to discuss the benefits of a drug. The drug makers outlined their intentions in a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Committee chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who heads its oversight and investigations panel, had wanted the companies …

In spite of the efforts of Tesco U.S. CEO Tim Mason to keep a low profile on the retailers Fresh & Easy rollout, it has drawn critics far and wide who say the model will not work. They argue that the stores have too few branded goods for U.S. shoppers, the look is too utilitarian, the wrapped fruit and vegetables are "unappealing" and the self-service checkouts are unpopular. Mason says he suspended new store openings for three months to tweak the model in existing outlets. The changes are evident. At the entrance, there are palettes stacked with bags of …

The Segway, which critics panned as a toy for geeks and the rich after it debuted amid massive hype in 2001, is finally gaining traction as gas prices soar. The $5,000, two-wheeled scooter plugs into a standard electrical outlet and can get 25 miles per charge. Sales at the scooter's maker, Segway Inc., have risen to an all-time high, says CEO Jim Norrod. Although the closely held company doesn't release detailed numbers, a September 2006 recall showed the company had sold 23,500 vehicles. Norrod says he expects sales this quarter to jump 50% from a year earlier, versus a 25% …

A physician's advocacy group -- A.M.A. Alliance -- is upset that Gen. Thunderbolt Ross, a bad guy in "The Incredible Hulk" played by William Hurt, is rarely seen on the big screen without a cigar in hand. It complains about "gratuitous depictions of smoking" in the Marvel film that opened on Friday and is distributed by Universal Pictures. Dianne Fenyk, president of the A.M.A. Alliance, is particularly infuriated because the character did not smoke in "Hulk," the 2003 film directed by Ang Lee, though he always smoked in the comic books. Moreover, the editor of Marvel Comics and the …

California will see $683.6 million in direct spending for weddings over the next three years, thanks to couples flocking there to seek same-sex marriages, according to a study conducted by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. The study also projects that 2,178 jobs will be created in the state to service the industry. The average price of a wedding now tallies $28,704, according to the Wedding Report. "With luck, the parties will get as big, if not bigger, than heterosexual weddings, which would be great for the economy," says Richard Markel, association director of the …