The Más Club that Wal-Mart opened in Houston on Thursday is part of a broader effort to target the nation's fast-growing Latino population with dedicated stores, but it may wind up mainly being a laboratory for the retailer to figure out how to tailor existing Sam's Club stores to local tastes, Miguel Butillo reports. Wal-Mart is also targeting Latinos with a new food store called Supermercado de Walmart. "We expect Más Club to evolve as we get to know our members better," says Kenny Folk, Sam's Club svp of new business development. "They will help us decide how fast …

Finding that "Drinkability" apparently doesn't sell beer as well as a few yuks do, Bud Light is going to dial down the "not too heavy/not too light" message and return to some of the sophomoric humor that has driven the brands sales since its 1982 launch, Jeremy Mullman reports. Information Resources Inc. data show retail sales of Bud Light declining 3% in the first half (and a troubling 7% during the July 4 holiday period). "We're going back to that familiar Bud Light voice," says CEO Dave Peacock. "The work will reference drinkability, but it won't be as drinkability …

Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising is under siege in Congress from numerous directions. Rep. James Moran, D-Va., cites decency standards. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., doesn't want anything advertised for a period of time after it receives Food and Drug Administration approval. Others congressmen want to disallow the cost of the ads as a business expense for tax purposes. But experts tell Theresa Howard that the DTC ads will continue because they work, are already regulated and don't add to the cost of health care. "It's not going to go away but it will continue to change," says Andrew Schirmer, managing director …

Two basic bureaucratic realities are driving the push for a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency: 1. The priorities of agencies depend on who's in charge. 2. Regulatory agencies are designed primarily to monitor the economy and oversee the health of banks and other institutions, reports Jim Puzzanghera. Supporters of a new agency say that the Fed and other regulatory agencies have a culture that puts those responsibilities ahead of protecting consumers. "[Consumer protection] is definitely second fiddle," agrees Ellen Seidman, a former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. Many Republicans and business groups believe that a new …

In a story laden with examples, Clifford M. Marks charts the convergence of traditional advertising and public relations agencies even as they stand at a crossroads formed by emerging social media venues such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. "This is business Darwinism right now,'' Sissy DeMaria, president of PR firm Kreps DeMaria tells him. "You're going to see a lot of consolidation in the industry, and only the strongest will survive." She talks about how her agency is moving into video production, for example -- something it would not have done just a few years ago. Cori Rice, …

General Motors will introduce a crossover vehicle under its nameplate in 2010 and plans a plug-in version for commercial customers in 2011 that will be available shortly after, Brent Snavely reports. The gasoline version has a 2.4-liter direct-injected four-cylinder engine delivering 30 mpg or more on the highway. The front-wheel drive plug-in version will use a modified version of GM's two-mode hybrid system, combined with lithium-ion battery cells and charging technology developed for the Chevrolet Volt. "One of the things we wanted to do is bring the age of the Buick customer down, and we thought one of the things... …