He was convicted of making a false statement, a misdemeanor, in a case involving Bristol-Myers making an anti-competitive deal with a generic-drug manufacturer.

Age's headline, "Walmart Is Getting Serious About Marketing," has to send shivers down the spines of competitors who've been under the impression that the retail juggernaut hasn't been kidding around for some time. But Jack Neff says that Wal-Mart executives know that they face a challenge retaining customers who have traded down to the retailer during the recession and that is forcing it to become a better marketer and merchandiser. For one thing, the company has invested heavily in market research, polling more than a million customers monthly directed to its website from its stores. "I think it's showing how …

Smart Balance, which markets "heart healthy" merchandise such as low-cholesterol spreads, peanut butter, popcorn, cooking oil and milk, stays leans itself with an emphasis on new-product innovation and just 67 employees, Joann S. Lublin reports. Its revenue doubled last year to about $222 million and CEO Steve Hughes thinks it can reach $1 billion by 2014, with most of the increase coming from new products. Kara Gruver, head of the North American consumer-products practice for Bain & Co., says Smart Balance's model "plays to their strengths," by keeping new-product development and marketing in house but using outside vendors for …

Dunkin' Donuts is rolling out it first 99-cent breakfast wrap -- the Wake-Up Wrap -- this morning with the message "America Saves." It's also taking the opportunity to tweak the competition, Theresa Howard reports. "It's interesting to us that there's a battle between McDonald's and Starbucks," says Frances Allen, Dunkin' Donuts brand marketing officer. "Starbucks can't do food, and McDonald's can't do coffee." Dunkin, Allen maintains, does both better than either. The new campaign for Dunkin' taps into the value mindset with the theme: "Breakfast NOT Brokefast." Technomic restaurant analyst Darren Tristano says the wrap "is a great …

Sales of store-branded products are still growing, but not as fast as they were when we were in the eye of the recession, analysts say and Elaine Wong reports. In fact, Nielsen data show that private label actually lost a 0.8 unit share point year-to-year in the food, drug and mass channels during the four weeks ended April 18. "Private [label's] growth, while still a major concern, does appear to be easing somewhat, albeit at higher sustained share levels," Heinz CEO Bill Johnson notes. Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Alexia Howard posits the theory that the rise in private …

Health lobbyists in Australia are predicting that the Preventative Health Taskforce -- set up by Health Minister Nicola Roxon last year -- will recommend a ban on advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages when it releases a report this month on how the country should fight chronic diseases such as obesity and over-consumption of alcohol. Glen Wiggs, director of the Foundation for Advertising Research, feels the advertising and media industries have just six months to reduce the amount of advertising of unhealthy food or the government will do it for them. The case for …

Detroit businessman Roger Penske could be pioneering the start of a new strategy for selling cars and trucks, experts say, following the announcement of his deal with General Motors. GM will continue to assemble Saturn vehicles for two years, and Penske is talking with other manufacturers about building vehicles that his dealer network would sell, Tim Higgins reports.

Negotiations for the Saturn brand between General Motors and a group headed by Detroit auto tycoon Roger Penske are close and could continue into the weekend, a source close to the talks tells Robert Snell. Neither GM nor Penske would confirm that a sale is imminent, but Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse confirms that "negotiations are literally going around the clock, and we hope to have something to announce soon." Penske is a billionaire Detroit booster and auto racing legend who oversaw the city's Super Bowl XL preparation. He is the head of Penske Automotive Group, which operates more than …