Reportedly disappointed at not getting the top position in the U.S. at Wal-Mart Stores this summer, Duncan Mac Naughton has resigned as the region's chief merchandising officer just ahead of the retailer's Black Friday kickoff "doorbuster" events at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Thursday.

Ignorance will no longer be caloric bliss for folks munching out at their favorite chain restaurant, mindlessly downing butter kernels at the local bijou, dropping dollars for sweets in vending machines or downing a pumpkin beer at the friendly mall chain bar. The Federal Drug Administration is introducing a sweeping set of regulations this morning that requires eateries with 20 or more outlets - and big box food courts, too - to "clearly and conspicuously" list the calories in menu items for a population that (over)consumes about one-third of its energy away from home.

Only in the perverse game of box-office scores can a movie that far outperformed any other this year on opening weekend be deemed a "disappointment," sending the shares of Lions Gate Entertainment - which houses the studio that "feeds and protects" the franchise - tumbling 5% Friday after it grossed 33% less than its predecessor in its Thursday night launch.

The news out of Big Box Land apparently need not be one of unremitting lowered growth and curtailed expectations as Best Buy this morning provides the latest object lesson in how to respond to the invasive forces of e-commerce and smaller footprints. Not only did its third-quarter results "shatter expectations," as the hed in the hometown "Minneapolis Star Tribune" puts it, its executives are downright cautiously optimistic about the holiday shopping season.

Honda, which has the best-selling SUV/crossover vehicle in North America with its nearly 20-year-old CR-V, introduced a smaller sibling yesterday called the HR-V that is based on its Fit hatchback platform, the smallest vehicle it sells in the U.S. Targeted at the thin wallets of Gen Y, it is making its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show and will be in showrooms next spring. The price is expected to start in the low $20,000 range.

There's little doubt that a plot to gather dirt on journalists was a smart idea -- and it's even stupider to brag about it -- but articles emerging about the Uber brouhaha this morning have an "and that's not all" ring to them, reminding us that the ride-sharing startup is the pin-up boy for an arrogant, megalomaniacal culture that is all too common in the tech world.

The AP's Candice Choi neatly wrapped up the new ingredient in the Goliath vs. David story of Unilever suing startup Hampton Creek for false advertising over what it says is a misleading suggestion that it contains eggs: "Hellmann's mayonnaise has some egg on its face."

Got too much going on and feeling stretched for time? Thirty-five to 55 with annual household income upwards of $200,000? Female, perhaps? Harbor an aversion to dealing with car dealerships? (Okay, scratch that last one as obvi.) If so, Ford has a Lincoln Black Label - with soft Venetian leather or Alcantara suede - for you.

In a deal powered by tax savings - oh, and Warren Buffett's belief in the untapped value of an enduring brand - Berkshire Hathaway is taking another nonessential product off the hands of Procter & Gamble by handing back 52.5 million shares - worth about $4.7 billion - it currently holds in the company. But, in a maneuver that makes accountants accountants, P&G is about investing $1.7 billion in Duracell as part of the deal, reducing Berkshire's cost to about $3 billion.

Hasbro is discussing a deal to buy DreamWorks Animation that would create a company called DreamWorks-Hasbro, although presumably informed sources in several published reports offer the standard caution that it could all blow apart in true animated style, leaving eggs on a face or two.