Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Kmart has released a statement in response to the Target lawsuit (see "Target to Sue Kmart Over Advertising," Aug. 21). The company remains committed to its 'Dare to Compare' pricing campaign.

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, and the MediaPlan division of Spectra Inc., each VNU companies, today announced the launch of a jointly developed information service that brings a new level of actionability to the process of marketing mix modeling.

nternet usage in the UK is continuing tosurge, with the vast majority of people happywith the service they get, according totelecoms watchdog Oftel's latest quarterlysurvey.

In an unprecedented cooperative effort in health-care, 10 leading pharmacy provider companies have formed a new venture, named ArcLight Systems, LLC, that collects and reports up-to-the-minute information on pharmaceutical prescription trends in America. ArcLight ( www.arclightsystems.com ) is based in Dublin, Ohio and Paradise Valley, Nev.

A diverse group of antitrust experts, national consumer organizations and major farm groups have joined forces to announce their opposition to Nestle's $10.1 billion merger with Ralston Purina. If regulators approve the deal, Swiss-based Nestle would become the world's biggest pet food company and control roughly 45 percent of the $7 billion U.S. pet food market.