Market Trends

CINCINNATI - The Kroger Co. has become the latest target of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as the animal rights group persuades businesses to adopt tougher policies on the mistreatment of animals, the Cincinnati Post reports.

NEW YORK - McDonald's Corp. is exploring how to use its restaurant locations to sell items other than food, Wednesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

LONDON - The U.K.'s Sainsbury said in the 12 months to March, pre-tax profits before one-off items were up 14 percent to 627 million pounds ($915.7 million), the BBC reports.

PHILADELPHIA - In an effort to organize employees at Norristown, Pa.-based Genuardi's Family Markets, five United Food and Commercial Workers union locals are planning a big campaign over Memorial Day weekend, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House Wednesday approved a bill to increase funding for bioterrorism preparedness by $4.6 billion and to renew the law under which prescription drugmakers pay "user fees" to the FDA to speed the drug review process, Reuters reports.

SALT LAKE CITY - Ready-to-eat shrimp may contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria, so people with weak immune systems should stay away from such prepared food, a researcher said Wednesday at the American Society for Microbiology's annual meeting, Reuters reports.

MILWAUKEE - The $750 million sale of Roundy's Inc. to a Chicago investment firm received shareholder approval Tuesday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

BOISE, Idaho - Albertson's Inc. today unveiled a major commitment to its future in Southern California by committing more than $1 billion in capital investment during the next three years for new stores and remodels.