* Crabtree & Evelyn, the purveyor of specialty soaps,fragrances and lotions, became the latest retailer to fallvictim to the economic downturn, filing for Chapter 11bankruptcy protection on Wednesday in the United States. * Constellation Brands Inc (STZ.N), the wine and spiritsmaker, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profitWednesday as efforts to stabilize its business started to payoff. * After forcing German banks that received state aid todrastically shrink, the European competition commissioner isnow causing unease among some of their British rivals by sayingthat they are next. * A group of five public pension funds, including statefunds in Ohio and Texas, have won the right to lead investorclass-action lawsuits against the Bank of America Corp (BAC.N)over its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.
* Federal prosecutors filed fraud conspiracy chargesagainst Beazer Homes USA Inc (BZH.N) but agreed to dismiss themif the firm accepts responsibility for certain wrongdoing andpays millions to victims. * James Davis, the chief lieutenant of Allen Stanford, willplead guilty to fraud and conspiracy after reaching anagreement to cooperate with prosecutors in their case againstthe Texas billionaire, his lawyer said on Wednesday. * The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp plans to issue newrules that could make it slightly easier for private equityfirms to buy failed banks, according to people familiar withthe agency’s deliberations. * With thousands of claims still pending, the documentedtotal of cash losses in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme is nearly$3 billion, according to the bankruptcy trustee overseeing theclaims process. * Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patientstaking two popular drugs to stop smoking should be watchedclosely for signs of serious mental illness, as reports mountof suicides among the drugs’ users.
* General Motors Corp GMGMQ.PK must win approval to sellits best assets to a new government-financed company by July 10or risk losing its bankruptcy financing, a Treasury Departmentofficial testified on Wednesday. Stocks | Funds News | ETFs News | Japan * June sales figures showed another difficult month forsome automakers, yet provided a hint demand for new vehicles inthe U.S might finally be on the upswing. July 2 (Reuters) – The following were the top stories inthe New York Times business pages on Thursday. Reuters has notverified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The first three to reach the final destination will perform for a cash prize.The project is produced by Page Hurwitz and Javier Winnik, who were involved with the defunct reality contest “Last Comic Standing.”"Funniest” could represent a more urgent take on the comic-competition series format made popular by “Standing,” which ran for several years on NBC until it was canceled in 2008.(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)(please visit our entertainment blog via or on blogs.reuters /fanfare/) Television. TelevisionThe show follows a group of stand-ups as they travel cross-country competing in challenges and performances. LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – In “The Fast & the Funniest,” a new reality competition show that ABC is developing, comedians have to be funny on the fly.
(Reporting by Thomas Atkins and Matt Smith; Editing by KimCoghill) Stocks Bonds. The $7.4 billion total pricetag for the Saudi credit fiascois the latest of several reports citing banking documents thatto measure the magnitude of the problem, with reports rangingfrom around $6 billion to $10 billion.The National said more than 10 UAE banks were involved insyndicated loans worth $767.5 million to the two groups. The $3 billion exposure alone for the UAE, home to thebiggest financial industry in the Gulf, is the highest tallyyet for a single country and, if confirmed, would threaten theprofitability of the sector in 2009. Stocks | Bonds The banks’ exposure goes beyond syndicated loans, the papersaid, and includes bilateral financing arrangements built upover the years preceeding the market crash of 2008, the papersaid.