Hershey sale debated; Nestle may be interested

Attorneys for the majority owner of Hershey Foods Corp. told a Pennsylvania court on Monday that the attorney general’s office overstepped its legal bounds in trying to halt a potential sale of the nation’s largest candymaker.

Senior Judge Warren Morgan of Dauphin County scheduled arguments for Sept. 3, even as the secretive bidding process for the 108-year-old firm appeared to be moving along.

A report Monday had Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle offering about $11.5 billion for the candymaker. Nestle declined to comment on the report in USA Today. USA Today, citing unidentified people familiar with the deal, said Nestle had made a preliminary bid of $82 to $85 per share. Hershey’s stock rose $1.77, or 2.4 percent, to $76.80 on Monday.

Internet: Online ad company settles privacy case

In order to ward off an investigation into its privacy practices, online ad provider DoubleClick Inc. agreed Monday to adhere to stiff privacy restrictions and to pay a $450,000 settlement.

The 30-month investigation, by attorneys general from 10 states, peered into DoubleClick’s practices of gathering Web users’ personal information and surfing habits.

The New York City-based company, which sells its services to advertisers and major Internet sites, deposited unique “cookie” files on a user’s computer that tracked the machine’s online travels, allowing the company to display Web ads tailored to a person’s shopping and surfing preferences.

Airline: United to announce cuts

United Airlines chief executive Jack Creighton told employees that unions of the nation’s No. 2 carrier will be informed by the end of this week about cutbacks it’s recommending in order to avoid bankruptcy.

The proposals, expected to include substantial pay cuts and other concessions, are part of a recovery plan that struggling United is overhauling in hopes of getting a $1.8 billion federal loan guarantee and ensuring an end to its long financial slide.

United announced Aug. 14 that it might have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this fall if it didn’t reach major cost-saving agreements within 30 days with its employees, vendors and lessors.

Agriculture: Rains help soybeans

Another week of widespread rains helped the state’s soybean crop, but did little to improve corn or milo fields, according to the state’s weekly crop condition report released Monday.

Soybeans were rated 36 percent poor to very poor, according to the report from the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service. That was a slight improvement from last week when 39 percent were rated poor to very poor.

Corn and milo continued to deteriorate. Corn was rated 53 percent poor to very poor and milo was rated 60 percent poor to very poor.