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In brief

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 13, 2006

When does admiration turn into exploitation?

The legacy of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is not just a national treasure, it's a means to sell everything from refrigerator magnets to crypts.

McDonald's has a strong third quarter

McDonald's Corp. said Thursday that stronger- than-expected September sales pushed preliminary third-quarter profit well above Wall Street estimates, backed by a comeback in Europe and accelerated U.S. momentum that have its two biggest markets surging.

Jury sides with Wal-Mart workers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. violated Pennsylvania labor laws by forcing employees to work during rest breaks and off the clock, according to a state jury's verdict Thursday. The jury has yet to decide on damages. The retailer, which was sued by two former employees on behalf of 187,000 current and former hourly Wal-Mart workers, faces damages that plaintiffs' lawyers said could reach $162-million.

Orange crop forecast looking grim this year

Last year's Hurricane Wilma and a cold stretch in February will leave Florida with its worst orange crop since 1990, the federal government said Thursday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted 135-million boxes of oranges will be picked in the 2006-07 season, down from an already-low 148-million boxes last year. Before two nasty hurricane seasons blew through, the state was averaging about 220-million boxes.

South Florida gas pipeline plan dropped

A Texas energy company has abandoned plans to build an underwater natural gas pipeline that would have run from the Bahamas to Palm Beach County, after years of trying to overcome safety fears and environmental objections. Houston-based El Paso Corp. said the company couldn't find enough shippers interested in using the pipeline, faced unresolved environmental issues and feared the Bahamas government would never act on its application. "Those things added together killed it," company spokesman Joe Hollier said.

Wendy's plans large stock buyback

Wendy's International Inc., the third-largest U.S. hamburger chain, plans to buy back more than $1-billion of its stock with cash it received from its initial public offering of Tim Hortons Inc. The shares rose. Wendy's board approved the repurchase of 35.4-million shares over the next 18 months to 24 months, the company said in a statement Thursday.

[Last modified October 12, 2006, 23:28:03]