Tyson to audit animal treatment
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The nation's largest meat company, Tyson Foods Inc., says it's launching an animal treatment audit of suppliers' farms.
The company announced the audit Friday.
The news comes as animal welfare activists have been pressuring Tyson to move away from cramped cages for pregnant pigs.
But the Springdale, Ark.-based company says its latest move is not in response to actions from the Humane Society of the United States or other organizations.
U.S. wholesale prices increase
WASHINGTON - Wholesale prices rose 1.1 percent in in September, its second consecutive big gain on sharp rises in gasoline costs. But outside of the surge in energy, prices were well contained.
The latest rise reported Friday by the Labor Department followed a 1.7 percent gain in August that had been the largest one-month increase in more than three years. In both months, overall prices were pushed higher by gasoline, which rose 9.8 percent in September following an even larger 13.6 percent gain in August.
Oil falls on demand estimates
WASHINGTON - The price of oil fell Friday on concerns that growth in global crude demand will slow even as more petroleum becomes available.
Benchmark oil fell 21 cents Friday to $91.86 per barrel in New York.
On Friday, the International Energy Agency issued a new report predicting slower growth in demand for oil over the next five years. It cited the sluggish global economy and growing energy efficiency. The agency also forecast that supplies will increase, in part because U.S. production from shale formations is exceeding expectations.
AAA said gasoline prices at the pump fell less than a penny from Thursday to $3.81 for a gallon of regular.
More object to credit settlement
NEW YORK - A group of retailers and trade groups has launched a last-ditch effort to stop a settlement worth at least $6 billion that Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and major banks have agreed to pay retailers for alleged fee fixing.
Ten out of the 19 retailers and trade groups that are plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit against the credit card companies say they're trying to block the deal because they believe it would allow the credit card industry to continue to take advantage of merchants and their customers while stopping competition.
Samsung unveils new Galaxy S III
SEOUL, South Korea - Samsung Electronics Co. has unveiled a smaller and cheaper version of the Galaxy S III smartphone with the same screen size as the iPhone 5.
Samsung says the Galaxy S III mini features a screen measuring 4 inches diagonally, smaller than the Galaxy S III's 4.8 inch display but the same as Apple's iPhone 5, which was Apple's first upgrade of the iPhone screen size.
Samsung said the mini will be launched in Europe later this month but kept mum on schedules for other countries.
Samsung's German mobile shop lists the mini's price at 399 euros ($516) versus 550 euros ($711) for the cheapest S III.
The mini is powered by the latest version of Android software but does not support faster fourth-generation wireless networks.