LEGAL

LEGAL

Lead-Paint Verdict Overturned

The Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned a landmark verdict against three former makers of lead paint, a major setback for states that want the companies to pay billions of dollars to decontaminate thousands of homes and other buildings.

The unanimous decision reversed the lone victory to date against lead paint manufacturers. A jury found Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries and Millennium Holdings liable in 2006 for creating a public nuisance by manufacturing and selling a toxic product. The companies would have been required to clean up contaminated homes. The state had said that would cost $2.4 billion and require inspections and work on hundreds of thousands of homes built before 1980. The court said the state failed to prove that the presence of lead paint was a public nuisance in Rhode Island and that the lawsuit should have been dismissed.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

InBev Presses Anheuser Investors

The Belgian brewer InBev urged Anheuser-Busch shareholders to challenge the biggest U.S. beer company's rejection of its $46 billion buyout bid. Carlos Brito, InBev's chief executive, insisted in a statement that his offer of $65 a share was "full and fair" and would give shareholders immediate certainty as stock markets plunge.

The maker of beers including Stella Artois and Beck's has already set the scene for a hostile-takeover battle by saying that it would "pursue all available avenues that would allow Anheuser-Busch shareholders a direct vote."

CONSUMER SAFETY

Nebraska Firm Recalls Beef

Nebraska Beef is recalling nearly 532,000 pounds of ground beef produced in the past two months because the meat has been linked to an outbreak of E. coli illnesses. The federal government said that some of the Omaha company's beef was sold by Kroger, and investigators traced the meat to Nebraska Beef after 35 people in Ohio and Michigan became ill. Kroger has already recalled the beef it sold in those states.

Much of the beef that Nebraska Beef is recalling was sold to wholesalers or other processing companies, so it may be difficult for consumers to determine whether they have any of the beef. For more details about the recalls, visit the U.S. Agriculture Department Web site http://www.fsis.usda.gov.

ECONOMY

Construction Spending Fell in May

Construction spending fell in May for the 11th time in the past year as a continuing slump in housing offset strength in nonresidential building.

The Commerce Department reported that construction spending dropped 0.4 percent in May, slightly less than had been expected. There was strength in spending on hotels and office buildings but continued declines in housing, which has been in a slump for two years.

Residential construction dropped 1.6 percent in May, the 25th decline out of the past 26 months.

BANKING

Visa Rescinds Debit Card Rule

Consumers can now use Visa debit cards for smaller purchases without entering a personal identification number, the same way they can skip signing receipts. The company said it is no longer requiring merchants to treat its debit cards differently when customers use them as PIN-debit cards, as opposed to signature cards. The move prompted the Justice Department to drop an antitrust investigation of the practice.

Compiled from reports by Washington Post staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.