Frozen food group goes on offense as sales lag

NEW YORK — Frozen food makers plan to launch their first national TV ad in defense of their products on Tuesday as the category fights to boost slipping sales.

The ad will include the tag line "Frozen: How Fresh Stays Fresh" and is intended to address negative misconceptions people have about frozen foods.

It's part of a marketing campaign being funded by the American Frozen Food Institute, an industry group that represents companies including Nestle, which makes Hot Pockets and Lean Cuisine, and ConAgra, which makes Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's.

The push comes as frozen food sales have been hurt by a move toward food people feel are fresh or natural. Although frozen vegetables are often touted as being just as wholesome as their fresh counterparts, frozen meals and snacks are widely seen as being full of sodium and preservatives, or lacking in the taste department.

Between 2009 and last year, U.S. sales of frozen meals are down 3 percent at $8.92 billion, according to Euromonitor International. And this year, the market researcher is forecasting a decline of an additional 2 percent.

The Associated Press reported on the American Frozen Food Institute's plans for the campaign last month.

In a phone interview on Monday, Kraig Naasz, president of the American Frozen Food Institute, disclosed that the group plans to invest as much as $90 million in the campaign over three years.

"This is a long-term strategy. The primary purpose is to enter into a dialogue with consumers," he said.

In the 30-second commercial set to run on cable and network TV on Tuesday, a voiceover states that "freezing is nature's pause button." It also asks viewers to take "fresh look at frozen," as images of appealing foods that were apparently once frozen are shown.

The campaign is also tapping registered dietitian and author Keri Glassman as a representative to talk about the benefits of frozen foods in public appearances, including on "The View."

In the meantime, frozen food makers have also been revamping their product lineups to better suit eating trends.

ConAgra, for instance, simplified the recipes for its Healthy Choice line to remove chemicals that people might find objectionable. Nestle's Lean Cuisine also introduced an "Honestly Good" line that is touts its natural ingredients.

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Organizations aim to train immigrant entrepreneurs

PORTLAND, Ore. — After immigrating to Oregon from the Mexican state of Oaxaca more than two decades ago, Paula Asuncion worked on farms and in minimum wage jobs at fast-food restaurants — a widow struggling to feed six children, sharing cramped apartments with other families.

Her prospects changed two years ago after she joined a program that helps immigrants open small culinary businesses. After training with the microbusiness incubator at Portland nonprofit Hacienda CDC, Asuncion now runs a catering service, employs other immigrants, and has bought a home for her family.

Asuncion's story is not uncommon. Experts say the economic downturn brought new interest in self-employment from people having a difficult time finding well-paying jobs, and that has spurred significant growth in microbusiness development programs that teach skills such as business plan writing, marketing and accounting.

Interest in opening a business is especially high among immigrants and refugees. Many have low incomes and less access to employment opportunities than the general population because they have limited English language skills, lack reliable transportation or an American diploma, and are still learning how American society works.

Many of them see self-employment as a shot at the "American dream."

"The biggest concern among immigrants is having stable work. They come to us and say, 'I want to start a taco stand. How do I do that?'" said Janet Hamada, executive director of Next Door Inc., a social service agency in Hood River, 60 miles east of Portland. The organization plans to expand its business coaching services into a full microbusiness development program aimed at Spanish speakers.

Microbusinesses, defined as enterprises with five or fewer employees, have long been the backdrop of the economy and make up the majority of U.S. businesses. They account for about 26 million jobs in the economy — more than the total number of people employed in local, state and federal governments, according to the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, which provides advice and support for microentrepreneurs.

Though the businesses are tiny — from farmers planting on a few acres, to adult care home owners, to food cart vendors — their impact can be significant, said Marilyn Johnson-Hartzog, executive director of the Oregon Micro Enterprise Network. The newly minted entrepreneurs hire family members and eventually other community members, and their quality of life soars. They spend more money on goods and services and re-invest in the business.

Given a rise in demand for training and coaching for new entrepreneurs, even social service organizations have recently added microbusiness development programs, Johnson-Hartzog said.

"The recession, the lack of employment opportunities for seniors, undocumented immigrants, or people of color means there is definitely a need for those trying to lift themselves out of poverty," she said. "A lot of people are hanging out the microbusiness shingle because there are no other resources."

In Durham, North Carolina, a new organization called Accion Emprendedora USA aims to help microbusinesses grow in the Hispanic community through training in business planning, marketing and accounting.

Michigan's Global Detroit initiative, built around the idea that immigration can drive an economic rebound, is developing a collaborative to provide training, technical assistance, and microloans — very small, short-term loans at low interest — to immigrant entrepreneurs.

And in Oregon, interest in microdevelopment is so high that Adelante Mujeres — a Forest Grove nonprofit that runs a 10-week small-business course and an agriculture enterprise program for Latinos — has developed a replicable model for training aimed at Spanish speakers and is helping two other nonprofits to implement it this year.

Demand for business training is especially high among Latinos, partly because some of them immigrated illegally and the federal government has increased pressure on businesses not to hire them, said Adelante Empresas program director Eduardo Corona.

"Anti-immigration laws have led to people having a really hard time finding jobs, even on farms," Corona said. "Since they have to put food on the table, they're starting to explore their abilities and thinking of opening a business."

At Portland's Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, known as IRCO, several new microenterprise programs have long waiting lists — including a program that teaches refugees how to start their own home-based childcare businesses. IRCO partners with licensed childcare agencies to provide training, and help with paperwork and coaching. Since 2011, it has trained nearly 100 refugee women who arrived in Oregon from conflict-torn nations like Somalia and Myanmar.

"The demand is really high," said program coordinator Tina Do. "A lot of immigrant women come with young children, English language barriers, transportation barriers. It's really difficult for them to compete with other people out there, even for a minimum wage job."

When immigrant women start a childcare service, Do said, the benefits spread to other immigrants, who can enter the workforce because they now have culturally appropriate childcare near their home.

Asuncion's catering service in Portland has also spread its benefits to others. The financially struggling farmworker who sold tamales to neighbors has become a full-time entrepreneur who owns Mixteca Catering and runs food stands at four Portland area farmers markets. Asuncion, 54, now employs three of her adult children and a nonrelative, and the family hopes to eventually open a restaurant.

There's potential for microbusinesses to grow into companies worth billions of dollars. Corporations like Apple, Google and Disney got their start in someone's garage.

Asuncion credits the Hacienda CDC's incubator program for teaching her how to sell and advertise to an American public, giving her information on food safety laws, providing access to a commercial kitchen and microloans to purchase equipment, and links to markets and festivals.

"They have really supported us and helped motivate us," Asuncion said. "I am proud of what my family has accomplished."

Hacienda is expanding on such success by building the Portland Mercado, a market dedicated to small Latino businesses that will include an 11-week course for aspiring entrepreneurs.

"The goal is to show immigrants how to access resources and teach them to do it independently," said Hacienda's market coordinator Caitlin Burke. Their businesses, she said, can then serve "as a bridge to share Latino culture with other communities."

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Godzilla proves even giant monsters need lawyers

He spews radioactive fire, razes cities and pummels creatures from Earth and beyond, but even Godzilla needs a good lawyer sometimes. After all, you don't survive 60 years in the movie business without taking some fights to court.

For decades, attorneys acting on behalf of Godzilla's owners, Tokyo-based Toho Co. Ltd., have amassed a string of victories, fighting counterfeiters and business titans such as Comcast and Honda along the way. The opponents have come from all corners of pop culture: TV commercials, video games, rap music and even the liquor industry.

The litigation has kept Godzilla's brand thriving and helped pave the way for commercial and merchandising tie-ins that will accompany the monster's return to the big screen on Friday after a 10 year hiatus. Godzilla's image is for sale, but permission is needed.

Toho's attorneys use copyright and trademark law as effectively as Godzilla uses his tail and claws to topple buildings and swat opponents. Their court injunctions have permanently whacked music, books and movies from store shelves.

Since the mid-1980s, Chuck Shephard of the Los Angeles law firm of Greenberg Glusker has been Godzilla's lead lawyer, filing suits like the one against a wine called Cabzilla that resulted in a winemaker being forced to dump its stock of Cabernet Sauvignon down the drain.

"Godzilla is just as protected as Mickey Mouse," said Shephard in a recent interview. Toho's lucrative licensing efforts, which include endorsements, toys, comic books, video games and even official wine and sake brands, require the company to be vigilant against copycats, he said.

Since 1991, Toho's attorneys have filed at least 32 copyright and trademark lawsuits and countless warning letters, gaining court injunctions in a quarter of the cases. Most others have resulted in settlement agreements that while confidential, result in products disappearing from the marketplace.

Since the late 1990s, Shephard has worked Toho cases with attorney Aaron Moss, whose high-end Century City office is cluttered with a mix of legal filings and official and unofficial Godzilla merchandise.

Some of the spoils of court victories include a now out-of-circulation copy of rapper Pharoahe Monch's 1999 album that improperly used Godzilla's theme music and a two-foot-tall dog toy called Tuffzilla.

"Toho is not out there to extract a pound of flesh," Moss said. "They need to protect their brand."

Both attorneys said they carefully evaluate when to file lawsuits, and Toho trusts their judgment. Litigation often starts with a cease-and-desist letter, and a company's reaction to it often determines whether the case escalates, they said.

"When you have something as famous as Barbie or as Godzilla, you're well-served to protect that," said Larry Iser, a partner at the Santa Monica, California-based firm Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert.

Iser represents toy maker Mattel and noted that trademarks for some popular products such as the trampoline and escalator have fallen into the public domain, making them easier and cheaper for companies to copy.

But Godzilla's trademarks could last forever if they're properly handled, Iser said.

Godzilla debuted in Japan in the 1954 hit film "Gojira" but has proven to be just as popular in the United States. That's made him an attractive spokesmonster.

He's appeared in ads for Snickers candy bars, Nike shoes, Doritos chips, as well as in marketing for the original "Simcity" computer game, Honda minivans, and Subway's "Five Dollar Footlong" specials. Yet those last three uses weren't properly licensed and prompted Toho to sue.

Godzilla's appearance in the 1991 Rose Parade sparked Toho's first court fight with Honda. Decked out in a tuxedo and top hat, American Hona's float was engineered to make it look like Godzilla was traipsing down the street.

The next day, Toho called Shephard. Godzilla's image hadn't been licensed for the float, and the ensuing lawsuit lasted more than a year before Godzilla finally prevailed. Honda denied that their float depicted Godzilla, despite advertisements and a memo about the float describing the creature by name.

It was one of many cases that featured what Moss calls "the dinosaur defense."

Defendants sometimes claim their products aren't Godzilla, but simply dinosaurs. It's a dubious argument, Moss said, because the products often feature a spiky spine similar to Godzilla's, or depict the creature in a cityscape. Godzilla may munch on cities, but dinosaurs didn't.

"It just doesn't work," Moss said. "Why does it breathe fire and stomp on cities?"

Godzilla has suffered one notable loss. In 1981 — before Shephard's firm was involved — a federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit by Toho against Sears Roebuck & Co. filed over a line of trash bags the retailer had named "Bagzilla." The bag's use of a Godzilla-esque creature represented a "humorous caricature" and not a serious threat to Toho's business interests, the court ruled.

One ongoing fight for Godzilla's lawyers is against a Louisiana brewery, which is being sued over its Mechahopzilla beer line. The giant metal lizard on the beer's cans and tap handles is too similar to Godzilla's mechanical version, Mechagodzilla, Toho's lawyers argue. The brewery contends its beer is a parody and is relying in part on the Sears case.

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Stocks gain, pushing market to record levels

NEW YORK — Stocks rose on Monday, pushing U.S. market indexes to all-time highs, as investors bought some of the unloved stocks that have been slumping in recent weeks. Pinnacle Foods jumped after the company said it would be acquired by Hillshire Brands.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,893 as of 12:13 p.m. The index closed at an all-time high of 1,890 on April 2. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 99 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,683. The Dow closed at a record high on Friday of 16,583. The Nasdaq climbed 59 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,131.

BARGAIN HUNTING: Some areas of the market that had slumped in recent weeks gained on Monday. Facebook rose $1.81, or 3.2 percent, to $59.05. The stock is still down 18 percent since March 10, after investors started dumping high-growth stocks. Twitter, another stock that has been beaten down recently, rose $1.36, or 4 percent, to $33.34. The social media company's stock is still down 50 percent this year.

SMALL STOCK REVIVAL: The Russell 2000 index, which is made up of small company stocks, rose 2.2 percent, its biggest gain in two months. The index climbed slumped almost 10 percent from March 4 and May 9 as investors sold riskier stocks in favor of big, less volatile stocks that also pay richer dividends.

GOBBLED UP: Pinnacle Foods surged $4.35, or 14.3 percent, to $34.80 after the company agreed to be acquired by Hillshire Brands. Pinnacle's brands include Duncan Hines and Aunt Jemima, while Hillshire makes Jimmy Dean and Sara Lee products. Hillshire fell $2.15, or 5.8 percent, to $34.81.

EUROPEAN CONSOLDATION: Twenty-First Century Fox rose $1.11, or 3.3 percent, to $35.27 following reports that the company is seeking to consolidate its European satellite television business.

THE QUOTE: A backdrop of an improving economy and low interest rates should favor stocks in the long run, said Gerry Paul, chief investment officer of U.S. value equities at AllianceBernstein.

"We've taken a temporary pause in the confidence that was pushing the market forward," Paul said. "But the fundamentals will ultimately bear out and bring people back in."

BONDS AND COMMODITIES: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.65 percent from 2.63 percent late Friday. The price of oil rose 65 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $100.65 a barrel.

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Allergan board turns down Valeant takeover offer

IRVINE, Calif. — Botox maker Allergan formally rejected on Monday a takeover bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals, saying that the unsolicited offer worth nearly $46 billion undervalues the company and poses a significant risk to its growth prospects.

Shortly after Canada's Valeant and activist investor Bill Ackman made their offer public last month, Allergan announced a so-called poison pill plan, a defensive tactic that makes a buyout prohibitively expensive. Allergan also told Valeant that it didn't want to discuss a tie-up, but said that it would evaluate the offer.

Valeant spokeswoman Laurie Little said Monday in an email that her company was disappointed that Allergan made its decision without "engaging in any substantive discussions" with Valeant or Allergan's largest stockholder, Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management LP. She added that they remain committed to pursuing this deal.

Under the proposed deal, Valeant said that it would exchange each Allergan share for $48.30 in cash and a portion of shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.

Allergan stockholders would own 43 percent of the combined company under that proposal.

Pershing Square, which holds a 9.7 percent stake in Allergan, agreed to take only stock if the deal went through, and would remain as a long-term shareholder of the combined company.

Allergan Chairman and CEO David Pyott told analysts during a conference call Monday that he did speak with Ackman recently and listened carefully to the investor. But he added that Ackman was essentially a co-bidder with Valeant, and "his views and interests may not be completely the same as other stockholders."

A Pershing Square spokeswoman declined to comment on Allergan's rejection.

Allergan said Monday that Valeant's uncertain long-term growth prospects and business model create a risk for Allergan shareholders, especially given the stock component of the offer.

"In particular, we question how Valeant would achieve the level of cost cuts it is proposing without harming the long term viability and growth trajectory of our business," Pyott said in a letter to his counterpart at Valeant, Michael Pearson.

Allergan, based in Irvine, has long been considered one of the star performers in the specialty pharmaceutical sector. Revenue from its Botox treatment approached $2 billion last year.

The injectable drug is most famous for its ability to smooth wrinkle lines on aging foreheads. But over the years Allergan has racked up more than a half-dozen other approved uses for Botox, including treatment for neck spasms and migraine headaches.

Pyott detailed the growth of Botox and other drugs like the dry eye treatment Restasis in explaining Allergan's growth prospects as a stand-alone company. He said Allergan expects to increase adjusted earnings per share between 20 percent and 25 percent.

"We put our customers first, and we believe our ability to continuously gain market share is a direct result of our focus on our customers, physicians and their patients," he said.

Shares of Allergan Inc., which hit an all-time high this month, slipped $1.82 to $159.48 Monday morning while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose slightly. U.S.-traded shares of Valeant, meanwhile, fell $1.61 to $129.56.

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Mass. gas prices down by 2 cents per gallon

BOSTON — Massachusetts drivers are getting a break at the pump, with the cost of a gallon of gas trickling down by 2 cents.

AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve regular dropped in the past week to an average of $3.66 per gallon.

That's still 13 cents higher than a month ago and 18 cents higher per gallon than at the same time last year.

The Massachusetts price is also a penny per gallon higher than the national average.

AAA found a wide range of prices, from a low of $3.39 for a gallon of self-serve regular to a high of $3.79 for the same grade.

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Pfizer underscores UK commitments in memo

LONDON — Pfizer Inc. has sought to allay concerns over its proposed $106 billion takeover offer of Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals firm AstraZeneca, insisting that its promises will be legally binding.

In a memo Monday to two U.K. parliamentary committees studying its proposed overture, the U.S. drugmaker laid out its vision ahead of its testimony before the science and business committees. Crucially, it sought to ease worries that British jobs will be lost and that the nation's science base eroded by the potential merger.

It repeated promises to complete AstraZeneca's research and development hub in Cambridge and to establish the new company's tax residence in England.

"Delivering on these commitments will make us a stronger company that delivers benefits to patients, value to shareholders, and creates and protects high value jobs," the memo said.

The maker of Viagra has already written to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to offer commitments, but the memo bolstered the message, saying the promises were "binding as a matter of English law."

The cash and stock deal has become politically fraught, with much of the debate centering on whether Pfizer can be trusted to honor promises in what would be the biggest foreign takeover of a British business. Cameron has been accused by the opposition Labour Party of being a cheerleader for the deal.

The British leader was forced Sunday in a BBC interview to reject the notion that he was favoring Pfizer. But he also said Britain should not "put up the drawbridge" to outside investment.

Pfizer has made three approaches to AstraZeneca since January — all of which have been rejected. AstraZeneca said Pfizer's latest offer undervalues the company and that a takeover would disrupt its work on a potentially lucrative pipeline of new drugs.

The potential deal comes amid a spate of mergers among pharmaceutical companies, who are seeking to find new ways to grow as generic drugmakers move in to make cheaper versions of products with expiring patents.

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World markets weather latest Ukraine jitters

LONDON — Stock markets in China and Hong Kong were the best performers Monday after authorities promised financial reforms. Markets elsewhere were solid, particularly in the U.S., despite ongoing concerns over Ukraine.

China's Shanghai Composite jumped 2.1 percent to 2,052.87 after the Cabinet promised in an announcement late Friday to allow local governments to issue bonds and to streamline the approval process for initial public stock offerings. It gave no details, but the news also boosted Hong Kong's market with the Hang Seng up 1.8 percent to 22,261.61.

Elsewhere, markets advanced despite tensions between the West and Russia over the future of Ukraine.

The latest concerns have centered on referendums in the eastern part of Ukraine where the majority of voters allegedly said they backed sovereignty for their regions.

In Europe, France's CAC-40 closed up 0.4 percent at 4,493.65 while Germany's DAX rose 1.3 percent to 9,702.46. Britain's FTSE 100 ended 0.6 percent higher at 6,851.75.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was 0.6 percent higher at 16,682 while the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.8 percent to 1,893. If sustained through the rest of the session, both indexes will close at all-time highs.

"Any fears that an after reporting season lull would set in to tempt the 'sell in May brigade' are swiftly being set aside," said Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG.

Earlier in Asia, the regional heavyweight, Tokyo's Nikkei 225, shed 0.4 percent to 14,149.52 while Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2 percent to 5,448.40.

Elsewhere, markets were fairly subdued. Among currencies, the euro was flat at $1.3759 while the dollar rose 0.2 percent to 102.12 yen.

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Lower bad loans shore up Unicredit in Q1

MILAN — Italy's largest bank, Unicredit, says lower bad loan provisions helped its net profit rise by 58 percent in the first quarter, in a further sign that the country's economy is stabilizing following years of crisis.

The bank said Monday that its net profit for the first three months of the year was 712 million euros ($979 million), compared with 449 million euros a year earlier. The increase came despite a 3.6 percent drop in revenues to 5.6 billion euros.

The bank said impaired loans fell 1.1 billion euros — the first decline since 2009 — and that it has reduced its cash reserve for bad loans by 28 percent to 838 million euros.

The bank's shares rose 3.4 percent to 6.435 euros.

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Hillshire looks beyond meat with Birds Eye, Vlasic

NEW YORK — Hillshire Brands is pushing further outside the deli case with a deal to buy the maker of Birds Eye frozen vegetables, Duncan Hines cakes mixes and Hungry-Man frozen dinners.

The Chicago-based company, which makes Hillshire Farm lunch meats, Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park franks, said Monday that it would buy Pinnacle Foods in a deal valued at $4.23 billion. The move extends Hillshire's reach into other sections of the supermarket as more Americans watch how much meat they're eating.

Among Pinnacle's other brands are Wish-Bone salad dressing, Celeste frozen pizzas and Vlasic pickles.

"Meats go with vegetables, sandwiches go with pickles," Hillshire CEO Sean Connolly said in explaining why the deal made sense during a conference call with analysts.

In a phone interview, Connolly noted that Americans are eating meat just as often, but less of it per meal. He said that actually benefits Hillshire because food products that incorporate different ingredients — such as its Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches — are more profitable than simpler items like lunchmeats or sausages.

"We've often said we like products that are more than just meat," Connolly said.

Last month, Hillshire also said it was buying Van's Natural Foods, which makes gluten-free products including cereal, chips and snack bars.

Given its reduced reliance on meat, the new Hillshire is expected to have significantly higher profit margins. Rising prices for fresh meat have hurt margins and led the company to increase prices in stores.

Still, some of Pinnacle's brands such as Hungry-Man are seen as having an outdated image at a time when many people are trying to move away from foods they feel are processed or unhealthy. On Tuesday, the frozen food industry even plans to launch its first TV ad defending the nutritional benefits of its products.

When asked whether Hillshire plans to hold onto all of Pinnacle's products, Connolly said it was "too early to tell," but noted Hillshire's record of focusing on its strongest brands. He added that Birds Eye, which has a more health-conscious image, was particularly attractive to Hillshire when evaluating the deal.

In a note to investors about the deal, J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman declared the "strategic rationale unclear."

"Although we can see some logic behind the combination of lunchmeat and pickles, along with waffles and syrup, the connections seem a bit thinner than what we hope for in most food transactions," he wrote.

Connolly declined to specify the scope of the layoffs expected as a result of the acquisition. But he noted that the deal is expected to result in $140 million in annual cost savings from consolidated manufacturing and other overhead costs.

Each share of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Pinnacle Foods Inc. common stock will be exchanged for $18 in cash and 0.5 shares of Hillshire Brands Co. common stock. The companies said the implied purchase price is $36.02 per share, an 18 percent premium to Pinnacle's Friday closing price.

Including Pinnacle's outstanding debt, they put the deal's total value at about $6.6 billion.

The combined company will use the Hillshire Brands name and be based in Chicago. Connolly will serve as its president and CEO.

Both companies' boards unanimously approved the acquisition, which is expected to close by September. It still needs shareholder approval.

Hillshire anticipates that it will maintain its annual dividend of 70 cents per share and suspend a previously announced stock repurchase program.

Pinnacle's shares rose 15 percent to $34.92 and Hillshire's shares fell 6 percent to $34.82.

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