NESTLE

Kraft played down speculation on Tuesday that it would be prepared to raise its offer for Cadbury PLC , after the British chocolate company rejected its 10.2 billion pound ($16.7 billion) offer.

Kraft is the most logical buyer for British chocolate firm Cadbury , but the U.S. rival will remain financially disciplined, one of the company's executives said on Tuesday.

Kraft Foods Inc is once again turning to Europe to try to boost sales and improve margins, hoping to convince Cadbury to accept a buyout that could start a new round of food industry consolidation.

Britain's Cadbury has few options but to look for a higher bid and more cash after Kraft's 10.2 billion pound ($16.7 billion) offer for the world's No 2 confectionery group, analysts said on Tuesday.

Kraft Foods said it was intent on pursuing Britain's Cadbury , which soared in value after it snubbed a premium-rich bid from the U.S. group, reinforcing hopes of a broader-based pick-up in merger activity.

Nestle, the world's biggest food group, said on Thursday it had no plans for a big acquisition with cash from its Alcon stake sale, despite long-term speculation linking it with L'Oreal.

Nestle , the world's biggest food group, pared its full-year outlook on Wednesday after missing forecasts with first-half organic sales growth of 3.5 percent, knocking its shares lower.

Nestle's bottled water business is eyeing acquisitions in emerging markets to help end a slump which has made it the worst performer in the food giant's sales, Nestle Executive Vice-President John Harris said.

Federal investigators have linked at least three different kinds of E. coli to Nestle's cookie dough but were not able to determine how the products got affected, according to ABC News.

Hunan Taizinai Group, a top dairy products maker in China, on Friday denied a Chinese media report that it was in talks to sell assets to the world's biggest food group Nestle AG.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday confirmed that it has found E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in a sample of Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough.

Nestle, the world's biggest food group, reiterated on Monday its target for 2009 organic sales growth at least approaching 5 percent although it said performance would be weighted to the second half.

Nestlé USA voluntarily recalled its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough on Friday after health officials linked the dough to infections from the bacteria E. coli in as many as 66 people in 28 states after eating the dough raw.

At New York's Del Posto, diners can share a $130 entree of wild branzino fish with roasted fennel and peperonata concentrato and a $3,600 bottle of Dom Perignon. They cannot share a bottle of Perrier or San Pellegrino water.

Switzerland's largest bank, UBS , is losing key staff in important areas to competitors, chairman Kaspar Villiger was reported as saying on Saturday.

Nestle , the world's biggest food group, missed forecasts with a dip in first-quarter sales due to the strong Swiss franc and a late Easter, but it reassured investors by repeating its full-year target.

Nestle, the world's biggest food group, reported first-quarter sales down 2.1 percent as a strong Swiss franc and a late Easter weighed, but said strong brands should help it meet its full-year target.

Nestle, the world's biggest food group, reported a slowdown in core sales growth in the first quarter as a strong Swiss franc weighed, but reiterated its full year target despite the global slowdown.

Nestle , the world's biggest food group, reported a 3.8 percent rise in first-quarter organic sales, in line with analyst forecasts, and reiterated its outlook for 2009 despite the slowdown.

Shareholder advocacy group Ethos on Wednesday called for UBS shareholders to reject a new pay system at an AGM on April 15, saying it could still lead to big bonuses that drive risk taking.

Nestle reported strong underlying 2008 sales growth of 8.3 percent and said it was cautiously upbeat for 2009, unlike some rivals, and would push cheaper products to cope with the downturn.