Financial News

MINNEAPOLIS — The chief executive of Target is reaching out to consumers in the wake of the widespread hacking of credit and debit card data at Target stores that the company confirmed last week.

In a statement on the mass-merchandise retailer's website, president, chairman and CEO Gregg Steinhafel sought to ameliorate customers' worries about the possibility that their cards were compromised. He emphasized that the issue had been "identified and eliminated," while the retailer extended a 10% discount to customers who shopped at its stores on Saturday and Sunday.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — With the announcement of its first-quarter results, Walgreens continues to fire on all cylinders of its straight-three engine, including advancements across its Well Experience store base, the continued transformation of its pharmacy operations to better meet the needs of today's evolving healthcare system and the further establishment of a global supply chain to drive economies of scale. 

MALVERN, Pa. — Endo announced Thursday that regulatory waiting periods in the United States and Canada related to its plans to acquire a Montreal-based drug maker have been terminated.

CHICAGO — The purchase of as many as 10 Dominick's stores may be under consideration by independent grocery chains affiliated with the Centrella cooperative, Crain's Chicago Business reported Thursday, citing sources close to the deal. 

MINNEAPOLIS — About 40 million credit and debit card accounts of Target customers were compromised between late November and the middle of this month, the mass merchandise retailer said Thursday.

Target confirmed earlier reports from the online security blog Krebs on Security that the company experienced a breach affecting nearly all of its stores. The breach was initially thought to have started the day before Thanksgiving and ended on Dec. 6, but investigators later found that it had lasted until Sunday.

NEW YORK — Bristol-Myers Squibb is selling its diabetes business to AstraZeneca for up to $4.3 billion as part of an effort to focus more on specialty drugs, the company said Thursday.

BMS said AstraZeneca would pay $2.7 billion upfront, as well as up to $1.4 billion in milestone payments and up to $225 million on the condition of certain assets being sold. The companies have had a diabetes drug-development partnership since 2007.

CAMP HILL, Pa. – Rite Aid appears to be transitioning from a turnaround phase to one in which it's looking more toward future opportunities, company executives suggested in a conference call Thursday morning when announcing the chain's third quarter 2014 results.

GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Meda has signed an agreement to acquire ZpearPoint AS, including global rights to its main product, EB24, an OTC line for  treating dental erosion.  

The EB24 product is based on hydrogen fluoride highly diluted in water. In studies, the product has shown that it is able to penetrate enamel surfaces and form calcium fluoride resulting in an anti-erosive effect. As such, EB24 works as a protective agent against dental erosion.