Coke

Federal health regulators have scolded Coca-Cola Co. for placing inappropriate nutritional claims on its Diet Coke Plus soft drink. The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to the company objecting to the product's labeling, which describes the drink as "Diet Coke with Vitamins and Minerals." According to the agency, foods labeled "plus" must have at least 10% more nutrients than comparable products. Calls to the Atlanta company were not immediately returned.

Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. will offer drinks with a no-calorie natural sweetener after the Food and Drug Administration said it had no objection to the use of the product made from the stevia plant. Coca-Cola said it would introduce Sprite Green using its version of the sweetener, which it calls Truvia, at youth-oriented events this month and plans a broader rollout next year. Two flavors of Odwalla juice sweetened with Truvia are being put on store shelves now, the company said.

Coca-Cola Co. agreed to distribute Hansen Natural Corp.'s Monster -- the bestselling energy drink in the U.S. -- in Europe, Canada and some U.S. states. Coca-Cola will expand Monster internationally and boost sales of the drink beyond the more than a quarter of the U.S. energy drink market Hansen already controls. The deal also widens Coca-Cola's lead over PepsiCo Inc. in energy drink sales.

The Coca-Cola Co. moved to expand its operations in the fast-growing Chinese market Wednesday with a $2.5-billion bid for major juice maker China Huiyuan Juice Group. Under the deal, Coca-Cola's wholly owned subsidiary Atlantic Industries would purchase the Chinese company's shares for 12.20 Hong Kong dollars ($1.56) each, almost triple their last closing price, the companies said. That would value the Beijing-based juice producer at around $2.3 billion. Coca-Cola also offered to pay for all outstanding convertible bonds and options, bringing the total amount of the deal to as much as $2.51 billion.

Coca-Cola Co. agreed to settle a fraud lawsuit in which investors said they lost $1.75 billion after the soft-drink maker withheld information to boost its stock price. The $137.5-million settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, ends an eight-year battle. "We maintain these allegations are without merit and no admittance of wrongdoing is a part of this settlement," Coca-Cola said. Investors claimed that Japanese bottlers were forced to take excess syrup to boost sales, a practice called channel stuffing.

What do the Mir spacecraft, Axl Rose and NASCAR have in common? They're all part of publicity stunts that could bring you some free junk food -- and help companies develop relationships with you, Mr. or Ms. Potential Customer. This weekend, if any of Coca-Cola Co.'s 13 sponsored drivers win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, everyone in America can get a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero by downloading a coupon from the company's website. A few months ago, Dr Pepper promised a free soda to everyone in America if Axl Rose puts out a new Guns N' Roses album in 2008.

In one commercial, Arab pop star Nancy Ajram hands bottles of Coca-Cola to a young couple quarreling, and instantly, the two lovers make up as colorful hearts and flowers flood out from the bottles. In another, Haifa Wehbe, a model-turned-singer and Arab world sex symbol, turns heads as she walks confidently through a film set in a blue, figure-hugging dress, putting her cool can of Pepsi up against the face of a sweating technician.

1. Which presidential candidate apologized to whom for what? a. Joe Biden b. Fred Thompson c. Hillary Clinton d. Bill Richardson e. Mike Huckabee f. Barack Obama g. Mitt Romney ____ To Hillary Clinton, for mocking her support among Indian Americans by calling her "the senator from Punjab." ____To Mike Huckabee, mockingly, for "pointing out that as governor of Arkansas, [he] offered in-state tuition to illegal immigrants."

Neville Isdell's tenure as Coca-Cola Co.'s leader saw senior management changes, a big acquisition and a focus on improving employee morale. After his unexpected announcement Thursday that he would step down as chief executive next year, Isdell said more challenges were ahead for the world's biggest beverage company. Isdell, 64, who has been CEO since 2004, will be replaced as chief executive by his second-in-command, Chief Operating Officer Muhtar Kent, effective July 1.

Karla Keating and her husband already had retirement on their minds in May when he got an offer that sounded too good to refuse: a three-year stint in London. Coming from North Carolina, they knew it was going to be a bit of a financial leap. But the major U.S. bank where her husband is an executive lured him with a substantial increase in pay. Within weeks, they had crossed the pond and found a nice flat near Marylebone for 1,820 pounds, about $3,750.