Corporate Restructuring

First American Corp., the largest U.S. title insurer, will split into two publicly traded companies by separating its financial information and underwriting businesses. The stock rose 7.1%. The unit with the title and specialty insurance operations will be spun off to shareholders, the Santa Ana-based firm said in a statement Tuesday. The existing holding company, to be renamed, will consist primarily of businesses that provide data on mortgages, properties and credit.

How much should a company's culture reflect its chief executive, especially one who prides himself on being a blunt and innovative -- some might say abrasive -- businessman? If you're new Tribune Co. CEO Sam Zell, the answer seems to be: A lot. At least that was the feeling workers got Wednesday with the distribution of a new employee handbook, a document that's nothing like the mind-numbing, lawyered gobbledygook in most corporate manuals. Consider the opening: "Rule #1: Use your best judgment."

Richard Breeden, founder of activist investment fund Breeden Capital Management, has one goal this year: no proxy battles. But he acknowledges achieving this is unlikely, given his record. Since founding his $1-billion-plus firm 18 months ago, he has launched two major proxy battles that have won him seats on the boards of H&R Block Inc. and Applebee's International Inc. And last Friday, jewelry chain Zale Corp. gave up without a fight, giving Breeden two seats on its board.

Sprint Nextel Corp. Chief Executive Daniel Hesse, in his first month at the helm, replaced the leaders of finance, marketing and sales after the wireless carrier lost more than a million contract subscribers in a year. Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh, Chief Marketing Officer Tim Kelly and Mark Angelino, president of sales and distribution, are leaving, the Reston, Va.-based company said. The departures are the first senior management moves undertaken by Hesse, who became CEO in December.

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Sramana Mitra captured a common sentiment in the title of a blog post last week: "Yahoo, Please Put Up a Fight." As its growth slows, Yahoo Inc. has taken steps to reorganize its management structure, narrow its focus and jettison some underperforming businesses. But it's still being outmatched in search advertising dollars by Google Inc. and in user growth by social networks such as Facebook Inc., which are rapidly gaining members and advertisers.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will move design and development of its apparel to New York in an attempt to revive declining clothing sales and cut production time. Wal-Mart will close the product-development and sourcing divisions for men's, women's and children's clothing at its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., a spokeswoman said.

Macy's Inc. announced a restructuring Wednesday that involves cutting 2,300 jobs and closing some division headquarters as the department store operator tries to reduce costs and offset declining sales. Macy's also said January sales at stores open at least one fiscal year fell a more-than-expected 7.1% and forecast fourth-quarter earnings that, excluding a tax credit, would miss current Wall Street targets.

Polaroid Corp. is dropping the technology it pioneered long before digital photography rendered instant film obsolete to all but a few nostalgia buffs. Polaroid is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures such as a portable printer for images from cellphones and Polaroid-branded digital cameras, television sets and DVD players.

Wilsons the Leather Experts Inc. will close the majority of its 260 mall locations and cut more than 1,000 jobs, the clothing retailer said Friday. Wilsons will keep 100 stores open, revamping them under a "Studio" concept focused on fashion accessories for women. All stores should be remodeled by August. About 938 store-related jobs and 64 positions at the company's corporate headquarters, overseas offices and distribution center in Brooklyn Park, Minn., will be cut.

Maybe it was the lusty mannequins in its stores, the massage oil on its shelves or the overabundance of cleavage on the glittery runway of its annual TV fashion show. But this week, Victoria's Secret Chief Executive Sharen J. Turney acknowledged that the chain had gotten "too sexy." Is such a thing even possible? "We have moved off of our brand heritage," she said in a conference call with analysts. "We use the word 'sexy' a lot and really have forgotten the ultra-feminine."