Pinnacle Foods Group, owned by private equity firm Blackstone Group, will buy frozen-food provider Birds Eye Foods for $1.3 billion. Bloomberg has the scoop:

Blackstone Group LP’s Pinnacle Foods Group LLC agreed to buy Birds Eye Foods Inc., the largest U.S. frozen-vegetable company, for $1.3 billion, adding to its Duncan Hines and Swanson food brands as the pace of buyouts increases.

Birds Eye has sales of more than $930 million, according to Pinnacle. The Rochester, New York-based company is currently owned by Pro-Fac Cooperate Inc., a New York agricultural cooperative; funds affiliated with Vestar Capital Partners, a New York-based buyout firm; and Birds Eye management.

Image: Brands of the World

AOL layoffs affecting 1/3 of the company’s workforce, or up to 2,300 people, will hit during the next few months. The layoffs come as a result of restructuring after the Time Warner spin-off. Bloomberg reports:

AOL is aiming to reduce its annual operating costs by about $300 million through the restructuring, the New York-based company said today in a regulatory filing. AOL expects to take as much as $200 million in restructuring charges in the first half of 2010 if the plan is approved by the new board after the spinoff, according to the filing.

AOL employs about 6,900 people, AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose said in an e-mail, indicating job cuts of about 2,300. The company will begin a voluntary layoff program Dec. 4 and is looking for as many as 2,500 volunteers, she said. AOL will begin firing employees if the voluntary departures fall short.

Ouch.

American Express today announced its $300 million purchase of Revolution Money, a PayPal competitor backed, among others, by former AOL CEO Steve Case. The Washington Post reports:

Revolution Money, founded in 2007, is designed to provide secure online person-to-person transactions by using a PIN number instead of credit cards or accounts.

Revolution Money will operate as a subsidiary of American Express.

Demand for the aniseed variety of the 65-year-old winter warmer has meant an unprecedented rise in production. Key ingredient star anise – pure aniseed – is also contained in the swine flu treatment Tamiflu, reports the Daily Mirror.

“We make no claims for our product – though enjoying a Fisherman’s Friend will certainly do no harm. People are making the aniseed link themselves.”

In any case, Fisherman’s Friend has got to be a better swine flu bet than Cocoa Krispies.

A clinical trial has found that Merck’s Vytorin and Zetia cholesterol pills don’t treat clogged arteries as effectively as Abbott Labs’ Niaspan, a form of Niacin (Vitamin B3). Bloomberg reports:

In a clinical trial reported yesterday, researchers found a decrease in the thickness of artery walls in patients given Niaspan, while those on Zetia had no change. Artery thickness is believed to be a predictor of risk in heart attack and stroke because it restricts blood flow, the researchers said.

Using Niaspan, with $786 million in sales last year, to raise HDL has been limited because the drug can cause facial flushing. Merck is testing a form of niacin in combination with an experimental drug laropiprant and will seek U.S. regulatory approval for the medicine as early as 2010.

A negative finding like this one could cut Zetia and Vytorin’s revenue by $800 million, or 20%, according to the article. It could also set off a wave of interest in niacin as a cheaper, more effective cholesterol-fighting measure.

The Mayo Clinic has more on lowering cholesterol with niacin.

The Fed today announced that, starting next July, banks can no longer charge overdraft fees on a debit card or when a customer is using an ATM. That new law is moot if a customer has agreed to pay charges for overdrawing their account. Bloomberg has more:

Financial companies will have to explain their overdraft programs and fees, as well as choices available to consumers, the Fed said in a statement today announcing a rule that takes effect next year.

Fed consumer research shows “most consumers prefer not to be enrolled in overdraft services for ATM and one-time debit- card transactions unless they affirmatively consent,” the board said in its statement. Consumers do value overdraft services to ensure payment for important bills, such as rent and utilities, the Fed said.

This sounds like a consumer victory. I do, however, anticipate that banks will find a creative way to milk what few overdraft fees they still can charge.

CNN announced today that John King will be replacing Lou Dobbs on CNN. Dobbs unexpectedly resigned from CNN yesterday after roughly 30 years with the network. State of the Union anchor John King will replace Dobbs early next year. The New York Times has the scoop:

In moving Mr. King to a weekday time slot, CNN will seek to improve its dismal evening ratings. According to Nielsen, CNN ranked third among cable news channels in the 7 p.m. hour in October, mirroring its other prime-time declines.

“John doing that show is obviously a statement about the importance of real nonpartisan news to CNN, and also the importance of political coverage to CNN,” Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN/U.S., told employees on a conference call Thursday morning.

In a clear contrast to the outspoken Mr. Dobbs, Mr. King, a former Associated Press writer, is known for his straightforward style. CNN called the forthcoming 7 p.m. program “a definitive political hour that goes well beyond the surface of the day’s top stories to provide in-depth analysis and context to key political movements in Washington and across the nation.” CNN’s chief competitors at that hour are Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith, a news anchor, and a political commentator, Chris Matthews, on MSNBC.

Dobbs, meanwhile, will stay in the public eye. He’s not sure what shape this will take, but he did mention in his farewell speech that he will “continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible.”

These sneakers apparently build your body 12 different ways, just like Wonderbread. Reebok claims these sneakers provide 28 percent more gluteus maximus muscle activation, and 11% more calf and hamstring activation.

(Reebok also claims that) “due to the instability of the balance pods, activities with unplanned side-to-side movement and/or any lateral-movement-sports such as tennis or basketball-should be avoided.”

Okay, so they work, as long as you don’t really exercise. This sounds like yet another fad shortcut to losing weight while expending little extra effort.

The idea that shoes can help tone you is in fact gaining traction among footwear manufacturers. The Wall Street Journal has more on the physiology behind “physiological footwear”:

Unlike traditional athletic shoes that are built to be stable, rocker-sole shoes are deliberately unstable. The effect, companies that make the shoes say, is similar to using a wobble board or balance board in a gym. To stand or walk in these shoes, you must engage more muscles than you do using regular shoes, the companies say. Manufacturers recommend you wear them during your normal activities, starting with short periods until you get used to them.

The test involved only 500 steps, and Reebok acknowledges that the effect may diminish as wearers get used to the shoes.

Studies done on the Masai, the first physiological shoe to hit markets, show that physical therapy patients given Masai shoes for three months recovered faster than their non-Masai-wearing counterparts. The shoes strengthened the small muscles around the ankles, and their weight helped wearers burn more calories, according to the WSJ article.

Reebok’s EasyTone shoes, on the other hand, are lighter. They also have only one study supporting that they strengthen muscles.

Reebok EasyTones, as well as the other physiological shoes on the market, strike me as yet another something-for-nothing fitness fad. By simply wearing the shoes, you firm up your glutes. I see this eventually going the direction of fads like the Atkins Diet and ankle weights (remember those?). Physiological footwear may have a permanent place in a niche market, but it’s not going to revolutionize female American butts. Only squats, lunges, and fewer donuts will accomplish that.

The Financial Times reports on a recent Sky News Australia interview with News Corporation’s Rupert Murdoch. He threatened to sue the BBC and ABC for stealing content, and Google for employing Fair Use:

Rupert Murdoch indicated on Monday that News Corporation would sue the BBC over breach of copyright for “stealing” material from his newspapers round the world. Mr Murdoch…was asked how he would be able to instigate his proposal to charge for newspaper websites such as The Times in the UK or The Australian when the BBC and ABC produced free news content on their sites.

He also challenged the idea that Google and others could take just the headlines and opening lines from his papers’ stories, indicating that he would not tolerate even that. “[They use] a doctrine called fair use, which we believe can be challenged in the courts and will bar it altogether,” he said. But he added that News Corp papers currently benefited to some extent from the advertising around its freely available internet content so “we will take that slowly”.

BNet’s David Weir speaks to the apparent insanity of Murdoch’s words:

…it appears there will continue to be delays in implementing the paid content strategy, which continues to strike me as a non-starter for newspaper content. Murdoch seems unwilling to concede that news is a commodity in today’s world, and placing it behind a paywall would simply help his competitors grab audience share.

Then again, Murdoch is a man used to getting what he wants, so the delays and other problems (including possible anti-trust issues) plaguing his paid content plan must be frustrating him beyond belief. Thus the angry threats, but it remains to be seen whether he actually carries any of them out in the end.

Mediabistro has more commentary:

Look, the entire publishing industry is grappling with how to craft a winning business model. It’s not easy. But “the world’s most powerful media owner,” as Sky News Australia interview David Speers calls Murdoch (video below), clearly is letting his frustration cloud his judgment. What he’s saying is nonsense. Blocking Google and other search engines is tantamount to online publishing suicide. Does he really think that subscription revenue will more than make up for the ad revenue he’ll lose when page views plunge? I don’t know what News Corp.’s traffic data says, but plenty of sites out there get half their PVs or more from Google.

Rupert, never mind all this talk of pay walls and banning Google. The solution to your problem is clear: More Page 3 girls!

Amen to that.

Google will offer free Wi-Fi starting today at 47 national airports. The Wi-Fi offer will last until January 15, 2010. PC World has more:

The FAA estimates 100 million people will travel back and forth across the country during the holidays, and those hunkered down in airport terminals due to weather delays will likely appreciate the free Wi-Fi.

Google’s move follows a similar free Wi-Fi offer from Yahoo. On Tuesday, Yahoo announced that it would provide free Wi-Fi for an entire year in New York’s Times Square.

Here’s a full list of airports, from Google’s Free Wi-Fi for the Holidays website:

* Austin (AUS)
* Baltimore (BWI)
* Billings (BIL)
* Boston (BOS)
* Bozeman (BZN)
* Buffalo (BUF)
* Burbank (BUR)
* Central Wisconsin (CWA)
* Charlotte (CLT)
* Des Moines (DSM)
* El Paso (ELP)
* Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
* Fort Myers/SW (RSW)
* Greensboro (GSO)
* Houston (HOU)
* Houston Bush (IAH)

* Indianapolis (IND)
* Jacksonville (JIA)
* Kalamazoo (AZO)
* Las Vegas (LAS)
* Louisville (SDF)
* Madison (MSN)
* Memphis (MEM)
* Miami (MIA)
* Milwaukee (MKE)
* Monterey (MRY)
* Nashville (BNA)
* Newport News (PHF)
* Norfolk (ORF)
* Oklahoma City (OKC)
* Omaha (OMA)
* Orlando (MCO)

* Panama City (PFN)
* Pittsburgh (PIT)
* Portland (PWM)
* Sacramento (SMF)
* San Antonio (SAT)
* San Diego (SAN)
* San Jose (SJC)
* Seattle (SEA)
* South Bend (SBN)
* Spokane (GEG)
* St. Louis (STL)
* State College (SCE)
* Toledo (TOL)
* Traverse City (TVC)
* West Palm Beach (PBI)

Image: Google