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.

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.”

Asheville, NY-based Fairbank Farms is recalling nearly 546,000 pounds of ground beef because of a suspected E. coli contamination. The recall affects Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The following supermarkets sold the beef, which may have had sell-by dates between September 19-28, according to the Associated Press:

-Trader Joe’s
-Shaw’s
-Giant Food Stores
-B.J.’s Wholesale
-ACME
-Ford Brothers
-Price Chopper

Good Morning America has more:

One person died and at least two people were sickened after eating ground beef in New Hampshire that was possibly contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Ron Allen, CEO of Fairbank Farms, said in a statement on its Web site: “We’re assisting our customers in conducting this recall, and continue to urge consumers to check their freezers for ground beef products that are listed in the recall. Consumers who identify these products should return them to the point of purchase for a full refund.”

The ultimate precaution: Just throw away any ground beef in your freezer.

…the Droid is a large, slim (0.5-inch thick) phone with a 3.7-inch, 854-by-480 capacitive touch screen and a sliding keyboard. It has a built-in 5-megapixel camera, DVD-quality video recording, and Wi-Fi, and it makes calls on the Verizon Wireless network.

As an Android 2.0 phone, the Droid automatically syncs with Microsoft Exchange and has an improved Web browser compared to other Android phones. The browser supports HTML5 and double-tapping to zoom.

PC Magazine has a detailed Droid feature rundown here.

The CS Monitor follows rumors stating that Verizon could release three Droid phones this year:

Verizon is currently saturating airwaves with commercials for the Droid, which will hit shelves by the end of October. The iDroid commercial campaign takes direct aim at the Apple iPhone – in the TV spots, the Droid is lauded for having a sleeker interface, a full QWERTY keyboard, and more versatility than the iPhone.

“iDon’t have a real keyboard. iDon’t run simultaneous apps. iDon’t take night shots. iDon’t allow open development,” reads the ad copy. “iDon’t customize. iDon’t run widgets. iDon’t have interchangeable batteries. Everything iDon’t, Droid does.”

Wonder how many consumers will say “iWant one”?

Nokia is suing Apple for using mobile technology patents without consent, infringing ten patents in the process. The BBC has more:

Nokia said it had not been compensated for its technology, and accused Apple of “trying to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation”. The ten alleged patent infringements involve wireless data, speech coding, security, and encryption. Apple’s shares dipped after news of the action broke.

He added that during the last two decades, Nokia had invested approximately 40bn euros (£36.2bn; $60bn) on research and development. Earlier this month, Nokia posted its first quarterly loss in a decade amid falling sales.

This sounds like a desperate move by Nokia to slow Apple or regain market share. What stopped them from suing earlier? (Update: They get more money if they stall. Thanks, commenters.)

Barnes & Noble’s new e-reader, the Nook, goes on sale next Tuesday. Wired calls it a Kindle-killer:

The reader…looks a lot like Amazon’s white plastic e-book, only instead of the chiclet-keyboard there is a color multitouch screen, to be used as a keyboard or to browse books, cover-flow style. The machine runs Google’s Android OS, will have wireless capability from an unspecified carrier and comes in at the same $260 as the now rather old-fashioned-looking Kindle.

And over at the Wall Street Journal, somebody got a peek at an at ad set to run in The New York Times this coming Sunday. The ad features the line “Lend eBooks to friends,” and this has the potential to destroy the Kindle model. One of the biggest problems with e-books is that you can’t lend or re-sell them. If B&N is selling e-books cheaper than the paper versions, then the resale issue is moot. And lending, even if your friends need a Nook, too, takes away the other big advantage of paper.

It’s nice to finally see some real competition in the e-reader space. The Wall Street Journal revealed yesterday that the Nook would cost $259.

Erickson Retirement Communities, one of the biggest retirement community developers in the country, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Reuters has more:

LLC, a U.S. retirement community developer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and reached an agreement to sell its assets to Redwood Capital LLC, court documents showed.

Maryland-based Erickson Communities, which was founded in 1983, currently includes 19 campuses and houses more than 22,000 people and has about 12,000 employees.

Erickson has 20 retirement communities around the country, according to their website. The Baltimore Sun reports on the reasons behind Erickson’s bankruptcy filing:

Erickson’s real estate arm, which acquires land for campuses and builds projects, has been hurt by the recession, as seniors who couldn’t sell existing homes put off moving to continuing-care communities.

Erickson was in the midst of large developments outside Maryland but couldn’t get seniors to put down the money to move in. When the credit markets collapsed, Erickson couldn’t restructure its loans.