Advertising, Entertainment & Media

Leading tobacco firms in the US, including British American Tobacco, are to face a class action lawsuit seeking punitive damages of up to $200bn (£105bn) relating to the alleged fraudulent promotions suggesting "light" branded cigarettes are safer, or less addictive, than regular ones. Read More

Schering-Plough Corp. on Tuesday agreed to pay $435 million and plead guilty to conspiracy to settle a federal investigation into marketing of its drugs for unapproved uses and overcharging Medicaid for certain drugs. Read More

An former advertising executive realizes he created one of the greatest greenwashing campaigns of all time. Read More

A former ad exec only now realizes "Beyond Petroleum" is just an oily smokescreen. Read More

When claims were first published on the front pages of Indian newspapers this month that Coca-Cola and PepsiCo beverages were contaminated with pesticides, executives at the two companies were breezily confident that they could handle the issue. Three weeks later, though, they are still struggling to win back Indian consumers. One-quarter of India's component states have imposed partial bans on their products, and a complex legal battle to overturn those bans is only just beginning. Read More

Drivers from low-income neighborhoods of New York, Hartford and Baltimore, insuring identical cars and with the same driving records as those from middle-class neighborhoods, paid $400 more on average for a year's insurance.The poor are also the main customers for appliances and furniture at "rent to own" stores, where payments are stretched out at very high interest rates; in Wisconsin, a $200 television can end up costing $700. Read More

Mexico's most powerful business group is putting its money where its mouth is only days before Sunday's presidential vote, with thinly-veiled TV ads critical of the leftist front runner. Read More

Barabara Ehrenreich takes on a Wal-Mart apologist and helps me develop my come-back to clueless friends and family members who say "Why shouldn't I save money?" Read More

Earnest shareholder resolutions presented at company annual general meetings on everything from human rights to executive compensation are routinely shot down in flames. But shareholder resolutions may have an effect, even in defeat. Read More

Leaders attending the annual Rainbow PUSH Coalition conference on Monday called for a boycott of oil giant BP PLC, a conference sponsor, and for a renewed focus on increasing minority representation on national television news channels, including CNN. Read More