Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Hampstead, Md. -- Preparing for a potential fight against Men’s Wearhouse’s unsolicited acquisition bid, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers is ramping up its "poison pill" defense.  

Jos. A. Bank said Friday that it is lowering its ownership threshold to 10% from 20%, which is the same ownership threshold as Men's Wearhouse's shareholder rights plan.

Such a plan typically allows existing shareholders to acquire more stock at a discounted rate to ward off the investor collecting a big stake.

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has appointed Ben Bard as VP and global chief compliance officer, effective Jan. 20.

Bard will be responsible for ADM’s Office of Compliance and will oversee the company’s compliance policies and programs, including the code of conduct, ethics helpline, global anti-corruption program, trade compliance, antitrust and competition law, data protection, privacy and conflict of interest policies.

Wilmington, Del. — Law firm Rigrodsky & Long, P.A is investigating potential legal claims against the board of directors of Arden Group, Inc. regarding possible breaches of fiduciary duties and other violations of law related to the company’s entry into an agreement to be acquired by global private investment firm TPG, in a transaction valued at approximately $394 million.

New York -- Macy’s and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have reached a confidential settlement in their ongoing legal dispute over whether Martha Stewart breached a contract by selling certain goods at J.C. Penney Co.

Martha Stewart and Macy’s both said the terms of the settlement aren’t material to their businesses. In a separate statement, Macy's said that the settlement did not affect its outstanding claim against Penney.

The case for domestic sourcing received a boost this week after Walmart was required to recall 73,400 five-piece card table and chair sets sold under its Mainstays brand.

The recall was initiated after Walmart said it received reports of 10 injuries including one instance of a finger amputation and several fingertip amputations. The product was manufactured by the Heshan Camis Industrial Co. Ltd., of Guangdong, China, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Food safety and compliance issues earned Walmart some unwanted attention this week after it was learned that snacks made with donkey meat in China were also found to contain fox meat.

Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger were among major retailers quick to implement temporary new programs designed to help customers coping with one of the many glitches associated with the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.

Washington -- The National Retail Federation Thursday formally filed an appeal of a controversial antitrust lawsuit settlement covering credit card swipe fees, asking the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court’s ruling.